Minco gives drilling update
By StockMarketWire | Mon, 15th September 2014 - 09:13
Minco announces the start of a four-hole (525 metre) exploration drilling programme on its zinc/lead/copper VMS project in Buchans, central Newfoundland, Canada.
The programme will test for shallow extensions to the former Lucky Strike orebody, where Asarco mined 5.6 Mt averaging 18.4% Zn, 8.6% Pb, 1.6% Cu, 112 g/t Ag & 1.7 g/t Au.
Drilling will focus within an area 150 metres south of the former mine workings, where historic shallow drilling intersected high-grade massive sulphides but with poor core recoveries experienced by historic, small-core diameter drilling.
Recent relogging of archived drill cores by Minco during its summer 2014 exploration program suggests high-grade massive sulphide mineralization occurs within this area at depths of less than 100 m beneath a shallow, south-dipping fault structure.
Additionally Minco's recent interpretative work suggests that mineralization in the area may be more continuous than previously thought; potentially representing a near surface, continuous mineralized zone with potential for further extensions down dip to the south and west.
The area being targeted lies partially within the area of the proposed open pit of the Lundberg deposit as defined in the positive Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") completed in 2011, as well as revised pit designs generated since Minco updated and expanded the Lundberg resource in 2013.
While this mineralization may be of potential benefit to future development of the Lundberg deposit, this new drilling is being undertaken primarily as exploration of the potential for discovery of new high-grade massive sulphides south and west of the former Lucky Strike mine.
Minco last drilled in this area in 2012. At that time, vertical drill hole H-12-3453 intersected 2.0 metres averaging 4.05% Cu, 11.5% Pb, 22.7% Zn, 230 g/t Ag and 1.33 g/t Au between 29.2 and 31.2 m vertical depth.
Relogging undertaken by Minco in 2014 confirms that several historic drill holes intersected high-grade massive sulphides in this area, though not all intercepts were assayed and several holes encountered poor core recoveries that prevented accurate assessment of the width and grade of massive sulphides within those intercepts.
Highlights returned by historic drilling within this area include intercepts occurring at less than 70 m below surface, including hole H-234 that intersected 1.52 metres assaying 1.3% Cu, 9.6% Pb, 18.7% Zn, 8.6 g/t Ag, 1.7 g/t Au.
