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Exploration|Gold|Resources|Surface|System|Testing|Drilling
Exploration|Gold|Resources|Surface|System|Testing|Drilling
exploration|gold|resources|surface|system|testing|drilling

Yamana’s mineral extension drilling in South America continues to bear fruit

19th May 2020

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

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TSX- and NYSE-listed Yamana Gold says exploration drilling results at two of its mines – Jacobina, in Brazil, and El Peñón, in Chile – continue to show growth in mineral reserves and mineral resources.

Yamana says exploration at Jacobina in the second half of last year and through the first quarter of this year expanded higher grade zones in the Canavieiras Sul deposit, both down dip and along strike to the north towards Canavieiras Central, providing significant expansion of the known mineralised zone in the highest grade sector of the mine. 

Drilling down plunge of known high-grade mineralisation at the Morro do Vento deposit intercepted higher grades over good widths indicating excellent mineral resource expansion potential in this sector.

Yamana reports that exploratory drilling continues to demonstrate the potential of the João Belo Sul area adjacent to the João Belo mine, as well as at Morro da Viuva, located about one kilometre north of Canavieiras.

Surface exploration in the Serra Branca target area, located 12 km north of Canavieiras, has returned significant gold results from surface sampling along a strike length of more than 2 km.

“The exploration results, at minimum, support the extended mine plan scenario,” highlighted in the company’s recent Phase 2 expansion of the Jacobina mine.

“The extended case, which considers the addition of 9.5-million tonnes of plant feed, based on conversion of current mineral resources, with an average grade of 2.40 g/t, is the company’s new base case,” the company states.

Mine life under this scenario is forecast at 14.5 years; however, Jacobina has a long track record of increasing mine life and the latest exploration results underscore the likelihood that mine life will increase further under the extended case scenario at the contemplated throughput of 8 500 t/d.

Further, these results highlight the potential to bring higher grade areas into production earlier in the operation’s mine life.

Meanwhile, Yamana says that drilling at the El Peñón mine in the fourth quarter of last year, through the first quarter of this year, intercepted encouraging mineralisation at depth below existing mineral resources at the Bonanza, Sorpresa, and Pampa Campamento veins, as well as along strike at the Esmeralda vein, with all four veins demonstrating excellent potential for further mineral resource growth.

Drilling at depth below mineral resources at Pampa Campamento has delivered good results, including holes grading 6 g/t of gold and 189 g/t of silver over a horizontal width of 2.1 m.

At the Bonanza vein, deeper drilling in widely-spaced holes has also returned encouraging results, including a hole grading 9.1 g/t of gold and 167 g/t of silver over a horizontal width of 1.1 m.

Exploration drilling in 2019 on the Sorpresa vein demonstrated mineralisation in a gap in mineral resources, where both infill drilling and testing in the area down plunge has returned promising results.

At the Esmeralda vein, a secondary vein parallel to the prolific Bonanza structure, drilling has indicated good potential for extensions to the south of known mineral reserves. 

Yamana notes that surface exploration in the El Peñón district continued to generate drill targets for further exploration, such as the Cerro Seco area, a new zone located immediately adjacent to the core mine vein system that may reflect a continuation of the same vein geometry as the core mine.

“The discovery of new secondary veins along with extensions and offshoots of primary veins further underscore the resilience and potential of the vein system at El Peñón.

“The results support our view that mine life will exceed current mineral reserves and is at least consistent with the strategic life-of-mine of at least ten years. Additionally, because El Peñón has excess plant capacity, the discovery of extensions of primary vein structures provides flexibility to process more tonnage at higher grades, which would increase annual production.”

Edited by Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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