Lucky Minerals (TSX-V:LKY, OTC:LKMNF) has told investors that geological mapping, trenching and channel sampling is continuing at the Wayka epithermal gold discovery at its 100%-owned 55,000-hectare Fortuna property in Ecuador.
The company noted that Wayka lies along an elevated ridge that trends northeast with elevations ranging from approximately 3,600 metres (m) to 3,700m above sea level and is bound to the East by the El Buitre Porphyry and to the West by the Emma Porphyry.
"Work at Wayka's Kelly Zone is continuing,” the company’s president and CEO Francois Perron said in a statement. “The geological team is expanding the scale of the mineralized system at surface, and it remains open in all directions.”
READ: Lucky Minerals reveals promising gold results from the Kelly Zone at its Fortuna property in Ecuador
The company said channel 20 returned 1.04 grams per ton (g/t) gold across 13m in the Kelly Zone. This new channel was designed to follow up Trench 12 which was previously reported with an average of 1.21 g/t gold across 10m.
Trench 12 was oriented in a northeast direction which is the general trend of many structures in the area. Channel 20 was completed to cut across the structure, where outcrop availability makes it possible, Lucky Minerals said.
Rock saw channel sampling was completed within a breccia zone with subrounded to subangular fragments comprised of mostly altered dacite, some remnant fragments of meta-granite and schist in a silica-limonite matrix, with mainly silicified and advanced argillic altered fragments.
It lies within a large breccia structure measuring, based on outcrop availability, at least 60m by 25m, and remains open in all directions with a general trend to the northeast. Furthermore, Channel 20 remains open in both directions, the company added.
Lucky Minerals noted that both Channel 20 and Trench 12 lie within a breccia zone that coincides with a magnetic low. The location of the breccia zone which coincides with a magnetic low is significant, even more so by the fact that these breccias do carry gold, it added.
Magnetic low highlights potential of other areas
The low mag anomalies result from the passage of hydrothermal fluids through rocks which destroy magnetite and cause the low magnetic signatures, the company explained. The fluids alter the rocks producing alteration zones such as silicification and advanced argillic altered rocks which have been identified in the Kelly breccia zone.
"The mineralization in this area is hosted in volcanic rocks which is different than that observed at the Discovery Zone 700m to the south,” Perron continued. “This area is exciting as it coincides with a magnetic low which highlights the potential of the other areas with a similar magnetic signature in and around Wayka.”
As geological field work at Wayka continues, Lucky Minerals said it anticipates its understanding of the mineralized system to improve as more detailed work is completed. At present, Wayka has been observed to remain open in all directions.
Current field work is focused on surface trenching around the Kelly and Discovery zones. There are approximately 60 gold assays pending.
Lucky Minerals is an exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in proven districts with the potential to host world-class deposits. Lucky owns a 100% interest in the Fortuna property.
Fortuna comprises 12 contiguous, 550 square kilometres (sq km) exploration concessions and sits in a highly prospective, yet underexplored, gold belt in southern Ecuador.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com