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Mariana Resources, the AIM quoted exploration and development company focused in Peru and southern Argentina, announces further positive results from its recently completed 2,084m drill campaign at the copper-gold-silver Soledad prospect in Peru , located in the prospective Cordillera Negra metallogenic province, some 34 km south of the Pierina gold-silver mine operated by Barrick Gold Corporation.
The diamond drill programme tested a combination of targets which included high level porphyry, quartz-tourmaline breccia pipes, breccia root zones and adjacent concealed porphyry targets within a 1.0 km diameter area of interest which has yielded strong breccia mineralisation results to date (Fig 2).
Overview:
– SDH-012 intersected strong quartz-tourmaline-sulphide mineralisation at Breccia 5 with the following down-hole intervals* (Fig 3):
139m @ 0.44% Cu, 1.4 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag from 87m
Incl. 43m @ 0.60% Cu, 2.6 g/t Au, 23 g/t Ag from 87m
Strongly anomalous molybdenum was also intersected at deeper levels:
23m @ 27 ppm Mo, 0.4 g/t Au from 228m & 6m @ 224 ppm Mo from 345m
(*Not true widths, Breccia 5 diameter at about 200m below surface is estimated at 40-50m)
Encouragingly, three of the five breccia pipes tested in this campaign are well mineralised:
Breccia 1 (Approximate 250m depth extent of mineralisation )
-33m @ 1.0% Cu, 3.5 g/t Au, 23 g/t Ag from 54m (SDH-01)
-174m @ 1.2% Cu, 0.7 g/t Au, 114 g/t Ag from 92m (Hole SDH-09)
Breccia 5 (Approximate 225m depth extent of mineralisation)
-96m @ 0.9 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag from 33m (SDH-07)
-139m @ 0.4% Cu, 1.4 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag from 87m (SDH-12)
Breccia 6 (Depth extent not known)
-76m @ 0.5 g/t Au, 33 g/t Ag from 0m (SDH-05)
– Proximity of Breccia 5 to a porphyry-related centre of mineralisation is indicated by intensely altered granodiorite (potassic and phyllic) at breccia pipe base
– Results for Breccias 1 and 6 indicate potential for porphyry-related sub-centres of mineralisation at depth within the 1km diameter area of interest
– Analysis of all exploration and drilling results is in progress to generate targets for Stage II drill programme
Chief Executive Officer, Glen Parsons commented, “These promising results from our last deeper hole 12 in the initial drill programme at Soledad reaffirm our belief in the potential for a mineralised intrusive centre nearby and will focus our next stage of exploration. The strong quartz-tourmaline Cu-Au-Ag mineralisation in Breccia 5 that was intersected in hole 12 extends for some 225m from surface and sits above a transition to strong potassic and quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration, with some notable molybdenum zones.”
“These features support the promising potential for proximal centres of porphyry mineralisation at Soledad. We will now compile all results to date, update the geological model and generate further drill targets within the 1km diameter target area to test these centres. With this understanding we will be able to decide on the exciting next steps and update the market accordingly.”
“In the meantime, the minimum 3-hole programme is continuing at our Condor De Oro project, also in Peru, where previous wide-spaced drilling has discovered mineralisation related to a large multi-phased porphyry system I can report that Holes 6 and 7 were successfully completed to planned depths of 300m and 303m respectively. Sample preparation is in progress for analysis and results will be reported in due course. This initial drilling is aimed at understanding the geological setting, testing the mineralized system and evaluating the overall project potential.”
