Antilles Gold Limited (ASX: AAU) has received promising preliminary assays for three cored holes from a six hole (1,800m) programme at El Pilar in central Cuba that was completed in September 2022.
The holes were located along 300m of strike on the gold-copper oxide deposit that appears to overlay a large copper-gold porphyry deposit. Five of the holes penetrated the gold and copper domains of the oxide deposit, and into what is probably the outer zone of a porphyry intrusion.
The assays must be considered as preliminary as they were undertaken at the Cuban Government’s LACEMI (Laboratorio Central de Minerales) laboratory in Havana which though capable and with modern equipment, is not qualified under the JORC Code.
All assays will be replicated at SGS’s laboratory in Peru within the next six to eight weeks.
Highlights:
- 3.0m at 13.81 g/t Au from 10.0m
- 4.3m at 4.47 g/t Au from surface 13.4m at 3.53g/t Au from 14.3m
- 72.4m at 0.63% Cu from 36.6m including 26.2m at 0.86% Cu from 72.8m [Results Pending]
- 30.4m at 0.55% Cu from 49.5m including 8.0m at 1.39% Cu from 53.5m
Antilles Gold’s Exploration Director, Dr Christian Grainger, said the assays from the oxide deposit were consistent with the results from 24,000m of historic drilling that were the basis for the Exploration Target Range.
“The virtually continuous copper grades in holes PHD-001A and PDH-002 below the enriched gold domain, are associated with secondary chalcocite that is an easily leachable copper oxide mineral and is 80 weight percent copper in nature.
“Notably, only chalcopyrite and bornite have been identified in the fresh rock sulphide mineralisation below the oxide mineralised zones with a lack of arsenic bearing sulphides indicating a very clean concentrate will be able to be created.
“A gold oxide zone of +2 g/t Au, with an additional lower oxide zone of leached copper of +0.5% Cu, is seen as extremely positive for early mine development and cash flow generation.
“The preparation for the upcoming detailed ground geophysical programme of both I.P. (induced polarization) and magnetics, is on track and the 3km x 2km geophysical grid will guide the upcoming drilling campaign to target the concealed sulphide porphyry copper-gold mineralization, that is the source of the El Pilar oxide copper-gold mineralisation.
“Additionally, extensions to the surface oxide copper-gold mineralisation, or additional new zones, are highly probable.”
A 15,000m cored drilling programme is planned to commence on the porphyry deposit in February 2023.
In addition, the company will commence a separate 7,000m program on the oxide deposit in January 2023 to establish JORC Resources and a Scoping Study for an open pit mine to produce gold and copper concentrates, which could potentially be commissioned in Q2 2025, soon after the La Demajagua gold-silver mine.
For further information please visit: https://antillesgold.net/
