Cabral Gold Inc (TSX-V:CBR) has reported promising assay results from five diamond-drill holes completed at the MG gold-in-oxide blanket and reconnaissance drilling at the Alonso target, which identified a new gold anomaly north of Alonso at the Cuiú Cuiú Gold District, in Brazil.
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based junior resource company said it completed five diamond-drill holes (MET01-to-MET05) totaling 374 meters (m) at its recently identified MG gold-in-oxide blanket at the Cuiú Cuiú project in Brazil, with the objective of collecting material for rounding out metallurgical test work, including column leach tests at the Kappes Cassiday Lab in Reno, Nevada.
The work is “critical” to understanding the economic viability of this unconsolidated surface oxide mineralization at MG, which may be amenable to low-cost heap-leach processing, said the company.
READ: Cabral Gold reports more encouraging results from MG deposit, including high grades at the gold-in-oxide blanket
All five diamond-drill holes were in parts of the blanket with previous reverse circulation drilling or Diamond Drill Hole (DDH) results.
Diamond-drill hole MET04 drilled for metallurgical testing at the gold-in-oxide blanket at MG returned 70.8m at 1.0 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from surface, including 17m at 3.3 g/t gold from 41m depth. Similarly, diamond-drill hole MET05 returned 43.6m at 1.4 g/t gold from surface, according to the company.
Meanwhile, diamond-drill hole MET03 also completed at the gold-in-oxide blanket at MG returned 54m at 0.7 g/t gold from surface, including 21.8m at 1.4 g/t gold, and diamond-drill hole MET02 returned 13m at 0.9 g/t gold from surface and 21.7m at 0.8 g/t gold from 32.2m depth.
Reconnaissance drilling at Alonso
The Alonso target is located approximately 3.4 kilometers (km) southeast of the MG gold deposit and is characterized by numerous high-grade mineralized boulders that were found on surface. The firm reported on February 11, 2020 that the boulders had returned very high gold values of 11.3 to 200.3 g/t gold.
Cabral completed 816.5m in five reconnaissance diamond-drill holes testing around, and beneath, the Alonso high-grade boulder field (DDH230, 231, 234, 236, and 246). “None of the five holes intersected significant gold mineralization,” said the company, adding that this indicates that “the source of these boulders may be further afield than previously envisaged.”
However, recent reconnaissance stream-sediment sampling in the drainage 750m north-east of Alonso identified “very high levels of gold in stream sediments up to 1.65g/t gold”, said the company. These are significantly higher than those encountered in most other areas at Cuiú Cuiú.
In addition, the area is characterized by a very strong east-west trending magnetic anomaly and has peripheral historic placer gold workings. “The presence of these coincident features is remarkably similar to the MG gold deposit which is located 3.4km to the NW,” noted the company.
“This new stream-sediment anomaly constitutes a major new target at Cuiú Cuiú,” pointed out the company. As a result, it will require more soil sampling, trenching and geophysics before drilling.
“It is quite possible that the boulders that constitute the Alonso target could have been derived from this target area,” said Cabral Gold, which has named this new anomaly the Escondido target.
In a statement, Cabral CEO Alan Carter said: "We are extremely pleased with the assay results received on the five metallurgical test diamond drill holes recently completed at the MG gold-in-oxide blanket and look forward to receiving the results of the metallurgical test work during the first quarter of 2022, which will be key to understanding the economic viability of the blanket mineralization.”
“The identification of a major gold anomaly in streams which is coincident with a major east-west trending magnetic anomaly, 750m north-east of Alonso, opens up the possibility of a more distal source for the high-grade boulders. The fact that our exploration team continues to identify highly prospective targets in parallel with the drilling efforts is very encouraging and demonstrates the enormous potential of the Cuiú Cuiú gold district.”
Carter noted that Cuiú Cuiú is a district which contains “43 mainly high-grade targets” outside the two known gold deposits with resources.
“Cabral currently has four rigs turning on three separate targets," added Carter.
Meanwhile, diamond drilling at MG is continuing with results pending on an additional ten diamond drill holes. Diamond drilling is continuing at the primary Central gold deposit with results pending on eight holes from a total program of 43 planned diamond-drill holes. These are designed to further define the high-grade zones at Central. Previous diamond drilling at Central included 220.7m at 2 g/t gold including 9.8m at 17.9 g/t gold.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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