Columbus Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE:CGT) has announced assay results from the first five drill holes completed at its Weepah gold project, Nevada.
Gold was encountered in four of the first five holes; significant intercepts include:
- Drill hole WP-5 intersected 17.4 m (55 ft) of 1.12 g/t (0.033 opt) gold from 7.6-25 m (25-80 ft) depth, including 3.3 m (10 ft) of 4.03 g/t (0.12 opt) gold; and
- Drill hole WP-2 intersected 7.8 m (25 ft) of 2.34 g/t (0.068 opt) gold from 118-125.8 m (390-415 ft) depth, including two separate 1.6 m (5 ft) intervals of 4.30 g/t (0.126 opt) and 4.95 g/t (0.145 opt) gold.
The current drilling program at Weepah is planned to consist of up to 3,048 m (10,000 ft) in approximately 20 RC holes.
The host rocks at Weepah are complexly faulted and folded Precambrian limestones, silty limestones, and shale, all of which have been regionally metamorphosed, then overprinted with thermal metamorphism, and finally hydrothermally altered. There are only a few outcrops in the northernmost part of the drilling area, where surface sampling has yielded assays from anomalous to as high as 10.29 g/t (0.30 opt) gold over a 3.6 m (12 ft) width and 17.14 g/t (0.50 opt) gold over 1.8 m (6 ft) width. Most of the area drilled to date is covered with ten meters (30 ft) of alluvium. Drilling results suggest the presence of minor structures not apparent from our initial geological mapping and geophysical program. Several drill holes are planned to test structural models to allow us to better focus additional drilling and increase our understanding of the controls of the gold mineralization.
Weepah is located approximately 32 km (20 miles) west-southwest of Tonopah, Nevada, with historic gold production from an open pit along a steep, northerly structure cutting Precambrian sedimentary rocks. Columbus targets are east of the historic open pit where gold occurs as replacements in sanded, or lightly silicified, Precambrian limestone, exposed in small outcrops through thin gravel cover on the north edge of an alluvial basin. Historic drilling, reported by the previous owner, indicates a small resource of approximately 225,000-450,000 tonnes (250,000-500,000 tons) averaging 1.7-2.4 g/t (0.05-0.07 opt) gold. Columbus mapping, along with geophysical surveys, indicate that the favorable geology extends beyond the area of drilling to the south and east for 1,200-1,500 m (4,000-5,000 ft) under what appears to be very shallow gravel cover.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Assays reported herein were performed by American Assay Laboratories, Inc. in Sparks, Nevada. Standards and blanks were inserted along with the drill cuttings and reported in the assay results. In addition, Columbus takes two separate splits of each five feet of drill cuttings. One is assayed initially and the other is used for check sampling. This check sampling is in progress with 10% of the samples with significant gold having been checked to date. No significant variations in results have been detected so far but check assaying continues. If significant variations in assays already reported are detected in the future, the results will be released at that time.
Andy Wallace is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release. Mr. Wallace is a VP of Columbus Gold's wholly-owned US operating subsidiary, Columbus Gold (U.S.) Corporation and is the principal of Cordilleran Exploration Company ("Cordex"), which is conducting exploration and project generation activities for Columbus Gold on an exclusive basis.
Source: Columbus Gold Corporation