Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF) has reported new drilling results from its ongoing program at the Philadelphia project in Arizona, including the intersection of a 10-metre section of unbrecciated banded and massive quartz vein.
The intercept was encountered in core hole PC25-156, which cut approximately 10 metres of intact epithermal quartz vein within a broader 35.7-metre zone of quartz vein and quartz vein breccia.
The company said this is the first time drilling at the project has reached sufficient depth to intersect vein material with textures typical of high-grade deposits in the Oatman mining camp, located about 10 kilometres south.
It said that the new intercept represents a 59% increase in true thickness compared with drill hole PC25-155, which intersected the same zone 60 metres up dip.
Greg Hahn, vice president of exploration, said the results align with the company’s geological modeling of the low-sulphidation epithermal system.
“My understanding of this low sulphidation epithermal system predicted that with depth the system would be wider and potentially much higher grade as we penetrate the ‘boiling zone’ of the system,” Hahn said.
Hahn noted that the intercept shows a decrease in bladed calcite and an increase in quartz replacement of bladed calcite.
The interior of the vein displays what he described as “classic epithermal textures” such as finely layered colloform banding and thin alternating compositional layers.
He added that yellow quartz dominates the upper part of the intercept, while green, gray, and brown quartz dominate the lower section, a feature not previously observed in drill core from the project.
“In short, we believe the vein system has the potential to rapidly open up into high-grade zones capable of delivering substantially increased grades,” Hahn said.
The intercept, located at a depth of more than 300 metres in the vein system, remains open down-dip, according to Hahn. Modelling suggests the vein could extend for another 300 metres down-dip.
“Demonstrating the continuity of this vein along a strike length of 1 kilometre would establish a very significant discovery,” he said.
Shares of Arizona Gold & Silver were up 5% at midday Thursday around C$0.32.