Arizona Silver Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:AZS) has announced that drilling at its Philadelphia project in Arizona’s Mohave County has extended the strike of high-grade gold-silver mineralization.
The precious metals explorer said assays have been returned for two holes with two further holes in the laboratory as drilling continues.
“All of the assayed holes in this program have intersected potentially economic grade mineralization,” vice president for exploration Greg Hahn said. “The two new holes demonstrate how quickly the epithermal vein system changes with depth from no vein at the "shark fin", to a narrow vein 45 metres below the outcrop (PC22-89), to a thick vein interval 35 metres deeper (PC22-90). The vein continues to depth, with intercepts in holes PC22-88 and PC22-91 - with assays outstanding.”
READ: Arizona Silver receives “positive” Decision Memo from US Forest Service for drilling at its Sycamore Canyon project in Arizona
Holes PC22-89 and PC22-90 (beneath the "shark fin")
Arizona Silver said these holes extend recently drilled high-grade mineralization to the north under the "shark fin", a weakly mineralized breccia.
The two holes intersected the target as predicted, confirming the "boiling zone" model that guides its exploration. A high-grade vein was intersected 45 metres (m) down-dip from the outcrop, with the deeper of the two drill holes yielding the best thickness and grade as anticipated.
- PC22-90 (deeper hole)
- High grade (hanging wall) vein: 93.84 to 96.10m downhole depth (2.26m) at 11.81 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 39.31 g/t silver, within
- High-grade vein interval: 91.68 to 99.70 metres (8.02m) at 7.50 g/t gold, 29.07 g/t silver, within
- Total mineralized zone: 82.41 to 113.41m (31.01m) at 2.38 g/t gold, 10.58 g/t silver
- PC22-89 (shallower hole)
- High-grade HW Vein : 72.59 to 73.54m (0.95m) at 11.20 g/t gold, 27.88 g/t silver, within
- Total mineralized zone: 60.67 to 81.71m (21.04m), 0.97 g/t gold, 1.33 g/t silver
"We followed these holes with PC22-91, a deep test below this mineralization,” Hahn continued. “The rig then moved 300 metres to the south to drill PC22-92, a core drill twin of a previous reverse circulation drill hole. That hole has been completed with the drill rig now sited on PC22-93, 350 metres north of the "shark fin." Assays are awaited.”
The company said the drill is currently on hole PC22-93, located 350m north of the two holes reported, drilling beneath a prominent hill of stockwork quartz in granite. The hole is currently down 54m, having intersected brecciated stockwork quartz in the Arabian Fault and in the footwall granite beginning at 27m depth. The hole is targeted for 180m, to test the full extent of the stockwork quartz system exposed on the hill.
It noted that no drill holes are testing the 350 metre-strike length between this hole and the two holes reported in this release. Meridian Gold drilled the upper 30m of the hill in the early 1980s with good results, but they failed to test the down-dip potential due to right-of-way limitations at the time. Those issues were eliminated in the late 1990s when the highway was relocated.
Vancouver-based Arizona Silver is focused on exploring gold-silver properties in western Arizona and Nevada.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com