Canadian miner Yamana Gold has announced a positive exploration update for its Cerro Moro mine, which it says demonstrates a growing mineral resource base in new areas that could establish the Argentina mine as a long-life, high-grade gold and silver operation.
The exploration programme, which started in 2018, has led to the discovery of new mineralisation in several areas of Cerro Moro, with positive results in the core mine, as well as the newly discovered Naty zone about 25 km south of the core mine.
It has also extended historically known veins not currently in the mine plan, generating new targets for additional mineral resources.
The Naty zone occurs along a major property scale fault currently being explored along its 25-km length.
Work to date at Naty indicates the presence of high grades with above average widths of mineralisation. Among the more notable results are hole MD2925, which intersected 24.52 g/t gold and 113 g/t silver over 4.6 m (estimated true width), and hole MD2936, which intersected 13.74 g/t gold and 265 g/t silver over 2.0 m (estimated true width).
Yamana pointed out that the discovery of the Naty zone and initial drill results underlined the exploration potential of north-east-striking, district-scale fault structures on the property.
In the core mine area, high-grade intercepts were reported in the Nini Extension, Tres Lomas, Michelle, and Deborah sectors. In the Martina and Escondida sectors, select drill intercepts exceeded 100 g/t gold.
The exploration programme started in 2018 and will run for four years. It combines soil and rock geochemistry, ground geophysics, surface geological and alteration mapping, and reconnaissance drilling.
Through the third quarter of 2019, more than 9 700 soil samples and 5 300 rock samples have been analysed, 76 line kilometres of controlled source audio-magnotelluric surveys have been completed, and 23 400 m of reconnaissance reserve circulation and diamond drilling have been completed.
ORGANULLO, ARGENTINA
Meanwhile, TSX-V-listed Latin Metals announced separately on Wednesday that Yamana had started drilling at the Organullo gold project, in Argentina.
Yamana has an option to acquire an initial 70% interest in Organullo from Latin Metals.
A diamond drill programme has started on the property and Yamana plans to complete about 3 300 m of diamond drilling for a total of 16 exploration drill holes.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yamana may exercise the option by delivering a prefeasibility study that reports an aggregate measured and indicated mineral resource of at least one-million gold-equivalent ounces by the sixth anniversary of the effective date of the agreement, complete property-related expenditures of at least $5-million in the aggregate; and cash payments of $1.25-million in the aggregate.