Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSX-V:KTN) said its joint-venture partner Aztec Minerals Corp has received the final results of gold and multi-element analysis for its 2021-2022 reverse circulation (RC) drill program on the Cervantes property in Sonora, Mexico.
The program comprised 5,249 meters in 26 RC drill holes, testing four targets (called Purisima East, California, Jasper and California North), the company said.
Notably, the California zone of near-surface, oxide gold mineralization was successfully expanded, and one deeper drill hole (22CAL-018) intersected a high pyrite zone anomalous in copper, molybdenum, gold and silver. That corresponds well with the top of large, strong IP chargeability anomaly, the company said, noting that Pyrite shells typically surround and overlie copper porphyry mineralized zones.
READ: Kootenay Silver says JV partner Aztec Minerals hits “best hole yet” at Cervantes project in Mexico
Within hole 22CAL-018, Aztec Minerals said that visible, estimated pyrite contents increased from approximately 1% to approximately 3 to 5% on average, molybdenum increased from a 14 parts per million (ppm) to 116 ppm on average and copper increased from a 51 ppm to 578 ppm on average.
Additional drill results at the California target have continued to return anomalous gold mineralization, and multi-element inductively coupled plasma (ICP) results showed good relationships between gold, copper, bismuth, silver and arsenic. More specifically, prospective grades and widths of copper and silver support a potential porphyry deposit at depth, the company said.
The primary focus of the Phase 2 RC drill program at Cervantes is to expand the previously drilled California zone by completing two drill hole fences parallel to and on either side of the 2017-18 Phase 1 drill hole fence, the company said. To date, every hole drilled at California has intersected near-surface, oxidized gold mineralization with minor copper oxides.
A full breakdown of the results can be found here.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel