Turmalina drills 3.79 g/t gold over 39.6 metres at Chanape, Peru
Turmalina Metals Corp. [TBX-TSXV; TBXXF-OTCQX] reported that initial drilling at the 100%-optioned Chanape project, located 87 km east of Lima, Peru, has intersected extensive gold-silver mineralization in the first breccias to be drill tested by the company. This release summarizes the first results of the program representing 1003.7 metres from four holes of a planned 2,300-metre drill program.
Selected intercepts from this first batch of results at Breccia 8 returned 39.6 metres of 3.79 g/t gold, 18 g /t silver and 0.45% copper (4.7 g/t AuEq – gold equivalent) in hole CHT-DDH-034 from 60 metres, including 8.5 metres of 9.2 g/t gold, 27 g/t silver and 0.48% copper (10 g/t AuEq) from 65.5 metres.
At Breccia San Antonio, CHT-DDH-037, from 31.4 metres, returned 33 metres of 1.55 g/t gold, 66 g/t silver, 0.18% copper and 1.7% zinc (2.6 g/t AuEq), including 10.3 metres of 4.2 g/t gold, 75 g/t silver, 0.28% copper and 4.5% zinc (5.6 g/t AuEq) from 47.9 metres.
The Chanape project is characterized by multiple tourmaline gold-silver-copper (Au-Ag-Cu) breccia pipes, with over 50y identified to date. Detailed sampling along with favourable rock chip and channel assays led to the prioritization of Breccia 8, Breccias 10 and 11 and the San Antonio Breccia to be tested by the first holes of this drill program. The Clint Breccia, which does not outcrop but has been intercepted by previous drill campaigns, will also be drill tested during this program.
Drill hole CHT-DDH-034 tested the extent of shallow Au-Ag mineralization at the approximately 80-metre wide Breccia 8. Drill holes CHT-DDH-035 and CHT-DDH-036 tested the shallow long-section and cross-section respectively of the approximately 110-metre by 50-metre Breccias 10 and 11, while CHT-DDH-037 tested the shallow levels of the approximately 40-metre wide San Antonio Breccia.
The Au-Ag grades indicate strong potential for high-grade copper-gold-silver grade mineralization at depth. The Company currently has one drill conducting deeper drilling under the best intersections and testing of additional priority targets.
James Rogers, CEO, stated: “The initial drill results from our Chanape drill program are highly encouraging, and we look forward to testing the deeper zones of these breccias which are typically larger, higher-grade and copper-rich. This first-pass of drilling is intended to systematically test a number of breccias defined by our sampling and mapping programs, with a goal of defining the best breccias for deeper follow-up drilling.”
Tourmaline breccias typically display strong vertical zonation, with Au-Ag in the narrow top (the ‘roof’) of the breccia pipe underlain by deeper and broader high-grade Cu-Au-Ag mineralization. This is seen in historic drilling at Chanape, where shallow gold-silver-bearing breccias such as Breccia 8 (i.e. 64 m of 0.87 g/t Au & 25 g/t Ag from 0 m; CHDDH012) are found 200 metres above deeper Cu-Au breccias such as Clint (i.e. 71 m of 1.92% Cu, 0.81 g/t Au & 41 g/t Ag from 232 m; CHDDH013).
The 677-hectare Chanape copper-gold project is accessed via 24 km of unpaved road from Turmalina’s operational centre in the town of San Damian. The project contains several strongly mineralized tourmaline breccia pipes that are clustered around a large, copper-molybdenum mineralized intrusion. Historical drill holes have confirmed mineralization in breccia pipes and recent surface geological mapping have added new mineralized bodies for follow-up.
Turmalina’s work to date has been focused on interpreting historic work while mapping and sampling over 50 documented tourmaline breccias and epithermal veins at the project and drill-testing the best targets. A phreato-magmatic breccia, measuring 700 by 200 metres has also been identified as a potential target for bulk tonnage mineralization, hosting a gold anomaly that is coincident with a chargeability high (IP).