Continuum Resources finds gold and silver at Natividad
2005-03-14 11:43 ET - News Release
Mr. Lawrence Dick reports
CONTINUUM RESOURCES LTD.: NEW TUNNELING CONFIRMS GOLD-SILVER MINERALIZATION IS OPEN TO THE NORTH OF HISTORIC MINE WORKINGS IN THE NATIVIDAD MINE, OAXACA, MEXICO
Continuum Resources Ltd. has discovered epithermal vein-hosted gold and silver mineralization on the north side of a major crosscutting fault, which marked the northern limit of historic mining, at its Natividad gold-silver deposit. With the confirmation that the precious metals-hosting vein system has been laterally offset by the fault, but otherwise continues along strike, the deposit is now open and unexplored toward the north. The important historically producing deposit is located near the city of Oaxaca, in Oaxaca state, southern Mexico, and was the largest gold producer in the state.
Continuum has been rehabilitating underground tunnels at Natividad to access areas of historic mining, and has completed approximately 800 metres of exploration tunnel rehabilitation to access the potential on-strike projection of the vein system, north of the crosscutting Capulalpan fault. The tunnelling has confirmed that the four principal vein systems that hosted past production have been offset by the fault, and continue unexplored toward the north (the Northern Extension zone). Channel sampling completed on two-metre intervals on one of the four Northern Extension zone veins has yielded an average grade of 7.25 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 279 g/t of silver over an exposed strike length of 38 metres. The most significant gold intersection returned 16.40 g/t gold over a width of 3.90 metres. It is emphasized that the sampling results are from an exposed length of only 38 metres, and from just one of at least four separate, subparallel-striking veins, which comprise the deposit. Underground tunnelling is presently cleaning old exploratory tunnels, which will intersect all four veins systems in the area immediately north of the Capulalpan fault, and will provide exposures for additional channel sampling across the entire mineralized system.
CHIP CHANNEL SAMPLE RESULTS
Level 1, North Exploration drive,
Natividad mine, from north to south
Sample Sampled Gold Silver
width (m) (g/t) (g/t)
20884 1.0 6.3 1,165
20885 0.9 8.78 624
20870 0.4 23.10 2,400
20886 1.1 29.70 262
20871 0.5 17.75 442
20888 1.0 3.41 67
20872 0.4 2.08 60
20893 0.8 1.48 162
20894 0.8 6.04 734
20873 0.7 1.82 57
20897,8 1.9 2.41 188
20899 1.2 0.40 70
20874 0.8 1.29 151
20900 1.9 2.01 76
23603 2.3 2.78 380
23606,7,8 3.9 16.40 115
20875 0.3 2.70 467
23609,10,11 4.9 4.21 85
20876 1.1 8.76 399
20877 0.5 0.47 52
20878 0.6 0.67 21
.........
Natividad is a bonanza-grade epithermal gold-silver deposit that has produced approximately one million ounces of gold and 23 million ounces of silver since records were kept beginning in the 1930s, although production began in the late 1700s. Small-scale production continues at present. Historic production was from shale-hosted parallel-trending bonanza-grade quartz-adularia veins ranging up to 1,000 g/t gold and over 4,000 g/t silver. The multiple veins have variable widths up to five metres, and average approximately 1.5 metres. Average grades are estimated to have been in the order of 20 g/t gold and over 300 g/t silver, while bonanza-grade ore shoots produced much higher grade ores (source: historical mining records at the mine site). Mine records from 1948 to 1960 show an average annual grade of the ore mined as ranging between 10 to 61 g/t gold, and between 264 to 1,072 g/t silver.
In news reported in Stockwatch on Jan. 26, 2005, Continuum released initial results of sampling from active mine openings south of the Capulalpan fault, which tabulated channel samples containing up to 206 g/t gold (across 0.90 metre), and 4.1 kilograms per tonne silver (across 0.40 metre). The average grade of all samples taken from level 6 of the mine was 32.16 g/t gold and 871.1 g/t silver over a true width of 0.84 metre.
Additional sampling of levels 4 and 6 of the deposit has returned similar, high-grade results, as shown in the table below. The most significant assay is 122.5 g/t gold and 7,450 g/t silver (7.45 kilograms per tonne) over a true width of 1.0 metre.
CHIP CHANNEL SAMPLES
Over active stopes on levels 4 and 6,
Natividad mine
Sample Level Channel Gold Silver
width (g/t) (g/t)
20854 4 0.3 46.7 7,990
20855 4 0.3 1.62 435
20856 4 0.2 2.06 971
20857 4 0.3 1.54 266
20858 4 0.5 16.30 2,170
20859 4 0.7 3.30 540
20860 4 1.3 0.88 182
20861 4 0.5 4.39 913
20862 6 1.2 68.90 626
20863 4 0.6 0.43 8
20864 4 0.4 4.18 299
20865 4 0.6 0.39 35
20866 6 0.6 12.85 52
20867 6 1.4 0.91 31
20868 6 1.0 122.50 7,450
20869 6 0.2 68.60 1,550
20881 4 0.85 4.87 2,710
20882 4 1.0 2.39 1,835
20883 4 0.6 20.6 4,550
...........
Continuum will continue with tunnel rehabilitation as preparation for underground diamond drilling, which is planned to commence by the end of March, 2005. Objectives for the underground drilling will be:
to test the potential depth continuation of historically mined ore shoots over approximately 2.0 kilometres of historically mined strike length; and
to test the newly confirmed Northern Extension zone with fans of drill holes vertically above and below the level 1 tunnels.
In addition, new tunnelling will follow the strike extension of the veins in the Northern Extension zone toward the north, providing new exposures for channel sampling and access for additional drill stations.
The qualified person for this project, under the definition established by National Instrument 43-101, is Lawrence Dick, PhD, PGeo. Additional supervision in the field and sampling quality assurance was provided by Chris Osterman, PhD, a registered professional geologist in the state of Arizona. Geochemical analyses were carried out by ALS Chemex in North Vancouver, B.C.
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