Prime Mining Corp. (“Prime” or the “Company”) announces assay results from drilling located outside of the current resource areas, indicating significant exploration upside beyond the forthcoming Q2 2023 mineral resource update.
These results are from drill holes targeting previously undrilled or mineralized structures with limited drilling. With continued follow-up in 2023, these initial results have the potential to significantly expand the footprint of the multi-million-ounce Los Reyes high-grade gold-silver deposits across a 15 square kilometre highly prospective mineralized area in mining-friendly Mexico.
Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Kunz commented, “Our 2023 work will maintain focus on known resource expansion within Guadalupe, Z-T and Central key areas, but we are also extremely excited about the success of the generative exploration results outside of these deposit areas. Further geological interpretation and drilling of five advanced generative areas, highlighted today, along with our extensive remote-sensing and field mapping across Los Reyes, are expected to define new mineralized trends conducive to additional gold-silver deposit discoveries.”
Scott Smith, EVP Exploration added: “Fresnillo drill hole 22FRE-09 is very exciting as it contains 1.7 g/t AuEq over an estimated true width of 15.8m and this ranks with some of our best intercepts inside the nearby Z-T and Central resource areas, which occur on either side of Fresnillo. This year, we will complete significant sampling, mapping, and further drilling to learn more about these prospective areas with the objective of adding them to future resource updates.”
Highlight Intercepts:
- Fresnillo Area - 1.7 g/t AuEq over 19.3m (1.4 g/t Au, 18 g/t Ag over 15.8m etw) in hole 22FRE-09, including 5.4 g/t AuEq over 3.6m (4.7 g/t Au, 48 g/t Ag over 2.9m etw)
- Fresnillo Area - 1.5 g/t AuEq over 6.4m (1.3 g/t Au, 13 g/t Ag over 5.5m etw) in hole 22FRE-04, including 8.2 g/t AuEq over 0.95m (7.5 g/t Au, 53 g/t Ag over 0.8m etw) AND 1.3 g/t AuEq over 6.0m (0.88 g/t Au, 36 g/t Ag over 4.6m etw) also in hole 22FRE-04
- Orito Area - 1.1 g/t AuEq over 9.4m (1.0 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag over 4.7m etw) in hole 22OR-06, including 2.3 g/t AuEq over 3.0 m (2.2 g/t Au, 4.4 g/t Ag over 1.5m etw)
- Orito Area - 1.1 g/t AuEq over 4.2m (0.9 g/t Au, 17.5 g/t Ag over 4.2m etw) in hole 22OR-01, including 2.4 g/t AuEq over 1.1 m (2.3 g/t Au, 5.8 g/t Ag over 1.1m etw)
- Mariposa Area - 5.2 g/t AuEq over 35.3m (4.9 g/t Au, 22 g/t Ag over 34.7m estimated true width or “etw”) in hole 21MA-06 (previously released) including 42 g/t AuEq over 1.5m (41.5 g/t Au, 40 g/t Ag over 1.50 m etw)
- Las Primas Area - 1.8 g/t AuEq over 7.5m (1.6 g/t Au, 14 g/t Ag over 3.75 m etw) in hole 21LP-02 (previously released), including 17.6 g/t AuEq over 0.35m (15.9 g/t Au, 135 g/t Ag over 0.2 m etw)
- Mina 20/21 Area – 18.2 g/t AuEq over 7.5m (4.4 g/t Au, 1,060 g/t Ag over 4.80 m etw) in hole 21MINA-02 (previously released)
Prime has identified over a dozen gold-silver mineralized targets outside of the upcoming Q2 2023 resource update areas. Limited generative drilling was completed during Phase 1 and 2 at Mariposa, Las Primas, Mina, Fresnillo and Orito. At Fresnillo these highlighted drill holes are 60 metres apart and at Orito they are over 350 metres apart. The structures in both areas that connect these intercepts have been confirmed by mapping and surface sampling and are open along strike and at depth.
Additional targets have been identified utilizing remote sensing, surface mapping, geological interpretation and physical surveys of historic mining activity. Prime currently plans to drill 35,000 metres in 2023. Over 15,000 metres will be testing and expanding these exciting, mineralized targets outside of the reported resource areas, along with 20,000 metres of planned step-out drilling at the three main resource areas: Z-T, Central and Guadalupe.
Locations of previously released, and newly released drill holes on these emerging mineralized trends outside of the anticipated upcoming 2023 Resource areas can be seen in Figure 1 below.
In addition to the significant intercepts shown above, Prime has released the full current assay table for these generative areas (Link 2 above). While some of the holes included in that table are more exploratory in nature, the limited drilling, surface mapping and sampling completed to date on these areas continue to indicate potential to expand these mineralized trends at Los Reyes.
QA/QC Protocols and Sampling Procedures
Drill core at the Los Reyes project is drilled in predominately HQ size (63.5 millimetre “mm”), reducing to NQ or BQ size ranges (47.6 mm and 36.5 mm respectively) when required. Drill core samples are generally 1.50 m long along the core axis with allowance for shorter or longer intervals if required to suit geological constraints. After logging intervals are identified to be sampled and split, and one half is submitted for assay. RC drilling returns rock chips and fines from a 133.35 mm diameter tricone bit. The returns are homogenized and split into 2 halves, with one half submitted for analysis and the other half stored.
Sample QA/QC measures include unmarked certified reference materials and blanks as well as preparation duplicates are inserted into the sample sequence and make up approximately 8% of the samples submitted to the laboratory for each drill hole.
Samples are picked up from the Project by the laboratory personnel and transported to their facilities in Durango or Hermosillo Mexico, for sample preparation. Sample analysis is carried out by Bureau Veritas and ALS Labs, with fire assay, including over limits fire assay re-analysis, completed at their respective Hermosillo, Mexico laboratories and multi-element analysis completed in North Vancouver, Canada. Drill core sample preparation includes fine crushing of the sample to at least 70% passing less than 2 mm, sample splitting using a riffle splitter, and pulverizing a 250-gram split to at least 85% passing 75 microns.
Gold in diamond drill core is analyzed by fire assay and atomic absorption spectroscopy of a 30 g sample (code FA430 or Au-AA23). Multi-element chemistry is analyzed by 4-Acid digestion of a 0.25-gram sample split (code MA300 or ME-ICP61) with detection by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer for a full suite of elements.
Gold assay techniques FA430 and Au-AA23 have an upper detection limit of 10 ppm. Any sample that produces an over-limit gold value via the initial assay technique is sent for gravimetric finish via method FA-530 or Au-GRA21. Silver analyses by MA300 and ME-ICP61 have an upper limit of 200 ppm and 100 ppm, respectively. Samples with over-limit silver values are re-analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish FA530 or Au-GRA21.
Both Bureau Veritas and ALS Labs are ISO/IEC accredited assay laboratories. Drill core assay results range from below detection to 200.0 gpt gold and 4,955.0 gpt silver.
Qualified Person
Scott Smith, P.Geo., Executive Vice President of Exploration, is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content in this news release.
Source: https://primeminingcorp.ca/