Lucky Minerals (TSX-V:LKY, OTC:LKMNF) Inc said it has received Terraspec analysis results for the soil samples from its ongoing work at the Wayka high sulfidation epithermal gold discovery at its 100%-owned Fortuna property in southern Ecuador.
A total of 1,027 soil samples were taken along a 50 x 50-meter grid at Wayka. The total grid area covered approximately 2.43 square kilometers (km2.)
Soil samples were submitted for Terraspec analysis in order to complement the information from the alteration mapping of rock chip samples. The company noted that outcrop availability is relatively low over the area.
READ: Lucky Minerals outlines two large gold areas at Wayka discovery ahead of a planned 3,000 metre drill program
The added information from the soil alteration mapping now confirms that the scale of the system at surface is approximately 2.4 kilometers (km) by 1.4 km at surface along a northeast trend. If we include the areas where only rock chip sampling was done, the scale expands to 3.2 km by 1.8 km which is also along a northeast trend.
"Wayka's alteration footprint at surface continues to expand and confirms the significant potential of the project,” said Lucky Minerals CEO François Perron in a statement.
“Our team of geologists is integrating all this information with the balance of the data that it has been gathering over the recent months. There are still a few pieces of information to integrate, and we expect target definition to be ready in the coming week or two. While the target areas are being defined by the geology team, work on logistics and socialization continues in order to start the drilling program."
The company said next steps at Wayka including drill hole targeting in preparation for the upcoming first 3,000 meters (m) phase of drilling.
Targeting will be informed by the following:
- Soils (just completed)
- Alteration mapping of Wayka project area (just completed)
- Geophysics (just completed, finalizing inversions)
- Trenches (ongoing)
- Structural analysis of Wayka area (fieldwork completed awaiting final report)
Meanwhile, the company said preparation work for mobilization of drilling equipment is underway for prospecting on anomalous areas.
The Fortuna Project is comprised of 12 contiguous, 550 km2 (55,000 hectares, or 136,000 acres) exploration concessions. Fortuna is located in a highly prospective, yet underexplored, gold belt in southern Ecuador.
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