Turmalina Metals Corp. (“
Turmalina”, or the
“
Company”; TBX-TSXV, TBXXF-OTCQX) is pleased to
announce that the first three holes of our Phase Two (~5000 meter)
drilling program at the San Francisco project (“
San
Francisco” or the
“Project”) have
intersected broad intervals of high-grade gold-silver-copper
mineralisation at the San Francisco de Los Andes
(“
SFdLA”) breccia. Significant intersections are
reported in Table 1 below, and include:
- 83m @ 4.4 g/t Au, 82 g/t Ag & 0.43% Cu (5.9 g/t
AuEq) from 25m (SFDH-011)• Including 41m @ 7.03
g/t Au, 91 g/t Ag & 0.51% Cu (8.76 g/t AuEq) from
27m
- 109m @ 4.94 g/t Au, 109 g/t Ag & 1.1% Cu (7.55 g/t
AuEq) from 12m (SFDH-012)• Including 27m @
9.02 g/t Au, 94 g/t Ag & 1.08% Cu (11.4 g/t AuEq) from
31m• Including 3m @ 13.8 g/t Au, 111 g/t Ag
& 0.08% Cu (15.3 g/t AuEq) from 15m• Including
6.7m @ 7.43 g/t Au, 58 g/t Ag & 0.15% Cu (8.35 g/t
AuEq) from 65m• Including 11m @ 5.59 g/t Au,
134 g/t Ag & 1.34% Cu (8.75 g/t AuEq) from 98m
- 74m @ 1.1 g/t Au, 48 g/t Ag & 0.41% Cu (2.2 g/t
AuEq) from 88m (SFDH-013)• And 13m @ 0.9 g/t
Au, 51 g/t Ag & 0.54% Cu (2.1 g/t AuEq) from 179m
These high-grade intersections remain open both at depth and
laterally. The breccia textures observed in the drill core confirm
that the current intercepts are related to the very top of the
breccia system. Mineralisation in the top of tourmaline breccias
may have a different orientation to the orientation of the breccia
pipe (such as forming flat-lying ‘ceiling’ zones): Should the above
drill intersections be at an oblique angle to mineralisation then
the true width of mineralisation will be less than the reported
intersections. Further drilling and geological modelling is
required to constrain the geometry of mineralisation within the
SFdLA breccia.
The current Phase Two drilling program tests for extensions to
high-grade gold-copper-silver mineralisation encountered in the
first phase of drilling completed by the Company in 2019, which
included intersections of 36.9m @ 6.3 g/t Au, 122 g/t Ag &
0.88% Cu (8.7 g/t AuEq, SFDH-001) and 85.3m @ 4.4 g/t Au, 109 g/t
Ag & 0.79% Cu (6.6 g/t AuEq, SFDH-002; see Turmalina news
release dated December 2, 2019 for full details).
Dr. Rohan Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer, states:
“These outstanding initial results from our Phase 2 drilling
indicate that high-grade mineralisation not only continues at depth
at SFDLA but, as expected by our geological model, the SFdLA
breccia pipe is starting to expand in width as we go deeper. Our
2019 campaign tested the SFdLA breccia pipe to a depth of 150
meters. These initial Phase 2 holes test the breccia pipe 30 to
150m below the 2019 drill holes and have returned similar high
grades. Most tourmaline breccias are considered to be gold-rich at
1 g/t gold – so the broad intersections of gold-mineralised breccia
returning 9-10 g/t gold at San Francisco are quite remarkable.
“With high-grade mineralisation open at depth and laterally
these are exciting times for Turmalina Metals and we look forward
to keeping the market informed of new drilling results both at
SFdLA and at satellite breccias that will be tested by the current
program.
“We have also been actively consolidating our holdings in the
region with the recent acquisition of the neighboring Miranda
properties. While our focus remains very much on San Francisco we
have also strengthened our overall portfolio by acquiring the
Chanape project in Peru, which contains a cluster of strongly
gold-copper mineralised tourmaline breccias. We look forward to
providing more detailed information on our acquisitions as we
complete field work on these projects.”
Drilling continues at the San Francisco Project, with 14 holes
completed to date for a total of 3890m. Ten of these holes tested
the SFdLA breccia pipe while four holes tested two breccia targets
identified during the summer field program. The assays for the
first three Phase 2 holes have been returned and are reported in
this release, samples from a further three holes have been
dispatched for assay at a commercial laboratory, and drill core
from the remaining holes are currently being logged and sampled
prior to dispatch for assay. The current drilling aims to extend
mineralisation at SFdLA to greater depths as well as test for
lateral extensions. In addition, the current program tests four of
over sixty gold-copper mineralised breccias identified during the
summer field program.
Hole ID |
From |
To |
Interval |
Au g/t |
Ag g/t |
Cu % |
Pb % |
Zn % |
AuEq g/t |
SFDH-011 |
25 |
108 |
83 |
4.40 |
82 |
0.43 |
0.74 |
0.52 |
5.93 |
SFDH-011 |
27 |
68 |
41 |
7.03 |
91 |
0.51 |
0.23 |
0.02 |
8.76 |
SFDH-012 |
12 |
121 |
109 |
4.94 |
109 |
1.13 |
0.23 |
0.06 |
7.55 |
SFDH-012 |
15 |
18 |
3 |
13.78 |
111 |
0.08 |
0.14 |
0.01 |
15.28 |
SFDH-012 |
31 |
58 |
27 |
9.02 |
94 |
1.08 |
0.15 |
0.01 |
11.37 |
SFDH-012 |
65 |
71.7 |
6.7 |
7.43 |
58 |
0.15 |
0.17 |
0.03 |
8.35 |
SFDH-012 |
98 |
109 |
11 |
5.59 |
134 |
1.34 |
0.54 |
0.14 |
8.75 |
SFDH-013 |
88 |
162 |
74 |
1.1 |
48 |
0.41 |
0.36 |
0.42 |
2.16 |
SFDH-013 |
179 |
192 |
13 |
0.9 |
51 |
0.54 |
0.04 |
0.08 |
2.14 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Table 1: Phase 2 drill hole intersections from
Turmalina’s drilling at the San Francisco de Los Andes breccia
pipe. Equivalent gold values (AuEq) are calculated
assuming 100% recovery using USD$ 1900/t oz Au, $25/t oz Ag and
$2.8/lb Cu.
New Acquisitions
The Company continues to consolidate our holdings in the mining
friendly state of San Juan, as well as review opportunities in
South America.
Miranda Properties, San Juan, Argentina.
As part of our regional consolidation around the San Francisco
project the company is pleased to announce that it has, under its
Argentinian subsidiary Aurora Mining S.A, entered into an option
agreement with third parties to acquire a 100% interest in the
17,690 ha Miranda properties, located ~4 km to the east and
northeast of our Project area. The Company can acquire a 100%
interest in the Miranda properties by making total cash payments of
USD$225,000 over four years, with $150,000 of the payment due in
the final year. The vendors retain a NSR of 1%, which can be
purchased for USD$300,000.
The Miranda properties covers a large area prospective for gold
and base metal mineralisation on the eastern margin of the San
Francisco Project.
Chanape Project, Lima, Peru.
As part of the Company’s strategy to possess several high-grade
projects in our portfolio the Company is pleased to announce that
it has, under its Peruvian subsidiary Aurora Copper Peru S.A.C,
entered into an option agreement with third parties to acquire a
100% interest in the Chanape Project, located in Lima district,
Peru. The Company can acquire a 100% interest in the 680 ha
property by making total cash payments of $3,410,000 and by
incurring exploration expenditures of US$2,000,000 over 5 years,
with $2.2M of the cash payment and $750k of the exploration
commitment due in the final year. The vendors retain a 2% Net
Smelter Returns royalty, of which the Company may purchase 1% (50%)
of the NSR for a payment of USD$ 1,200,000.
The Chanape Project hosts over 50 tourmaline breccias, however
previous exploration focused on testing porphyry copper-molybdenum
mineralisation on the property (i.e. 284m @ 0.32% copper, 82 ppm
molybdenum and 6 g/t silver). The last two holes drilled by the
previous operators tested two tourmaline breccias and returned the
best intersections drilled to date at the project (i.e. 71m @
1.92% copper, 0.84 g/t gold & 42 g/t silver and 108m @ 2.0 g/t
gold & 41 g/t silver). These breccias remain largely untested
and are open at depth and along strike. Turmalina Metals plans to
review and prioritise tourmaline breccia mineralisation on the
project.
About the San Francisco
Project
The 3404 ha San Francisco project is located in San Juan,
Argentina. The project area contains over 60 tourmaline breccia
occurrences, several of which have supported small-scale mining.
The Company is focused on mapping and sampling the breccias in the
project area, and drill testing the highest priority targets.
To minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission to our team and
the community the Company has applied rigorous protocols throughout
the program. These protocols have been approved by the authorities
of the province of San Juan, and both Turmalina Metals and Aurora
Mining maintain close contact with the local authorities in order
to comply with all regulations. These procedures include social
distancing, improved hygiene, health screening of all staff and
contractors, longer rosters at our remote field camp and an onsite
medical professional to monitor health and ensure procedures are
followed.
Other Projects
Turmalina has entered into an agreement to explore the Turmalina
copper-gold molybdenum project located in Piura, Peru (the
‘Turmalina Project’). The Turmalina Project hosts
a cluster of undrilled tourmaline breccias that were historically
mined for copper, gold and molybdenum.
On Behalf of the Company,
Dr. Rohan Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer and Director.
Email: rohan@turmalinametals.comMobile: +976 9999 6994Website:
turmalinametals.comAddress: #488 - 1090 West Georgia St, Vancouver,
BC V6E 3V7.
For Investor Relations enquiries, please contact Bryan
Slusarchuk at +1 833 923 3334 (toll free) or via
info@turmalinametals.com.
Statements
About Turmalina Metals and the San Francisco
Project: Turmalina Metals is a TSXV-listed
exploration company focused on developing our portfolio of high
grade gold-copper-silver projects in South America. Our focus is on
tourmaline breccias, a deposit style overlooked by many explorers.
Turmalina Metals is led by a team responsible for multiple
gold-copper-silver discoveries who are highly experienced in this
deposit style. Our projects are characterised by open high-grade
mineralisation on established mining licenses that present
compelling drill targets. The principle project held by Turmalina
is the San Francisco project in San Juan, Argentina. For further
information on the San Francisco Project, refer to the technical
report entitled “NI43-101 Technical Report San Francisco Copper
Gold Project, San Juan Province, Argentina” dated November 17, 2019
under the Corporation’s profile at www.sedar.com.
Sampling and Analytic procedure: Turmalina
Metals follows systematic sampling and analytical protocols which
exceed industry standards and are summarized below.
All drill holes are HQ diameter diamond core holes. Drill
core is collected at the drill site and transported by vehicle to
the Turmalina core logging facility in Villa Nueva, where recovery
and RQD (Rock Quality Designation) measurements are taken before
the core is photographed and geologically logged. The core is then
cut in half with a diamond saw blade with half the sample retained
in the core box for future reference and the other half placed into
a pre-labelled plastic bag, sealed with a plastic zip tie, and
identified with a unique sample number. The core is typically
sampled over a 1 to 2 meter sample interval unless the geologist
determines the presence of an important geological contact. The
bagged samples are then stored in a secure area pending shipment to
the ALS sample preparation facility in Mendoza where they are
dried, crushed and pulverized. Following sample preparation the
prepared pulps are then sent to the ALS laboratory in Lima for
assay. The samples are then analyzed using a 50g aqua regia digest
and fire assay-AA finish analysis for gold and four acid digestion
with ICP-MS analysis for 53 other elements. Samples with results
that exceed maximum detection values for gold are re-analyzed by
fire assay with a gravimetric finish and other elements of interest
are re-analyzed using precise ore-grade ICP analytical techniques.
Turmalina Metals independently inserts certified control standards,
coarse field blanks, and duplicates into the sample stream to
monitor data quality. These standards are inserted “blindly” to the
laboratory in the sample sequence prior to departure from the
Turmalina Metals core storage facilities.
Qualified Person: The scientific and technical
data contained in this news release pertaining to the San Francisco
and Turmalina projects has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Rohan
Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer, MAIG, who serves as the Qualified
Person (QP) under the definition of National Instrument
43-101.
Forward Looking Statement: This news
release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of such statements under applicable securities law.
Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words
such as "anticipates", "plan", "continue", "expect", "project",
"intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will",
"potential", "proposed", "positioned" and other similar words, or
statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur.
These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were
used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained
in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates
of management at the date the statements are made and are subject
to a variety of risks (including those risk factors identified in
the Corporation’s prospectus dated November 21, 2019) and
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or
results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. The Corporation is under no obligation,
and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly
required by applicable law.
There is no assurance when the government-imposed measures
related to COVID-19 in Argentina will be lifted. There is
uncertainty over the form and duration of government measures and
multiple policy changes may occur with regards to these measures
over time. The Company may not provide updates on various
government measures and changes to these measures as they
occur.
Figure 1 – Winter drilling at the San Francisco
Project is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/54d9a9e9-52bf-43a4-b50f-9d6060caad1f.
The project is located in an arid, sparsely-populated area at a
moderate elevation of ~2600m. The drill program and camp are
located 20km by unsealed road to the nearest public road and 30km
from the local village of Villa Nueva where the Company maintains
an office and core facility.
Figure 2: Typical gold-bearing breccia
mineralisation: angular
tourmaline-altered clasts of siltstone set in a
pyrite-chalcopyrite-tourmaline-quartz matrix is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e14a2dba-20bb-44dc-afee-0de9f83e42a5.
SFDH-011 70.5m; from a 1 m interval that averaged 4.9 g/t gold, 105
g/t silver & 0.32% copper. Photograph is of a selected interval
and is not necessarily representative of mineralisation hosted
throughout the property.
Figure 3: Typical breccia mineralisation:
angular silica-tourmaline altered siltstone clasts supported in a
pyrite-chalcopyrite matrix is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9108b063-2c82-4f2e-a551-ab95c614356d.
The breccia matrix at San Francisco is sulphide-rich, with 60-90%
sulphides by volume. SFDH-012, 116.2m. From a 1m sample that
averaged 1.4 g/t gold, 280 g/t silver and 3.8% copper. Photograph
is of a selected interval and is not necessarily representative of
mineralisation hosted throughout the property.
Figure 4: Typical breccia mineralisation:
Tourmaline-silica altered siltstone clasts set in a
pyrite-chalcopyrite matrix is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/946eabab-5365-459f-9181-40fa3989052d.
SFDH-013, 97m. From a 1m sample that averaged 1.9 g/t gold, 27 g/t
silver and 1.03% copper. Photograph is of a selected interval and
is not necessarily representative of mineralisation hosted
throughout the property.
Figure 5: San Francisco tenements with main breccias and
locations of planned Phase 2 drill holes is available
at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2265accf-0718-493a-92d5-10b873a7c3d0.
To date over 60 tourmaline breccias have been mapped in the project
area. Phase 2 drilling will test the San Francisco de Los Andes
(SFdLA), Chorrillos, Humilde, Solita and Colorada breccias.
Drilling at SFdLA has focused on the south-east corner of a
composite breccia body, with the north-west extension to be tested
as a part of Phase 2 drilling.
Figure 6: Plan map of Turmalina drill holes at the SFdLA
breccia pipe is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a3e7f53-7ea8-4f91-b24a-9f01f3e7e34c.
The breccia remains open at depth and to the north and
west.
Figure 7: SFDH-011 cross section at the SFdLA breccia
pipe is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3bbbea70-28be-49ea-ba5b-43f3e070b6bb.
Hole 11 tested 40 to 70m below high grades intersected in SFDH002
(i.e. 85m @ 4.4 g/t Au, 109 g/t Ag & 0.79% Cu (6.6 g/t AuEq);
see Turmalina news release dated December 2, 2019 for full
details). Mineralisation remains open at depth and will be tested
by further Phase 2 drilling.
Figure 8: SFDH-012 cross section is
available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9ea69ccf-13ca-4e0a-a6c8-52cef3d3e186.
SFDH-012 tests the easternmost margin of the SFdLA breccia pipe,
70m below high grades intersected in SFDH-003 (i.e. 50m @ 3.6 g/t
Au, 82 g/t Ag & 1.90% Cu (6.7 g/t AuEq; see Turmalina news
release dated December 2, 2019 for full details).
Figure 9: SFDH-013 Cross section is
available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e71aeaa3-443e-42b5-9539-cf02295e89bc.
SFDH-013 tested 70 to 150m beneath high-grade mineralisation
intersected in the center of the SFdLA breccia in holes SFDH-003,
004 and 006, and delineated the northern breccia margin 40m beneath
hole SFDH-008. Mineralisation remains open at depth and along
strike and will be tested by further Phase 2 drilling.
Drill hole |
East |
North |
Elevation |
Azimuth |
Dip |
Length (m) |
SFDH-0011 |
442531 |
6588491 |
2766 |
200 |
-80 |
293.5 |
SFDH-0012 |
442519 |
6588470 |
2758 |
100 |
-80 |
130.5 |
SFDH-0013 |
442532 |
6588424 |
2739 |
345 |
-65 |
341.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Table 2: Turmalina Metals Phase 2 drill hole locations
reported in this release. Co-ordinate projection - WGS84
UTM Zone 19 South.
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