www.marianaresources.com
Mariana Resources Ltd is a Guernsey incorporated investment holding company established to acquire potentially large or high value gold and copper-gold prospects in Chile, Argentina and other selected parts of South America.
The Group's strategy is to seek underexplored areas with potential for high grade polymetallic-gold epithermal/skarn mineralisation. Mariana brings to bear considerable field experience in this regard and early recognition of critical geological features is an important aspect.The Mariana Team brings together over 150 years of combined industry experience, with a specific South American focus.
Mariana and Minera IRL report good news from Argentina’s Deseado Massif
Argentina’s Deseado Massif gold-silver district was in focus today with with next door neighbours Mariana (LON:MARL) and Minera IRL (LON:MIRL,TSX-V:IRL) delivering upbeat news.
Minera’s Escondido project borders Mariana’s Calandria Sur – and according to analysts shares the same gold mineralisation.
Earlier Minera said it has now received assay results from nine new widely spaced holes into the Northern Breccia trend.
The drill programmme confirmed the mineralistion extends over almost 700 meters from the northern tenement boundary and remains open-ended toward both the east and south-east.
The best intersection into the bulk tonnage target area include 33.5 metres grading 0.89 grams per tonne and 2.83 grams of silver, including 10.2 meters at 1.83 grams of gold and 4.45 grams of silver.
“The recent drill results provide a significant step forward in progressing our immediate objective of probing the limits of mineralization on the Escondido Northern Breccia trend," said Minera chairman Courtney Chamberlain.
“A new fence of holes to the south east has confirmed continuity of gold/silver mineralization along strike of a newly defined chargeability high within a broad resistivity geophysical anomaly.
“This confirms a strong probability for disseminated sulphide mineralization within a silicified zone giving us another excellent target for the pending drilling program.”
Broker FinnCap delivered an upbeat assessment of today’s update and repeated its 117 pence sum-of-the-parts valuation of the stock, which today was trading 97.5 pence, up 5 pence.
Analyst Joe Lunn said: “The assay results from follow-up exploration drilling at the wholly-owned Escondido project in Patagonia expand the known mineralised footprint at the Northern Breccia zone.
“This gold mineralisation is common to both Escondido and Calandria Sur, part of Mariana Resources’ Las Calandrias project. We believe that our 16 pence per share speculative valuation of Escondido will now start to be priced into Minera.”
Mariana’s shares, meanwhile, also nudged higher after the group identified a new epithermal gold zone at the Nido Norte target of the Las Calandrias, which also contains Calandria Sur.
Nido Norte is one of the key target areas of the current campaign at Las Calandrias. Sixty-two holes for a total of 9,650 metres have been drilled during this third drill campaign at the gold and silver project.
Results from 12 exploratory drill holes within a 750 metre section of the 1.8 kilometre long La Despreciada vein-breccia structure confirmed the Nido Norte prospect as a prime target for follow-up drilling.
The best intersections included 26.3 metres at 1 gram per tonne of gold and 8 grams of silver from 55 metres and two metres at 3.9 grams of gold and 6 grams of silver from 33 metres. Follow-up drilling is now testing this 1.8 kilometre zone for higher grade targets at depth.
Chairman John Horsburgh said: "Mineralisation intersected is considered by Mariana geologists to be consistent with the upper parts of a high-level epithermal precious metal system.
“Consequently, deeper exploration drilling along the 1.8km Despreciada vein-breccia structure is underway to further investigate the epithermal gold vein system and its bonanza grade potential. Additionally, the structural setting at Nido Norte and Calandria Norte enhances the potential of a number of unexplored structures across the dome field."
Mariana is expecting further assay results from a total of 21 scout holes drilled at other El Nido targets - including Nido Sur and Gamekeeper prospects. No significant assays were received for seven scout holes at the Nido Oeste target area.
The share price, which is up 166 per cent in the past year, hit 43.5 pence earlier in session before settling at 42.98 pence, up 0.6 pence.
FinnCap’s Lunn repeated his 64 pence a share price target today. “Assay results from 12 scout exploration holes at the Nido Norte goldfield prospect within the wholly owned Las Calandrias tenements in Patagonia are encouraging,” he said.
“But it is clear that more drilling is required to increase confidence that potentially economic gold bearing structures are present in addition to the bulk tonnage mineralisation at Calandria Sur.”
