Arian Silver Corporation (TSX VENTURE:AGQ)(AIM:AGQ)(PLUS:AGQ)(FRANKFURT:I3A), a silver exploration, development and production company with a focus on projects in the silver belt of Mexico, has announced the commencement of a new 10,000m drill programme at its 100% owned San José Property, Zacatecas, Mexico.
The drill programme, which will complement the previous two drilling campaigns, is aimed initially to delineate additional areas of high grade mineralisation and to upgrade existing resources, between the Santa Ana and Guanajuatillo resource areas along the San José Vein ("SJV"). The drill programme will also start to explore in detail the SJV system that lies to the west of the village of Guanajuatillo, which collectively accounts for approximately 90% of the known strike length of the SJV system. One drill rig has commenced drilling at San José, and a second drill rig will be mobilised and operational shortly.
The previous two drilling campaigns delineated JORC and NI 43-101 compliant resources of approximately 43 million ounces of silver, 120 million pounds of lead and 250 million pounds of zinc within only approximately 10% of the known strike length of the SJV within the concession area.
Arian has also contracted to purchase a semi-mobile laboratory, which is being sourced by Stewart Group's Geochemical & Assay Division (the "Stewart Group"). The laboratory comprises a comprehensive sample preparation facility, a fire assay laboratory and a wet chemistry laboratory that has facilities for Atomic Absorption Spectrometry ("AAS"). The laboratory will be under the sole control and operational management of professional personnel from the Stewart Group in order that results are fully compliant with Arian's quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) programme. It is anticipated that the laboratory will be fully set up within approximately 6-8 weeks in a secure area on the mine compound at San José. Prior to the laboratory becoming operational, Arian will utilise the analytical services of the Stewart Group's sample preparation facility in Zacatecas. The Stewart Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom, provide a network of accredited laboratories and metallurgical services to mining and exploration companies.
Arian's Chief Executive Officer, Jim Williams, commented: "It is with great pleasure that I report the commencement of our new 10,000m diamond drilling programme at San José and the decision to purchase a semi-mobile analytical laboratory. Our efforts remain focused on advancing the San José property with the delineation of further compliant resources and continuing to create increased shareholder value. One of the current issues with modern-day exploration is the turn-around times for analytical reporting; this issue will be largely overcome once the new analytical laboratory has been delivered and commissioned."
Qualified Person
Mr. Jim Williams, Eur Ing, Eur Geol, BSc, MSc, D.I.C., FIMMM, the Chief Executive Officer of Arian, is a "Qualified Person" as defined in the AIM guidelines of the London Stock Exchange, and a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined in Canadian National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). This press release has been prepared under Mr. Williams' supervision. Mr. Williams has verified the data disclosed by this release.
Source: Arian Silver Corporation