Titan Minerals Ltd (ASX:TTM) has intersected several high-grade gold, silver and base metal epithermal veins at shallow depths in its maiden drill program at Meseta Prospect within the Linderos Project in southern Ecuador.
The company’s recent drill program at Meseta has confirmed that a shallow intermediate sulphidation epithermal gold system exists adjacent to the recently discovered Copper Ridge porphyry system.
Standout assays include:
- 7.22 metres grading 13.77 g/t gold, 12.90 g/t silver, 0.15% copper and 0.38% zinc from 66.28 metres, including 0.92 metres grading 31.50 g/t gold, 24.30 g/t silver and 0.25% copper from 68.28 metres and 0.58 metres grading 99.80 g/t gold, 89.90 g/t silver, 0.98% copper and 0.31% zinc;
- 4.88 metres grading 12.87 g/t gold, 6.04 g/t silver, 0.11 % copper and 0.41% zinc from 41 metres, including 1.64 metres grading 33.35 g/t gold, 11.28 g/t silver, 0.23% copper and 0.72% zinc from 44.24 metres; and
- 5.76 metres grading 3.72 g/t gold, 48.69 g/t silver, 0.25% zinc and 0.28% lead from 36.54 metres, including 0.73 metres grading 11.35 g/t gold, 73.30 g/t silver, 0.84% zinc and 1.24% lead from 37.35 metres.
Notably, Meseta is the first of several epithermal gold targets defined by Titan’s reconnaissance works within the Linderos Project to be drill tested, with high-priority prospects proximal to porphyry copper-gold sources driving epithermal gold mineralisation.
Epithermal mineralisation remains preserved
Titan CEO Melanie Leighton said: “These are exciting results for Titan which confirm the potential for significant high-grade gold, silver and base metals at the Linderos Project.
“The results demonstrate that the causal intrusion responsible for the recently discovered Copper Ridge porphyry system is also the plumbing to the Meseta intermediate sulphidation epithermal system.
“In many cases, these high-grade epithermal vein systems have been eroded and all that remains is the porphyry source.
“So, we’re excited that the Meseta epithermal mineralisation remains preserved, adjacent to its source, the Copper Ridge porphyry system, where recent drilling has demonstrated the potential for significant copper-gold porphyry mineralisation from shallow depths.
“We feel that we’re onto something big here, with our maiden drilling campaigns at both Meseta and Copper Ridge delivering promising results, and plenty of scope for extending mineralisation with strong vectors towards higher grade gold, silver and copper mineralisation.
“We now have a pipeline of high conviction targets to feature in forthcoming exploration work programs in 2023.”
About Linderos Project
Linderos is 20 kilometres southwest of the company’s flagship Dynasty Gold Project and comprises four contiguous concessions totalling more than 143 square kilometres in southern Ecuador’s Loja Province.
At the Meseta Prospect, high-grade epithermal gold mineralisation was initially identified in 2017 when artisanal workings on a breakaway slope were sampled.
In 2018, diamond drilling confirmed higher-grade gold mineralisation in fresh rock.
All drill holes intersected extensive hydrothermal-related alteration and localised gold mineralisation.
An initial 14-hole program for 1,270 metres of diamond drilling was completed by Titan in late 2022 and was designed to test the presence of plunging high-grade ore shoots at interpreted structural intersections.
Titan Minerals' southern Ecuador projects,