VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 26, 2021 /CNW/ - Kootenay Silver Inc.
(TSXV: KTN) (the "Company" or "Kootenay") announces that an
exploration program has been approved by the Cervantes Joint
Venture. The plan calls for a two-phase, $1.13 million CDN exploration program in 2021 for
the Cervantes porphyry gold-copper
property in Sonora, Mexico. The
first phase calls for an $85,000
program of sampling and mapping. The second phase is a $1.05 million dollar drilling program to start
sometime in the fall. Aztec and Kootenay recently formed a 65/35
joint venture ("JV") respectively and the JV Management Committee
met last week to review and approve the 2021 program as detailed by
the operator in an Aztec news release today and para phrased
below.
The JV plans to commence work in the first quarter on a Phase 1,
$85,000 program of soil and rock
sampling and geological mapping (525 soils and 150 rocks will be
analyzed) to extend the 100 meter (m) by 100m geological and geochemical grid to the
north, west and east boundaries of the property. Mapping will focus
on detailed lithological, structural, and alteration mapping of the
California, California North, and
Estrella targets. View: Cervantes Phase 1 Proposed Sampling and
Mapping Plan
Subject to the results from Phase 1 and available funding, the
JV plans to initiate a Phase 2, $1.05
million, 22 hole, 5,000m
reverse circulation ("RC") drill program during the late third
quarter of 2021. Four main targets will be tested. View: Cervantes
Proposed Phase 2 RC Drilling Plan
- At the California target,
previously discovered extensive porphyry gold-copper mineralization
(drill intercepts up to 0.77 gpt gold over 160m), the JV will drill 14 infill and step-out
holes at a 50m spacing to expand and
define the area of mineralization, followed by two 500m deep holes to test the depth extent of the
strong IP chargeability anomaly
- At the California North prospect, one hole will test the
coincident IP chargeability/gold-copper-molybdenum anomaly
- At the Jasper prospect, one hole will test the outcropping
copper mineralization and copper-molybdenum anomaly
- At the Purisima East target, four holes will test the
high-grade gold mineralization in the Glory Hole mine working and
coincident IP chargeability and gold-copper-molybdenum anomaly
within a breccia along the rim of a porphyry intrusion
The primary objectives of the two phase 2021 exploration program
are to better define the open pit, heap leach gold potential of the
porphyry oxide cap at California,
evaluate the potential for deeper copper-gold porphyry sulfide
mineralization underlying the oxide cap, test for north and west
extensions of the California
mineralization at California North and Jasper, and assess the
breccia potential of Purisima East.
Cervantes Project Overview
Cervantes is a highly
prospective porphyry gold-copper-molybdenum property located in
southeastern Sonora state,
Mexico. The project lies 160km
east of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
within the famous Laramide porphyry copper belt approximately 265km
southeast of the Cananea porphyry
copper-molybdenum mine (Grupo Mexico). Cervantes also lies along an east-west
trending gold belt 60km west of the Mulatos epithermal gold mine
(Alamos Gold), 45km west of the La India mine (Agnico Eagle), and
40km northwest of Santana gold deposit (Minera Alamos). View: Cervantes Project
Location Map
- Large well-located property (3,649 hectares) with good
infrastructure, road access, local town, all private land, water
wells on property, grid power nearby
- Seven prospective mineralized zones related to high level
porphyries and breccias along a 7.0km east-northeast corridor with
multiple intersecting northwest structures
- Distinct geophysical anomalies, California target marked by high magnetic and
low resistivity anomalies, high radiometric and chargeability
anomalies responding to pervasive alteration
- Extensive gold mineralization at California zone, 118 soil samples average 0.44
gpt gold over 900m by 600m area, trench rock-channel samples up to 0.47
gpt gold over 222m
- Already drilled the first discovery hole at the California zone, intersected gold oxide cap to
a classic gold-copper porphyry deposit, drill results up to 0.77
gpt gold over 160m
- Excellent gold recoveries from preliminary metallurgical tests
on drill core from California
zone; oxide gold recoveries in bottle roll tests range from 75% to
87%
- California geophysical anomaly
wide open laterally and at depth, IP chargeability strengthens and
broadens to >500m depth over an
area 1100m by 1200m
- Three-Dimensional IP Survey conducted in 2019 extends strong
chargeability anomalies to the southwest covering Estrella,
Purisima East, and Purisima West,
coinciding well with alteration and Au-Cu-Mo soil geochemical
anomalies, all undrilled.
California Target
In 2017-18, while earning into the property, Aztec completed a
Phase 1, 17 diamond core hole drill program, totaling 2,675m (see news release dated June 26, 2018). Phase 1 drilling tested the
California target 900 m by 600 m
gold-in-soils anomaly that averaged 0.44gpt covering hydrothermal
breccias within a quartz feldspar porphyry stock intruding
Paleozoic siliciclastic sediments.
The Phase 1 drill program consistently intersected an oxidized
gold cap to a porphyry-type gold-copper-silver system at
California, including multiple
100+ meter widths of exceeding 0.40 gpt gold, spanning an
800m length and a 200m breadth, to a maximum vertical depth of
150m. The area tested by drilling
represents only 30% of the surface gold soil anomaly.
Mineralization at the California zone is open in all directions.
Highlights of the 2017-18 Phase 1 drill program are as follows:
- 160m @ 0.77 gpt gold incl
80m @ 1.04 gpt gold, 0.11% copper in
18CER010
- 139m @ 0.71 gpt gold incl
20m @ 2.10 gpt gold, 0.16% copper in
17CER005
- 118m @ 0.63 gpt gold incl
43m @ 1.18 gpt gold, 0.16% copper in
17CER003
- 122m @ 0.60 gpt gold incl
62m @ 0.88 gpt gold, 0.06% copper in
18CER007
- 170m @ 0.42 gpt gold incl
32m @ 0.87 gpt gold, 0.06% copper in
18CER006
Preliminary metallurgical tests on California drill cores were conducted in 2019
(see news release dated March 12,
2019). Drill core samples were grouped into 4 separate types
of mineralization: Oxide 1, Oxide 2, Mixed Oxide/Sulfide and
Sulfide. The preliminary results of bottle roll tests showed
excellent potential for heap leach gold recovery, as follows:
- 85.1% recovery on 2.0mm material and 94.3% on 75-micron
material in sample Oxide 1
- 87.7% recovery on 2.0mm material and 94.2% on 75-micron
material in sample Oxide 2
- 77.9% recovery on 2.0mm material and 89.0% on 75-micron
material in sample Mixed Oxide/Sulphide
- 51.2% recovery on 2.0mm material and 78.7% on 75-micron
material in sample Sulphide
Additional Targets
Purisima East – outcropping gossans, altered and mineralized
diatreme breccias and porphyry intrusions marked by a 700m by 600m
geochemical soil anomaly in 193 samples that average 0.25 gpt gold,
a small historic 'glory hole' mine where rock chip sampling
returned high-grade mineralization up to 44.6 gpt gold.
Estrella – outcrops of gossan and sulfides in silicified
Paleozoic sediments near quartz porphyry dikes with rock chip
samples up to 3.9 gpt gold and 2,010ppm copper.
Purisima West – a mirror image of
Purisima East in size and type of gossans, altered and mineralized
breccias and intrusions in association with gold and copper soil
anomalies.
Jasper – 2017 trenching returned skarn/replacement-type
mineralization up to 0.52% copper and 0.62 gpt gold over a
92.4m length.
California North – coincident IP chargeability and
gold-copper-molybdenum soil geochemical anomalies may be a north
extension of the California
target
Other targets – porphyry alteration and geochemical soil
anomalies mark the Jacobo and Brasil prospects but more work is required to
expand and define these targets.'
James McDonald, B.Sc., P.Geo., is
the Qualified Person for Kootenay Silver who reviewed and approved
the technical disclosures in this news release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.'
About Kootenay Silver Inc.
Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively
engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the
Sierra Madre Region of Mexico and
in British Columbia, Canada.
Supported by one of the largest junior portfolios of silver assets
in Mexico, Kootenay continues to
provide its shareholders with significant leverage to silver
prices. The Company remains focused on the expansion of its current
silver resources, new discoveries and the near-term economic
development of its priority silver projects located in the states
of Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua, Mexico, respectively.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS:
The information in this news release has been prepared as at
January 25, 2021. Certain statements
in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking
statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the
provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements
can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may",
"will" or similar terms.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a
number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable
by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently
subject to significant business, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and
unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect
any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news
release may contain information about adjacent properties on which
we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that
the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this
type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned
that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of
mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain
forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments
regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs,
geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential
mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address
future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks
and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statements.
This press release uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated",
and "Inferred" resources. United
States investors are advised that while such terms are
recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them.
"Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as
to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility.
It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral
Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian
rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the
basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to
assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral
Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves.
United States investors are also
cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a Mineral Resource
is economically or legally mineable.
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SOURCE Kootenay Silver Inc.