Minefinders Corporation Ltd. (TSX:MFL)(NYSE Amex:MFN) has reported high-grade intercepts from the deep drill program currently underway at the South Extension target area at the Company's Dolores Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Significant grades encountered to date include 2.0 metre intervals assaying 73.24 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold and 4,986.7 gpt silver in hole DD-540, 41.76 gpt gold and 722.1 gpt silver in DD-522 and 9.57 gpt gold with 637.7 gpt silver in DD-518. On a gold equivalent ("Aueq") basis, using a silver to gold ratio of 60 to 1, these intervals represent 156.3 gpt Aueq, 53.8 gpt Aueq and 20.2 gpt Aueq, respectively. A compilation of intercepts from the recently completed core holes considered significant to the underground potential of the South Extension is provided in Table 1 below.
The South Extension deep core drilling program is designed to explore for high-grade underground potential immediately south of the current open pit deposit in a target area 600 metres long by 300 metres wide. Thirty drill holes representing 13,200 metres of drilling have been completed during the last several months and the results to date are highly supportive of future delineation of underground reserves. The Company is assessing conceptual underground mining scenarios to assist in focusing deep drilling targets and ultimately to determine the economic feasibility of operating an underground mine at Dolores in addition to the current open pit operation. Minefinders is concurrently conducting a study on the construction of a mill at the Dolores Mine which would treat both high-grade ore from the open pit and process this additional underground ore.
Mineralization established in the South Extension is not included in any reserve or economic analysis to date and further drilling and geologic assessment of the South Extension target area is required to upgrade the mineralization into reportable resource categories.
The shallow, more extensive, lower grade intercepts encountered during the South Extension deep drill program and shallow drill intercepts from within the confines of the planned pit are not reported here. However, this data will be incorporated into further delineation of the current in-pit reserves and to assess the possible expansion of the open pit to the south. Assays from an additional 6 drill holes remain outstanding and the core rig continues to drill within the South Extension area.
Quality Control and Assurance
All analyses reported are fire assay analyses for gold and multi-acid digestion with AA analyses or fire assay analyses for silver, and completed by either Chemex Labs of Vancouver, Canada or Inspectorate Labs of Sparks, Nevada. Samples from the reported intervals were comprised of HQ core all representatively split prior to analysis and transported by the labs to sample preparatory facilities in Hermosillo, Mexico (Chemex or Inspectorate) or Durango, Mexico (Inspectorate).
Mark Bailey MSc., P.Geo. is the "qualified person" with overall responsibility for the Dolores Mine and is responsible for the contents of this news release.
Source: Minefinders Corporation Ltd.