Pinnacle Silver & Gold Corp (TSX-V:PINN, OTCQB:PSGCF, FRA:P9J) said on Tuesday that surface and underground sampling at its El Potrero gold-silver project in Mexico has confirmed significant mineralization in the Estrella vein.
The company reported that limited underground workings measuring 42.5 metres in length revealed two mineralized zones.
Channel sampling returned 5.49 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 48 g/t silver over an average width of 0.72 metres and a strike length of 12 metres, and 1.87 g/t gold and 51 g/t silver over 1.1 metres and 22.5 metres of strike length. Individual samples assayed up to 17.7 g/t gold and 24 g/t silver.
Surface mapping traced the vein for nearly 150 metres along strike, reaching widths of up to six metres at its northern extent, and the system remains open in both directions. Surface sampling grades reached 3.35 g/t gold and 204 g/t silver, Pinnacle said.
Robert Archer, Pinnacle’s CEO, highlighted the significance of the findings. “The identification of high grades of gold and silver mineralization in the Estrella vein is a key development for the Potrero Project,” he said. “The vein is roughly 500 metres southwest of the main Dos de Mayo structure that hosts the three principal mines on the property, significantly expanding the size of the mineralized system both laterally and vertically.”
Archer noted that the elevation of La Estrella at 1,880 metres above sea level, compared with Dos de Mayo exposures between 1,490 and 1,570 metres, suggests the potential for up to 400 metres of vertical continuity in the epithermal system. The vein exhibits brecciated, lattice bladed and banded textures with clay minerals and oxide formations, characteristic of upper portions of low-sulphidation epithermal systems.
At the historic La Dura 2 mine, surface sampling extended the strike length of previously identified gold-silver mineralization to about 45 metres, with assays including 6.89 g/t gold and 208 g/t silver over 1.4 metres. “The zone will be drilled from surface as soon as possible,” Pinnacle said.
The Estrella vein trends north-south. Projections indicate the vein could intersect the Dos de Mayo structure 600-800 metres along strike, a configuration that often hosts significant mineralization in similar vein systems.
A total of 62 underground channel samples and nine surface samples were collected along the Estrella vein, with 35% of underground samples assaying above 1 g/t gold and 27% above 31 g/t silver, Pinnacle said.
The company plans systematic channel sampling in the coming weeks to support delineation drilling.