Five Rigs In Action In Argentinian Exploration Drilling Campaign
Challenger Exploration (ASX: CEL) has reported more positive drilling from drilling the company’s flagship Hualilan Gold Project, located in San Juan Province, Argentina.
The results are from the remainder of the second 7,500 metre drilling programme and initial holes targeting the high-grade skarn from the current five rig 45,000m drilling programme.
Managing Director, Kris Knauer, said all holes were designed to explore for extensions to the historical resource estimate with the exception of two twin holes for JORC reporting.
“Another round of impressive drilling results that reinforce our view that we have a much larger gold system than originally anticipated,” Mr Knauer said.
“We are yet to define the limits of the mineralisation within the current two km of strike which all of the drilling has been focused.
“This round of drilling demonstrates that the high-grade mineralisation we encountered in GNDD- 035, our first hole targeting high-grade mineralisation in the Gap Zone, is extensive.
“We continue to deepen our understanding of the system with drilling, which continues to increase our confidence that the Magnata and Sanchez Faults have the potential to add significant high-grade ounces.”
Mr Knauer said the results continue to extend the near surface skarn mineralisation along strike and down dip in multiple locations and have defined two new zones of high-grade skarn mineralisation, one above and one below, the historical limestone hosted skarn mineralisation.
Drilling has confirmed that there is a previously unrecognised broad continuous zone of bulk gold mineralisation overlying the high-grade skarn which is likely to enhance the economics in an open pit development scenario. This round of results has demonstrated that much of the historical drilling is under sampled and is likely to have left zones of high-grade mineralisation unassayed and thus not included in the historical resource.
The company has completed approximately 16,000m of the high impact current 45,000m drill programme
Highlights:
▪ Extension of the high-grade skarn mineralisation into the Gap Zone with holes GNRC-104 (four metres at 12.0 g/t AuEq) and GNRC-098 (two metres at 17.0 g/t AuEq within a broader zone of eight metres at 5.3 g/t AuEq) encountering high-grade mineralisation.
▪ GNRC-076 returned five metres at 12.3 g/t AuEq in sandstone which overlies the limestone between the Main Manto at Cerro Norte and the Sanchez Fault. Mineralisation in sandstone has not been targeted by previous explorers.
▪ A second drillhole to test the Sanchez Fault (GNRC-084) intersected 29m of mineralisation confirming the potential of this zone to materially increase the high-grade mineralisation. Drilling in this zone, which outcrops over 400m, is at an early stage however high grade near surface mineralisation has now been defined by RC drilling over 150m of strike with assay results pending from a number of deeper diamond core holes.
▪ The mineralisation at Sentazon and Muchilera appear to join forming a single zone of mineralisation covering 350m of strike and 200m of plunge extent which remains open to the north and south along strike and at depth.
▪ GNDD-114 returned 14.7m at 3.3 g/t AuEq including 0.9m at 50.7 g/t AuEq south of the Magnata Fault. This opens the potential for the skarn mineralisation to extend south over a 300m zone of limited drilling to the Sentazon Manto which remains open to the north. This would see continuous manto mineralisation covering 600m of strike between Magnata and Sentazon which remains open in both directions along strike and at depth.
▪ A previously unrecognised broad zone of bulk gold mineralisation has been identified above the skarn in a majority of holes which has the potential to add to the economics of the project.
