Aura Minerals Inc. (TSX:ORA) has released an additional 58 drill holes from the ongoing infill and extension drilling program at its wholly-owned copper-gold-silver Aranzazu Project in Zacatecas State, Mexico.
The most recent drilling was designed to target zones southeast along strike, from along the Glory Hole-Tiro Azules zone to Cabrestante zone. Drilling continues to show the high-grade potential of the Aranzazu Project deposit.
Of the 58 reported drill holes, 41 drill holes have intercepts of greater than 1.0% Cu with significant gold and silver values. Drilling continues to intercept higher-than-average gold grades with holes AZR-043, AZR-044 and AZR-129 returning high grades of copper, silver and gold.
Highlights include:
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Hole AZC-093 which returned 13.5 metres of 2.61% Cu, 2.99 g/t Au and 39.33 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZC-098 which returned 30.0 metres of 1.13% Cu, 0.64 g/t Au and 16.43 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZC-131 which returned 13.5 metres of 2.23% Cu, 1.07 g/t Au and 22.42 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-043 which returned 13.7 metres of 1.34 % Cu, 10.91 g/t Au and 36.89 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-044 which returned 10.7 metres of 1.19% Cu, 12.64 g/t Au and 68.29 g/t Ag, and a further 9.1 metres of 1.13% Cu, 13.22 g/t Au and 9.62 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-129 which returned 15.2 metres of 1.44% Cu, 8.96 g/t Au and 107.97 g/t Ag, and a further 7.6 metres of 1.14% Cu, 9.05 g/t Au and 67.55 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-130 which returned 10.7 metres of 2.15% Cu, 1.80 g/t Au and 28.17 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-133 which returned 13.7 metres of 1.38% Cu, 0.99 g/t Au and 17.89 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-141 which returned 39.6 metres of 1.11% Cu, 1.25 g/t Au and 14.68 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-145 which returned 12.2 metres of 2.17% Cu, 2.36 g/t Au and 24.44 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-149 which returned 10.7 metres of 1.53% Cu, 1.99 g/t Au and 40.62 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-153 which returned 15.2 metres of 1.82% Cu, 1.29 g/t Au and 22.23 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-180 which returned 9.1 metres of 1.18% Cu, 1.01 g/t Au and 16.07 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-181 which returned 9.1 metres of 1.37% Cu, 1.62 g/t Au and 32.60 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-184 which returned 10.7 metres of 1.36% Cu, 2.97 g/t Au and 48.23 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-186 which returned 16.8 metres of 1.40% Cu, 1.68 g/t Au and 25.37 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-192 which returned 16.8 metres of 1.33% Cu, 0.72 g/t Au and 13.55 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-201 which returned 32.0 metres of 1.94% Cu, 1.27 g/t Au and 34.72 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-202 which returned 21.3 metres of 1.67% Cu, 1.30 g/t Au and 27.54 g/t Ag;
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Hole AZR-204 which returned 18.3 metres of 1.98% Cu, 1.25 g/t Au and 31.33 g/t Ag;
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Hole UAZ-016 which returned 19.5 metres of 1.24% Cu, 0.43 g/t Au and 6.66 g/t Ag; and
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Hole UAZ-027 which returned 16.5 metres of 2.88% Cu, 0.48 g/t Au and 32.43 g/t Ag.
These results were received after the most recent resource update (see News Release no. 2010-18 dated September 20, 2010). A further 55 holes have been drilled and are awaiting assay results. Three rigs continue to drill along strike, with a focus on the area from the Glory Hole to Cabrestante, and south of Cabrestante on a zone termed "C-C" which has a number of very good historical drill intercepts and is below historic workings. Zone C-C has not been included in any resource calculation to date.
Aranzazu Commissioning
The commissioning of the Aranzazu mine and plant are continuing as planned. The crushing plant and mills #2 and #3 have been fully commissioned, as has the rougher/cleaner/flotation circuit. The tailings systems are now fully operational. Commissioning of mill #1 and of the concentrate thickener and filter press is currently underway. All three mills are expected to be running by the end of October, ramping up to full throughput of 2,600 tonnes per day during Q1/2011.
Commenting on these results, Mr. Patrick Downey, President and CEO of Aura Minerals, stated, "Drilling results from our Aranzazu Project continue to be excellent. The resource continues to grow along strike and at depth. In regards to the restart of the Aranzazu operation, the commissioning of the new mill is well underway, with all systems operating as designed. We are very pleased with the progress to date and expect to ramp up to full throughput by Q1/2011."
Qualified Person
Exploration at the Aranzazu Project is being conducted under the supervision of Mr. Alan Hitchborn, P.Geo., who is the Company's Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Hitchborn has also reviewed and approved the contents of this news release as applicable.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control ("QA/QC") Procedures for the Aranzazu Project
Aura Minerals is presently drilling at the Aranzazu Project utilizing both core and reverse circulation drill rigs. The drilling is conducted by Layne de Mexico. The reverse circulation drill uses a bit sized from 5.5 inches to 4.75 inches. The core program utilizes HQ-sized core and then stepping down to NQ-sized core as required. Samples are collected on a 1.5 metre sample interval. The reverse circulation drill cuttings are split at the drill rig. The samples collected consist of an approximate 25% split of the total material recovered from the interval sampled. This material is shipped directly to the Stewart Group de Mexico ("Stewart Mexico") sample preparation facility in Zacatecas, Mexico and processed utilizing the same sample preparation protocol as used for the core samples discussed below. Assays are completed at the ISO 9001-2008 certified Eco Tech Laboratory Limited ("Eco Tech Stewart"), a subsidiary of the Stewart Group Ltd., in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Diamond drilling core is logged, photographed and then split in half using a diamond core saw. Half the core is retained off-site in a secure storage facility and the other half is sampled, secured in sealed, labeled bags and then transported to the Stewart Mexico facility in Zacatecas, Mexico and processed utilizing the same preparation protocol discussed below. Assays are completed at the Eco Tech Stewart laboratory in Kamloops, B.C. The entire half-core and reverse circulation drill cuttings are crushed to 95% passing 2 millimetres, split and pulverized to 95% passing 150 mesh, split again, and a 150 gram sample sent for assay. Gold assays are determined by fire assay with an AA finish, over limit assays are determined by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Silver, copper, lead and zinc assays are determined by a four acid digestion with an ICP-MS finish. Molybdenum assays are determined by aqua regia digestion followed by an ICP-OES finish. Silver overlimits are determined by a fire assay with a gravimetric finish. The Company systematically inserts certified standard samples, sample duplicates in a non-sequential order and blank samples in all batches of samples sent to Stewart Mexico and Eco Tech Stewart as a means of quality control. Additionally, Stewart Mexico and Eco Tech Stewart have their own stringent internal QA/QC protocols. Check samples are systematically sent to the ALS Chemex lab in Vancouver, Canada. Chain of custody of drill samples is maintained throughout the process with the use of numbered seal tags closing sample bags and third party professional transportation of samples to the laboratories. Each stage of sample handling is recorded in log sheets and receipts obtained from each party involved.
Source: Aura Minerals Inc.