JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The exit by Cerro Vanguardia (CVSA) from its joint venture (JV) with     CTSX-listed Mirasol Resources for the Claudia gold-silver project, in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province, is complete.

Mirasol noted on Thursday that it had received the full exploration data set comprising the results of CVSA's $1.97-million exploration programme completed at Claudia. It will also receive a $205 000 payment from CVSA for uncompleted exploration commitments.

“[Mirasol] would like to recognise the expenditures and important technical input from our former partner and its exploration staff during the joint venture period, which have made a significant contribution in advancing the geological knowledge at the project,” noted Mirasol CEO Stephen Nano.

“Mirasol remains fully committed to further exploration at the project and is at an advanced stage of negotiating a new joint venture for the prospective, large-scale Claudia gold and silver project,” he added.

CVSA’s 7 525.9 m of diamond core (DDH) and reverse-circulation (RC) drilling in 64 holes at Claudia provide a partial test of the Io, Europa, Calisto and Sinope vein trends at the Curhaue prospect, and the Rio Seco prospect, which deliver valuable geological cores and samples, as well as drilling-related assay results.

A preliminary block model prepared by CVSA regarding the gold and silver distribution for the Curahue prospect Io vein zone, which at a 0.25 g/t gold equivalent cutoff outlines a near-surface mineral inventory of about 100 000 oz gold at an approximate grade of 1.09 g/t gold equivalent, is part of a larger under-explored gold and silver target at Curahue.

“At present, the block model is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to date to define a mineral resource. Further, there is uncertainty as to whether further exploration will result in this target being delineated as a mineral resource.”

An infrared spectrometer alteration model and targeting study, commissioned by CVSA post drilling, which concludes the Curhaue Io vein and Rio Seco vein zone, as explored to date, may represent the top of the mineralised interval in an epithermal precious metal system, suggesting significant depth potential for further mineralisation to be discovered at the prospect.

CVSA is 92.5% owned by AngloGold Ashanti and 7.5% by Fomicruz Sociedad del Estado, which is a company whose sole shareholder is the State of the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.