New Pacific Metals Corp. ("New Pacific" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company plans to commence its 2013 exploration program (the "Program") at the recently acquired RZY Project ("RZY" or the "Project") in June 2013 as previously disclosed in the Company's news release dated April 8, 2013.
In 2013, the Company plans to conduct 10,000 metres of surface diamond drilling to test the extent of the known mineralized zones and to develop a better understanding of the nature of the mineralization. Historical assay results of trench, pit sampling and limited drilling indicated the presence of high grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization at RZY. Multiple silver-lead-zinc mineralized zones are hosted in a broad altered structure zone with a strike extent of 6.5 kilometres and width of 25 to 100 metres. The Program also includes the completion of a surface grid soil survey and a geophysics survey to define future drill targets. The budget for the Program is $3 million. The Company is currently sourcing drilling equipment and preparing other resources necessary to execute the program.
In 2012, seven trenches were completed by RZY's previous owner and assay results from the trenches confirmed the presence of high grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization as indicated by the historical results (see the Company's news release dated December 21, 2012). To test the potential depth of the mineralization exposed by surface workings, over 890 metres in five drill holes was drilled in 2012. The assay results of the drill core samples indicated that the mineralization occurs in the major east-west structural zones and continues at depth, although the width and grades of the drill intercepts were inferior to the results of the surface trenches and pits. Nevertheless, New Pacific believes there is enough evidence to justify continued exploration at the Project in 2013.
RZY is an early stage silver-lead-zinc exploration project in Qinghai Province, China, situated on a high plateau with an average elevation of 5,000 metres above sea level. The Project is located approximately 237 kilometres via paved and gravel roads from the capital city of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, or 820 kilometres via paved highway from Qinghai Province's capital city of Xining. For further information about the project, please see the Company's news release dated December 21, 2012.
Source: http://www.newpacificmetals.com/