Alicanto Minerals Ltd (ASX:AQI) has kicked off its drilling program at its Swedish Sala silver-lead-zinc project in fabulous fashion, returning high grades of each from the first hole drilled.
The first assays from Alicanto’s maiden drill hole at the Prince Node at Sala include the following intersections:
- 3.8 metres at 7.7% zinc and 9 g/t silver from 572.75 metres; and
- 6.8 metres at 123 g/t silver, 2.3% lead and 1.4% zinc from 589.75 metres, including 0.95 metres at 348 g/t silver, 5.9% lead and 4.06% zinc from 592.58 metres.
Assays are also pending from the second and third drill holes, both of which contain visible silver, zinc and lead mineralisation; two diamond drill rigs are currently operating on site.
Start me up
Alicanto managing director Peter George said the company could not have hoped for a better start to its drilling program.
“The grades are exceptional and support our belief that there is a lot more mineralisation to be found at Sala,” he said.
“The fact that this hole is 140 metres down-dip of the previous intersection and that the mineralisation remains open in every direction also supports our view.
“With the second and third holes showing very similar characteristics to this first hole, we are looking forward to more assays over coming weeks.”
The results form part of Alicanto’s preliminary 20,000-metre drilling program, which is the first modern exploration into the Sala and the Greater Falun copper-gold projects.
The history
The silver, lead and zinc mineralisation is adjacent to the historic Sala Mine, which over its lifetime produced more than 200 million ounces of silver at an average grade of 1,244 g/t; local grades as high as 7,000 g/t were reported.
Mining ceased in 1908 and no deep drilling has been completed at the system, which is interpreted to be a polymetallic skarn with geological similarities to major producing underground mines nearby.
Alicanto intersections represent a 140-metre step out down-dip from historical drill intersection of:
- 37.2 metres at 50g/t silver and 6.1% zinc and 15.9 metres at 157 g/t silver, and 4.2% zinc, which includes high-grade intervals of:
- 7.1 metres at 81 g/t silver, 10.4% zinc and 0.6% lead
- 5.5 metres at 69 g/t silver, 7.4% zinc and 0.8% lead
- 11.9 metres at 15 g/t silver, 8.1% zinc and 0.1% lead
- 9.85 metres at 203 g/t silver, 6.4% zinc 0.8% lead
- 0.8 metres at 1,034 g/t silver, 1.5% zinc, 2.4% lead
Location of major polymetallic skarn deposits surrounding the Sala Silver-Lead-Zinc Project including Garpenberg and Falun. AQI tenements shown in green.
- Daniel Paproth