Spanish Assays Return High-Grade Zinc, Lead And Silver
Variscan Mines Limited (ASX:VAR) has obtained new high-grade assay results from grab sampling conducted around former mine areas and prospects within its Guarajaz Project in Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain.
The grab sampling was part of a broader geological field reconnaissance program recently undertaken at Guarajaz.
Managing Director and CEO, Stewart Dickson, said the assay results identified the presence of significant zinc, lead, copper, and silver, supporting the presence of high-grade polymetallic mineralisation suitable for future drill testing.
“While the Novales-Udias Project in Cantabria remains our immediate and main focus, we are putting carefully targeted efforts into proving up the prospectivity of other projects in our portfolio,” Mr Dickson said.
“Prior to the current drill programme commencing at the San Jose Mine, we took the opportunity to conduct some follow- up exploration work on the Guarajaz Project in Castilla-La Mancha, where very little exploration has been conducted for nearly 40 years.
“We are thrilled with the high-grade assay results coming out of grab samples taken during this geological fieldwork. It has provided us with multiple target areas to focus on in future drilling campaigns there.
“These Guarajaz assay results demonstrate excellent potential for the recently identified drill targets to have good depth extensions and to aggregate into a substantial strike-extensive mineralised systems.
“Our belief is that Guarajaz represents an excellent, de-risked brownfield polymetallic project. Aligning with this view, we have filed an application with the authorities in Castilla-La Mancha for a 3-year extension of the current exploration licence over the Guarajaz tenement area.”
Key findings & potential future activities
- Grab samples identified high-grade mineralisation from historic mine workings
- These grades are consistent with previous sampling which returned high grades including; 17.35% Zn, 11.95% Pb, 0.49% Cu and 332 g/t Ag.
- Going forward, the high-grade results confirm target areas for future exploration including:
o further geological exploratory work leading to scout-drilling
o Future drill-testing of confirmed targets
Variscan’s Guajaraz Project located in the Central Zone of the Iberian Massif, approximately 60km southwest from Madrid is centred around the former producing La Union underground mine, which together with the adjacent La Blanca and Manolita mines form a large surrounding exploration opportunity.
The Guajaraz Project actually comprises seven mineral occurrences, with the largest and best known being the old Guajaraz Mine (also known as La Union Mine) located on the contact between Paleozoic (limestones) rocks and migmatitic rocks.
Production began at the La Union Mine in 1945 and ceased in in the mid-1980s, with limited exploration since that time.
The mining complex is composed of a network of galleries and shafts extending to a depth of 380m. There are several kilometres of underground workings over 10 separate levels accessing ore. Historical records indicate that the mineralisation was only partially exploited and remains open both along strike and at depth.
For further information please visit: https://www.variscan.com.au
