14.9m True Width at 3.94g/t Gold (including 2.6m at 7.76g/t Gold) at Cacao Vein
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Condor Gold (AIM: CNR; TSX: COG) is pleased to announce a significant drill intercept of 25.93m (14.9m true width) at 3.94g/t gold from 263.82m, including 4.58m (2.6m true width) at 7.76g/t gold from 282.12m drill depth in drill hole CCDC033 at the Cacao Prospect. This is the best drilling intercept returned to-date from the Cacao Prospect (“Cacao”). This assay result supports the geological model that Cacao is a fully preserved, deep-seated epithermal gold mineralisation system, with the potential to host a significant gold deposit. Cacao is located approximately 4 km from the planned processing plant at Condor’s fully permitted La India gold mine and is being assessed as a potential satellite deposit.
Highlights
· Condor has completed 3,500m of a 5,000m diamond drilling programme to explore the potential of the Cacao prospect to host a significant gold deposit.
· Best gold intercept returned to date at Cacao: 25.93m (14.9m true width) at 3.94g/t gold from 263.82m, including 4.58m (2.6m true width) at 7.76g/t gold from 282.12m drill depth.
· Supports the geological model that Cacao is a fully preserved, deep-seated epithermal gold mineralisation system.
· The high-grade mineralisation is open to depth beneath the Cacao Mineral Resource.
· Cacao has an existing Inferred Mineral Resource of 662 Kt at 2.8 g/t gold for 60,000 oz gold on a strike length of only 600 meters.
· The existing Mineral Resource is partially an open pit mineral resource, which the Company seeks to expand.
· The drill programme is designed to demonstrate the Cacao vein has a strike length of an additional 2,500 meters, test the depth extension and increase the Mineral Resource.
Mark Child, Chairman and CEO commented:
“The drill intercept CCDC033 of 25.93m (14.9m true width) at 3.94g/t gold, including 4.58m (2.6m true width) at 7.76g/t gold on the Cacao vein is significant as it demonstrates: 1) support for the geological model that Cacao is a fully preserved, deep-seated epithermal gold mineralisation system. 2) the structural model that Cacao is a major dilational vein, e.g. the width is greater than 10.0m. 3) gold mineralisation occurs at the deepest level drill-tested to-date and the gold grade demonstrated is increasing with depth. The potential to add further gold mineral resource ounces from Cacao may have a significant impact of the overall value of our existing La India Project.”
Background
The Cacao Prospect hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 662 Kt at 2.8 g/t gold for 60,000 oz gold based on 2,890m of drilling completed prior to 2018. Cacao at surface is an east-west-striking ridge of chalcedonic phreatic breccia, 10 to 50 m wide, approximately 600 m of strike length has been demonstrated to date. Cacao is open at depth and along strike in both directions. The vein width is comparable to the best intersections at La India vein. Structurally controlled ore shoots, as at La India, are to be expected in this major dilational vein. The Cacao to Santa Barbara gold mineralised structure has an interpreted strike length of approximately 4,000m.
The objective of the current 5,000m drill programme is to test a strike length of an additional 2,500m, test the depth extension and increase the Mineral Resource.
The aim is to test the interpretation that Cacao hosts a concealed, fully preserved epithermal system.
Table 1. Drill Assay Results for Drill Hole CCDC033.
* Note: Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratories, Canada. www.bureauveritas.com/um was used for the drill assay results.
The significant gold intercept in drill hole CCDC033 is located directly below (down-dip) from one of two higher-grade gold mineralised zones identified at surface in previous shallow depth drilling campaigns. The transition from near surface sinters to well developed banded quartz veins, and the associated increase in gold grade that is observed with increased depth fully supports the model that the surface mineralisation at Cacao lies above a fully preserved epithermal system. The interpreted hydrothermal boiling-related ‘bonanza’ gold grades at Cacao have been interpreted to only occur at depth, typically a minimum of a hundred meters below the sinter. The high-grade gold intercept returned from drill hole CCRD033 at approximately 260 m below surface is potentially the top of the ‘bonanza zone’ that occurs in many epithermal gold mineralised systems.
Further details on drill hole CCDC033 are that it intercepted three distinct higher-grade intervals within a wide tectonically brecciated mineralised zone. The high grade occurs where the matrix of the original fault brecciated quartz vein has been filled by secondary banded quartz, rather than fault gouge clay and sand which infills the breccia in the lower grade parts of the structure. The gold mineralisation in CCDC033 occurs at the deepest level drill-tested to-date; approximately 260 m below surface which represents a 50 m down-dip extension of the gold mineralisation.
Cacao Drilling Programme Update
Fifteen drill holes for approximately 3,500 m of diamond core have been completed out of a 5,000 m drilling programme. The drilling has tested:
1. the potential to expand the current mineral resource to depth, and
2. explored for extensions or repetitions of mineralisation beneath alluvial cover up to 1.5 km along strike to the east below isolated exposures of quartz veins in bedrock and colluvium.
Mid-level intercepts of up to 7.85 m (3.9 m true thickness) at 3.75 g/t gold at approximately 150 m below surface (CCDC023) were returned in the 2016 drilling programme. These have now been improved upon with the latest deep-level intercept of 25.93m (14.9m true thickness) at 3.94g/t Au at approximately 260 m below surface (CCDC033).
As well as testing beneath the current mineral resource the drilling programme is also testing the strike potential. Along strike to the east of the Cacao mineral resource the mineralisation ‘dives’ beneath an alluvial fan (about 20 m thickness). Deeply eroded streams in the fan contain large boulders of silicified rock and sinter directly along strike; this implies the vein continues. The Cacao Vein outcrops in a river valley about 1.6 km east of Cacao where several parallel veins are exploited by informal miners. Grab samples assay up to 11.6 g/t gold. The latest drilling has now tested approximately 500 m of strike extension immediately to the east of the Cacao Mineral Resource with 100 m spaced drillholes to look for indications of a mineralised structure beneath the alluvial cover. Two drill holes near to the river valley outcrops have tested the structures exploited by the informal miners. Assay results are pending for the strike extension drilling.
Drilling has been paused awaiting all assay results to be returned and the data interpreted before designing the final drilling phase. Additional drilling to depth and along strike to the east will be considered when the remaining assay results have been received.
Figure 1: Location of Cacao Relative to Permitted Mine Site Infrastructure
Figure 2: Geological map with the inferred Cacao-Santa Barbara Vein.
