International Enexco Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:IEC) has announced results from the first drill hole in its Fall 2010 Drill Program at the Company's 100%-owned Contact Copper Project, Nevada. Results include 43.0 meters of 0.49% Copper in hole EN-154.
Hole EN-154 is the first of a series of core holes to be drilled in preparation for a Feasibility Study on the project. The drilling follows the Update to the 2009 Prefeasibility Study (see IEC June 2, 2010 Press Release). In the PFS Update, the Mineral Resource was revised to 712 million pounds of copper (298 million pounds Measured and 413 million pounds Indicated within 135.2 million tons at 0.26% Cu), with an Inferred Resource of 291 million pounds of copper (53.5 million tons at 0.27% Cu) based on a 0.10% Cu cut-off.
Hole EN-154 was a vertical hole drilled for the purpose of testing the northern extent of mineralization and the depth to the main intrusive body which makes up 90% of the contained copper in the resource base. The hole was collared in siltstone, and drilled to a depth of 346.6 meters, encountering the main intrusive at 303.3 meters. From 260.3 meters to 303.3 meters, the hole encountered skarn mineralization consisting of pyroxene, garnet, chalcopyrite and bornite. The 43.0 meter interval graded 0.49% Cu, including 17.4 meters grading 0.89% Cu and 8.2 g/t Ag. The intercept lies outside of the current resource base. Two other intervals in the hole carried silver values greater than 25 g/t.
The Contact Copper Project is planned as an SX-EW operation to produce 25 million pounds per year of copper by leaching predominantly oxide ore. As such, it remains to be determined if the mineralization encountered in EN-154 is amenable to leaching. Further drilling is underway to determine the potential extent of the new zone. Hole EN-154 lies 137 meters northwest of an earlier drill hole, CRC-04-01. Records show CRC-04-01 had similar mineralization, from 167.6 meters to 205.7 meters, with the 38.1 meter interval carrying 1.30% Cu. Records show that CRC-04-01 was not analyzed for silver.
The technical content of this news release was reviewed and approved by William Willoughby of Enexco who is a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101. The analyses reported are final assays conducted by ALS Chemex, an ISO 9000 certified laboratory in Reno, Nevada.
Source: International Enexco Ltd.