Alto grado en Mirasol
AIMSA-SantaCruz
La minera Mirasol Resources anunció el pasado viernes los resultados finales de su campaña de exploración 2010/2011 en su propiedad Virginia, ubicada unos 100 kilómetros al sudoeste de Las Heras, en la provincia de Santa Cruz.
La campaña consistió en la realización de 115 pozos, que totalizan 9.266 metros de perforaciones. Merced a los mismos, se definieron cuatro depósitos con alto grado de plata en las vetas Julia y Naty.
De acuerdo a la información publicada por la compañía junior, estos depósitos –identificados como Julia Norte, Julia Central, Julia Sur y Naty– muestran tras los estudios, potencial económico para ser explotados.
Entre los resultados más significativos de la campaña, se destacan el pozo VG-6A, que intersectó 24,27 metros con 326 gramos de plata por tonelada (con una tasa de recuperación del 96%), que incluyen 5,48 metros con 1.38 gramos de plata con tonelada con tasa de recuperación del 98%.
También se destaca en el informe el pozo VG50A –en Julia Central– que devolvió un resultado de 28,25 metros con 220 gramos de plata por tonelada (con tasa del 98%), incluyendo 18,11 metros con 303 gramos de plata por tonelada, con tasa de recuperación del 96%.
Los depósitos se localizan a una profundidad de hasta 105 metros, presentan un promedio de 50 a 200 gramos de plata por tonelada, y actualmente se encuentran abiertos a lo ancho y en profundidad en varios sectores.
Mirasol Summarizes Virginia Silver Project Drill Results on Four Deposits from the 2010-11 Drilling and Plans 2011-12 Work
Mirasol Resources Ltd. announces the final results from the 2010-2011 diamond drilling campaigns at the 100%-owned Virginia Silver Project, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Drilling on the Julia and Naty veins has outlined four mineral deposits with potentially economic silver grades. Results from the final fourteen re-drilled holes are presented here and include significant silver intersections with excellent core recovery, among them hole VG-6A containing 24.27 metres of 326 grams per tonne (g/t) silver with 96 percent core recovery, including 5.48 metres of 1,038 g/t silver with 98 percent recovery from the Julia North deposit. At Julia Central, VG-50A contains 28.25 metres of 220 g/t silver with 98 percent recovery including 18.11 metres of 303 g/t silver with 96% recovery. In addition, recent scout holes at Naty Extension, Ely South and Martina (Figure 1 and news release of July 18, 2011) are examples of zones that are a high priority for follow-up drilling in a planned 2011-2012 campaign.
Drilling in 2010 and 2011 systematically tested 1,780 metres of strike length of the 9,600 metres of veining outlined to date at the Virginia Silver District, in 115 holes totaling 9,266 metres. Drilling has defined four silver deposits at Julia North, Julia Central, Julia South and Naty Vein (Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5) with potentially economic silver grades and widths, at a nominal drill spacing of 50 by 50 metres or closer.
All four silver deposits are mineralized from surface, and are highly oxidized to the lower limit of drilling, which is as much as 105 metres deep vertically (Table 1). The silver deposits are characterized by a high-grade, central zone of mineralization with intersections typically in the range of 1.5 to 5.3 metres true width containing hundreds to a few thousand of grams per tonne g/t silver. This central zone is surrounded by a broad halo of greater than 30 g/t silver (Figure 6). The true widths of the full mineralized zone at a cutoff of 30 g/t silver are frequently between 10 and 20 metres, and reach as much as 60 metres wide, with grades typically in the range of 50 to 200 g/t silver. The four mineralized bodies remain open at depth and along strike in many areas.
Recently announced high-grade, silver intersections (news release July 18, 2011) from scout holes on previously untested segments of the Ely, Naty Extension and Martina veins (Figure 1) highlight the scope for further discovery of new silver deposits in the still sparsely-drilled Virginia Silver District.
A total of 21 holes were re-drilled in the Julia North, Julia Central and Naty Vein to improve core recovery, thereby increasing confidence in the reliability of drill intersections (news release of June 9, 2011). The final fourteen re-drilled holes are presented in Appendix A. The twin holes were drilled with their collars sited approximately one metre behind the original hole and inclined three degrees steeper, in order to intercept the same geological structures as nearly as possible. Recoveries were greatly improved in all re-drilled holes and now range from 84 to 100 percent. Mirasol believes that the quality and reliability of the drill database was substantially improved as a result of re-drilling the selected holes.
The long sections presented in Figures 2 to 5 have been prepared using assays and intercepts from re-drilled holes, excluding the original holes which were replaced by re-drilling, thus utilizing the most reliable information available. Both longitudinal sections and cross sections (Figure 6) clearly demonstrate the discovery of four deposits containing widths and grades of potential economic interest.
Salient intercepts from the re-drilled holes include holes VG-5A containing 33.38 metres of 149 g/t silver, including 19.93 metres of 201 g/t silver which includes 3.16 metres of 934 g/t silver; hole VG-6A containing 24.27 metres at 326 g/t silver including 5.48 metres at 1,038 g/t silver, and hole VG-15A containing 34.31 metres of 202 g/t silver, including 2.78 metres of 1,336 g/t silver, all estimated true width intercepts from the Julia North deposit. In addition, Julia Central hole VG-50A returned 28.25 metres of 220 g/t silver including 18.11 metres of 303 g/t silver, while hole VG-41A from the Naty Vein returned 46.82 metres containing 123 g/t silver, including 6.26 metres at 532 g/t silver (Appendix A).
Independent engineering estimates of silver resources will be required to accurately determine the quantity and grade of silver mineralization. Independent metallurgical test work is projected to commence in late 2011 to begin to determine the mineralogical characteristics of the oxidized deposits, and a process for recovering silver, a necessary step in determining economics for development of the Virginia Project. Mirasol believes the current drill density and improved recoveries of the 21 re-drilled holes will support future resource estimations. The geometry, surficial location, and deeply oxidized character of the mineralization, suggests potential for future development by bulk-mineable methods.
Mirasol's management team is pleased with the drill results from the Virginia Silver District that has rapidly moved from a new prospecting discovery to the definition of four silver deposits with one season of drilling. As the southern hemisphere spring season approaches, Mirasol is planning a drill program to focus on testing for new mineralized silver deposits adjacent to drill intersections at the Ely, Naty Extension and Martina veins in this expanding silver district. Mirasol Resources has made available a complete data set of drill locations and intersections on its website at www.mirasolresources.com.
