Drilling by the Company at the Project has already established the SFdLA breccia pipe as one of the highest-grade tourmaline copper-gold-silver breccias ever discovered. As tourmaline breccia pipes occur in clusters the Company expanded the project in 2021 from 3,400 ha to 34,600 ha (see news release dated
The 2022 field program is focused on defining and drill testing new targets in the expanded project area, with detailed mapping and sampling currently underway at high-priority drill targets, including several recently discovered intrusion-related gold systems:
- Ethan: an 80 m wide tourmaline breccia pipe with widespread copper oxides that has returned rock chip values of up to 5.2 % Cu, 3.3 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag: similar or better size, grades and geology as at the surface of the SFdLA breccia pipe.
- Amarilla: a 750 m long quartz vein system, up to 6 meters wide, composed of saccharoidal quartz and secondary Pb carbonates that has returned rock chip results up to 3.5 g/t Au, 565 g/t Ag and 30 % Pb. Amarilla is similar to several economic vein systems that have been mined along the regional belt.
- Irma: an intrusion-related Au-Ag-Cu system exposed over a 550m strike length, with sheeted horizontal quartz veins that returned assays of 1 to 6 g/t Au, 150 to 524 g/t Ag and 0.5 to 4.5 % Cu (maximum 17.3 % Cu).
- Tres Magos South: an intrusion-related Au-Ag system with a 100m wide zone of horizontal sheeted quartz veins hosted in sericite-altered granodiorite. Initial assays have returned grades of 3 to 8 g/t Au, up to 367 g/t Ag and up to 17 % Pb.
In addition to current sampling at the above projects, detailed work will commence in the next few weeks at several previously reported projects including the 30 to 70 m wide Los Pirquineros breccia pipes (rockchips of 0.7 to 3.5 g/t Au, 10 to 145 g/t Ag and 0.2 to 1.2 % Cu), the 100m wide
For reference, sampling of the weathered ‘leached zone’ above the high-grade SFdLA breccia pipe has average values of <0.1 to 0.3 % Cu, 0.1 to 5 g/t Au and 5 to 50 g/t Ag.
Dr.
“Following the systematic exploration of our new ground in 2021 we are looking forward to testing the high priority targets discovered to date. The Ethan breccia is almost identical to the surface expression of the high-grade SFdLA pipe and is an obvious promising target that we look forward to drill testing. Our team is now conducting detailed studies at several other highly encouraging breccia systems, including Los Pirquineros and
The identification of numerous intrusion-related gold systems within the granodiorite body in the centre of our project area is very significant as these systems are typically characterised by relatively large tonnages.
Our
We retain a strong cash position and are fully funded to conduct our exploration plans for 2022. We look forward to keeping the market informed as we explore and test these exciting new targets over the coming months.”
The company is currently reviewing drilling options and preparing access roads to high priority prospects.
Other Projects
Field work at the company’s Chanape copper-gold project in
The Company expects to receive the final permit to drill at Chanape in the next 2-3 months, and field work will recommence at the end of the summer wet season.
COVID-19
Approximately 119,000 cases of COVID-19 have now been recorded in the province of San Juan, with an average of 3100 new cases a day. Most of the population has now been vaccinated, with 87% of the population of San Juan having received at least one dose of vaccine, 72% having received two doses, and 20% having received three doses
All staff on site are fully vaccinated and the Company has applied rigorous protocols to minimize the spread of COVID-19 to our team and the community. These protocols have been approved by the authorities of the province of San Juan, and both
About the
The 34,600 ha
On Behalf of the Company,
Dr.
Website: turmalinametals.com
Address: #488 - 1090 West Georgia St,
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Statements
About
Sampling and Analytic procedure:
All drill holes are PQ, HQ or NQ diameter diamond core holes. Drill core is collected at the drill site and transported by vehicle to the Turmalina core logging facility in
Qualified Person: The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the
Forward Looking Statement: This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates", "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed", "positioned" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks (including those risk factors identified in the Corporation’s prospectus dated
There is no assurance when the government-imposed measures related to COVID-19 in
Figure 1 – Current exploration targets at the
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0200ab5d-7ab7-449d-92c3-d4cb3fd944c0
Figure 2 – Current progress of soil survey in the Santa Barbra 1 licence. The licence is located to the north of the Companies original holdings, with recent exploration identifying numerous vein, breccias and intrusion-related systems. To date over 4400 soil samples have been obtained on a 100m grid, with initial analysis by portable XRF (pXRF) defining several large geochemical anomalies that will received detailed follow up exploration. The largest copper anomalies in the survey match the extent of the recently discovered intrusion-related gold systems at Tres Magos South, Irma and
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/23b62060-17b9-4644-b523-493ebd976cd7
Figure 1 – Current exploration targets at the San Francisco Project .
Recent exploration has focused on mapping and sampling new acquisitions to the north of our original holdings. This exploration has identified numerous mineralised vein, breccia and intrusion-related (‘I.R.’) systems, with breccia surface grades comparable to those found on the surface of the SFdLA breccia pipe.
Figure 2 – Current progress of soil survey in the Santa Barbra 1 licence.
The licence is located to the north of the Companies original holdings, with recent exploration identifying numerous vein, breccias and intrusion-related systems. To date over 4400 soil samples have been obtained on a 100m grid, with initial analysis by portable XRF (pXRF) defining several large geochemical anomalies that will received detailed follow up exploration. The largest copper anomalies in the survey match the extent of the recently discovered intrusion-related gold systems at Tres Magos South, Irma and Cerro Mesa .
2022 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source