Yale Resources Mexican Focus
By James West
Ian Foreman, president of Yale Resources (TSX.V:YLL) has no hesitation in choosing Mexico as its primary exploration focus.
Mexico is the number one producer of silver in the world. The largest silver mine in the world is in Zacatecas, where we have signed a Letter Agreement with IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSX.V: IPT) to purchase up to an 80 % interest in three properties in the Zacatecas Silver District, Mexico.
Under terms of the Agreement, for each property, Yale must reimburse Impact the property purchase cost and then spend a minimum of US$ 100,000 on exploration within 18 months in order to earn a 65 % interest in the property. Yale will then have an option to increase its interest to 80 % by paying IMPACT US$ 125,000 in either cash or shares, at IMPACT's discretion. IMPACT will be the operator of the Zacatecas Venture.
The three areas of focus under the Zacatecas Venture are:
1. The San Sabino property is located approximately 8 km north of the Veta Grande processing plant. The property covers a 500m section of the San Sabino Vein marked by old workings and trenches. In the main showing area there is an old open cut and a small dump of run of mine material. Random samples from the dump assayed 303 g/t silver and a grade sample ran 834 g/t silver. The vein appears to be a strongly silicified shear mineralized with pyrite, galena and sphalerite. A chip sample taken from a remnant pillar across the open cut assayed 260 g/t silver across a true width of 2.35m.
2. The San Jose property is located 5 km northwest of the Veta Grande processing plant. The property has at least two veins and covers a 500 m section of the principal vein. There are two open shafts with approximately 50 meters depth to the water table and a third has collapsed. The ultimate depth of these shafts and the associated workings are unknown.
In the vicinity of the two primary shafts are three run of mine dumps. Of particular interest at San Jose are the very high grades from selected sampling of these dumps with the highest grades being 4,970 g/t (159.81 oz/t) silver, 6.74 g/t gold, 1.67 % lead, and 2.98 % zinc.
3. The Salvador property is located approximately 5 km southeast of the Veta Grande processing plant. Vein outcroppings and old workings indicate that the primary vein within the Salvador property can be traced for greater than 1 km. The central 400 m long section consists of open pits that trace a very well defined 2 to 5 m wide structure with a secondary vein nearby. Along the length of the vein there are three main shafts, one glory hole at a presumed vein intersection and another outside the principal vein area presumably for ore extraction, access and services. Each of the main shafts has an estimated depth of 60 m to the water table, but the true depth of the workings is unknown.
In the north of Mexico, Yale is earning a 75 % interest in the Urique Project by spending US$ 4.5 million on exploration and property acquisitions and issuing 1.5 million shares to Exmin Resources Inc. (TSX.V:EXM) over a five year term.
The Urique Project consists of 11 concessions covering 28,880 hectares and is located in the prolific Sierra Madre gold belt of northern Mexico, which has a well known history of gold and silver discovery and production.
It covers or surrounds seven mineralized areas with past mining activity. Each of these areas is related to large mineralized hydrothermal systems that have the potential to host bulk mineable resources. They are:
• El Platano: Reported to contain a 1.2 km long vein that averages 4 meters in width; 3 samples taken by the CRM, averaged 4.0 metres in width with 1% Cu and 84 g/t Ag.
• Los Alisos: A large visible iron oxide anomaly, possibly consisting of advanced argillic alteration, surrounding an intrusion at Cobriza with anomalous copper and gold values; the CRM has compared this area to El Sauzal prior to its discovery.
• El Frijolar: A alteration zone approximately one square kilometre in size that is rich in iron oxides. A 0.5 m vein is reported to outcrop for 50 meters - 2 samples by the CRM gave 4.2 g/t gold and 46.9 g/t gold.
• Urique: Consists of an epithermal vein district with as many as 18 small mines and prospects worked until the 1920's according to the CRM. Limited sampling by the CRM yielded local bonanza grade gold and silver values (86 g/t gold and 161 g/t silver) as well as locally important base metals values.
• San Pedro: Consists of an area surrounding small old workings that targeted numerous, generally narrow epithermal veins with local bonanza grades (35 g/t gold and 482 g/t silver) with anomalous values for various indicator elements such as arsenic, antimony and mercury.
• El Vergel: A large structure between 1.5 to 10 meters in width and mapped over a 2.5 km strike length. Local workings have been identified at the northern extent of the target area.
• Cuiteco: a large area that covers at least several square kilometres of strong silica-clay alteration; of six samples collected by Exmin only one sample contained anomalous copper and lead values as well as 2.59 % zinc.
Numerous plus-one million ounce gold deposits have been discovered in this 300 km long region of southwestern Chihuahua: including Mulatos (Alamos Gold), Dolores (Minefinders), Ocampo (Gammon Lake), as well as the El Sauzal mine (Glamis Gold). The Urique Project is located immediately north of Glamis's property and approximately 10 km north of the El Sauzal mine and extends 40 kilometers to the north where it borders the Monterde property (Kimber Resources).
The El Sauzal mine entered production in 2004 and was scheduled to produce 170,000 ounces in 2005. As of Dec. 31, 2005, the mine has proven and probable reserves of 15,821,000 tonnes grading 3.29 g/t gold (for a total of 1,673,000 ounces) and measured and indicated resources of 20,529,000 tonnes grading 2.73 g/t gold (for a total of 1,802,000 ounces)
In the State of Sonora in northern Mexico, Yale must make cash payments totalling US $250,000 over a 3 year period to earn a 100% interest in the Carol Property.
The Carol property consists of six mining claims that cover 758.14 hecares and is located 20 km north of the city of Alamos.
The Carol property is approximately 6 km north of Frontera Copper Corp.'s(TSX:FCC) Piedras Verdes copper porphyry deposit that has a reported proven and probable reserve of 191 million tonnes grading 0.36% copper and is expected to begin commercial production in the second half of this year. With the proximity of the Piedras Verdes mine, the Carol property has excellent infrastructure and there is road access to the core of the property.
The Carol Property is host to three distinct mineralized targets - the Balde copper-zinc-gold-silver skarn, the high grade Escondida shear zone, and epithermal vein hosted silver and gold:
1. The Balde skarn zone:
Skarn hosted copper-zinc-gold-silver mineralization has been identified in outcrop and float over an area that measures 800 metres by 700 metres through the southern portion of the property.
Historic sampling by previous companies, including Phelps Dodge, returned similar results over a wider sampling area. Width of sulphide mineralization has yet to be determined but gossans developed through this area range in widths from 25 to 40 metres. As a majority of the mineralization exposed on surface is very strongly oxidized there is the potential for a significant zone of supergene copper mineralization at depth.
2. The Escondida zone:
The Escondida zone is a copper mineralized north-south trending shear zone that is located approximately 1,200 metres northwest of the skarn zone. The shear has a reported width that varies from 4 to 7 metres. A historic sample from within a small adit returned 5.5 % copper, 3.18 % zinc, 0.99 g/t gold and 15 g/t silver over a width of 4 metres.
3. Epithermal vein zone:
Near the centre of the property is a reported narrow discontinuous epithermal vein that was mined in the 1980's and 90's by local miners. No production records detailing tonnage and grade are available but workings are known to go down to a depth of 12 metres.
So there is plenty to keep your eye on in Yale’s rather prolific existence. And with crews working full time on all three projects, near term share price appreciation is a distinct possibility.
