Jan 11 2011
Rio Cristal Resources Corporation (TSX VENTURE:RCZ)(BVLAC:RCZ) has provided a corporate progress report including activities at its three exploration projects: Bongará (zinc), Condor (gold) and La Cumbre (copper).
Thomas Findley, President & CEO said, "2010 was a good year for the Company as we recovered from the effects of a world financial crisis in 2009 that made funding for early stage exploration companies extremely difficult. We made important progress by adding two new exploration projects to the Company, the Condor gold project and the La Cumbre copper project, and we continued valuable surface exploration work at our Bongará zinc project. In July 2010 we listed our shares on the Lima Stock Exchange (BVL) and shortly afterwards raised $3.2 million to fund work in 2011."
"Rio Cristal is beginning 2011 in excellent financial condition during a period of strengthening commodity prices and we are anxious to begin drilling and other exploration activities at our three projects. While our share price has recovered somewhat from its lows in 2009, I believe that we are still very much undervalued. We look forward to moving the Company forward in 2011 and to providing increased value to our shareholders."
Bongará Zinc Project
The Company's flagship project is the 18,000 hectare Bongará zinc project in Amazonas, Peru. With funding now available, Rio Cristal has programed a second drill campaign to begin when the heavy rain ends at Bongará in April. The Company expects to drill approximately 6,500 meters in 2011 with the objectives of expanding zinc oxides identified to-date and discovering zinc sulfides.
In 2008 the Company began drilling Bongará and results were outstanding.
Zinc Oxide Intercepts at Cristal (see news release dated October 15, 2008)
- Drill hole CR07 - 58.7 meters of 10.0% zinc
- Drill hole CR11 - 10.3 meters of 21.1% zinc
- Drill hole CR13 - 14.5 meters of 14.7% zinc
- Drill hole CR14 - 12.5 meters of 26.1% zinc
- Drill hole CR18 - 21.7 meters of 22.0% zinc
- Drill hole CR20 - 15.5 meters of 29.5% zinc
On Bongara's southern border, Votorantim Metais continues to aggressively develop its zinc sulfide deposits which trend directly beneath unexplored targets on the Company's concessions (see Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp. news release dated 12/21/10).
Condor Gold Project
The Company completed a 987 meter initial drilling program at its Condor gold project in 2010. Four of the five holes drilled at Condor were in Zone 2 where gold mineralization appears to extend over an area approximately 300 meters by 100 meters and open to the north, south and east. One hole was drilled in Zone 3 to test the area after encouraging surface exploration results.
Gold Intercepts at Condor: Zone 2
- Drill Hole C05 - 20 meters of .737 g/t gold including 2 meters of 3.605 g/t gold
- Drill Hole C06 - 2 meters of .462 g/t gold and 2 meters of .562 g/t gold
- Drill Hole C08 - 30 meters of .127 g/t gold
- Drill Hole C09 - 38 meters of .717 g/t gold, including 4 meters of 3.421 g/t gold
- Drill Hole C99 - 16 meters of .559 g/t gold, including 2 meters of 2.502 g/t gold
- Drill Hole C09 - 20 meters of .737 g/t gold, including 2 meters of 3.605 g/t gold
- Drill Hole C10 - 34 meters of .343 g/t gold
Zone 3
- Drill Hole C11 – 10 meters of .350 g/t gold, including 2 meters of 1.089 g/t gold
At least three other anomalous target zones remain untested. The Company is beginning a second drill campaign at Condor in January, 2011 to test the continuity of gold mineralization between the target areas defined thus far. Mineralization at the Condor project is hosted within highly fractured and quartz-veined sandstones interbedded with shales and intruded by argilically altered andesite dikes.
La Cumbre Copper Project
On November 12, 2010, the Company signed an option agreement on the La Cumbre copper exploration project. Rio Cristal's preliminary review of La Cumbre indicates evidence of potential zones of bulk-mineable copper oxide mineralization grading in excess of 2% copper. Additionally there is potential for copper sulfide mineralization in a very prospective belt hosting iron oxide copper-gold deposits. Extensive recent underground workings indicate a possible resource which could be rapidly quantified with potential for mineralization extensions.
The Company is currently concluding a study to determine the feasibility of mining the copper oxides and exploring for additional oxides and underlying porphyry-style copper sulfide mineralization. Necessary exploration permits are in progress.
The Company maintains a strict quality control program in preparing and shipping all samples from the Condor project. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted in the field. Final samples are bagged, codified, and sealed by Company geologists and transported to the BSE Inspectorate laboratory facilities in Lima, Peru. BSE Inspectorate is an ISO 9001:2008-certified laboratory (#39041). Samples are assayed using the FAAA method (Fire Assay and Atomic absorption). The QA/QC program for each sampling batch includes geochemical standards insertion every 10th sample, blank samples insertion every 20th sample and field duplicate insertion every 30th sample. High grade samples pulp duplicates and rejects will be re-assayed at ALS Chemex Laboratory facilities in Lima applying the same sample preparation procedure as that used by BSE Inspectorate.
As required by the National Instrument 43-101, Rio Cristal Resource's designated Qualified Person is John Brophy, who has verified the technical information reported for the Condor project in this news release.
Source: Rio Cristal Resources Corporation