Alien Metals Ltd (LSE AIM:UFO) (“Alien Metals” or “the Company”), a minerals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce, following its last update of 20th July 2020, the details of its maiden exploration drilling program on the Donovan 2 Copper Gold Volcanic Massive Sulphide (VMS) project in Mexico.
Link to full announcement including figures:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3887V_1-2020-8-6.pdf
Highlights:
– Three targets defined for a maiden drilling program at Donovan 2
– Two geophysical targets at Cerro de la Cruz with coincident geological features within a broad well-defined corridor
– One geological target with proven copper mineralisation from shallow historic underground workings and adjacent water hole samples at Los Alomos
– Targets identified by Alien Metals technical team and supporting world class geophysical consultants
– All targets are robust and require drilling to develop the project
– Six drill holes planned for 1,000 metres of drilling
– Work to commence as soon as possible
Bill Brodie Good, Technical Director of Alien Metals, commented:
“We have extensively reviewed all available data including some reinterpretation work as well as using one of our consultants experience and knowledge of the San Nicolas VMS deposit just down the road to lead us to this maiden drilling program which we feel now provides us with some exciting targets. The company will work as efficiently as possible to update the existing drill permission documentation and work to get the drilling started as soon as is safely possible under the current situation.”
The Donovan 2 project is situated in a flat-lying area located about 45km south east of Zacatecas with excellent access and local infrastructure. The Teck Resources Limited San Nicolás VMS deposit lies within 24km of Donovan 2 and hosts a Measured and Indicated resource of 108.9Mt, with average grades of 1.16% Copper and 0.43g/t Gold.
Figure 1: Location of Donovan 2 project, Zacatecas State, Mexico
Alien Metals has to date completed surface mapping and sampling and two ground based geophysical surveys in the last couple of years. The work has identified numerous indications that a Volcanic Massive Sulphide (VMS) type Copper rich deposit is potentially present.
Further to a detailed review of all historic data and in-depth discussions with geophysical consultants used to date, the Company has designed the initial drill program to test the two identified prospects of Cerro de la Cruz and El Alomos. A total of six holes for 1,000 metres of drilling are planned, all diamond core drilling, with four holes at Cerro de la Cruz to test the defined magnetic and gravity anomalies and two holes at El Alomos to test the identified geological anomaly.
Figure 2: Location of prospects, Donovan 2, August 2020
Figure 3: Location of proposed drill holes in the two key target areas Cerro de la Cruz and Los Alomos, Donovan 2, August 2020
The Company feels that this maiden drilling program is the natural next phase of exploration for the project and is looking forward to reporting results to help further understand and work out the project potential.
VMS deposits occur throughout the world and throughout the geological time column in virtually every tectonic domain that has submarine volcanic rocks as an important constituent. VMS deposits are major sources of Copper and Zinc and contain significant quantities of Gold, Silver, Lead, Tin as well as minor amounts of other metals.
As a group, VMS deposits consist of massive accumulations of sulphide minerals (more than 60% sulphide minerals) which occur in lens-like or tabular bodies parallel to the volcanic stratigraphy or bedding. Teck’s VMS San Nicolás deposit proximal to Donovan 2 is such a deposit.
They are usually underlain by a footwall stockwork of vein and stringer sulphide mineralization and hydrothermal alteration They may occur in any rock type, but the predominant hosts are volcanic rocks and fine-grained, clay-rich sediments. The deposits consist of ubiquitous iron sulphide (pyrite, pyrrhotite) with chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena as the principal economic minerals. Barite and cherty silica are common gangue accessory minerals.
