(TheNewswire)
Toronto – July 22,2024 – TheNewswire : AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSX.V: ABRA; OTCQX:ABBRF) (“AbraSilver” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the first set ofassay results from the Company’s fully-funded 20,000 metre Phase IVdrill program, on its wholly-owned Diablillos project in SaltaProvince, Argentina (the “Project”).
The ongoing Phase IV drill program is focused onexpanding target areas with known mineralization as well as exploringnewly identified prospective exploration targets within the broaderDiablillos land package. Key takeaways from the latest drill resultsinclude the following holes all in the southwest of the JAC zone.:
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Hole DDH 24-003 intersected a broad zone ofnear-surface silver mineralization, consisting of 33 metres grading 87 g/t Ag starting at a down-hole depth of only 69 metres . Theintercept is located in a zone within the conceptual open pit boundarythat is currently classified as waste.
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Hole DDH 24-004 encountered a wide zone of high-gradesilver mineralization, grading 245 g/t Ag over 33.4 metres. Drilling in thiszone is designed to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to theIndicated category, within the conceptual open pit boundary.
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Hole DDH 24-005 intersected 26 metres grading 113 g/t Ag. This intercept is located approximately 35 metres south ofthe conceptual open pit margin and is expected to extendmineralization and the Mineral Resources in that direction.
John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, “We arepleased to see this successful start to our Phase IV drilling programwhich demonstrates the significant upside potential at Diablillos. These initial results demonstrate the strongcontinuity of high-grade silver mineralization surrounding the JACdeposit, which continues to remain open in multipledirections.”
Dave O’Connor, Chief Geologist, commented, “We areexcited by the initial drill results received from the Phase IV drillprogram. In addition to the ongoing step-out drilling near JAC,drilling is also currently underway in the area northeast of theOculto Mineral Resource and the adjacent Cerro Bayo area. Additionalholes in these areas will be sited with the aid of detailed structuralmapping to optimize targets."
The latest assay result highlights are summarized inTable 1 below.
Table 1 – Summary of DiablillosDrill Results
Intercepts greater than 2,000 gram-metres Ag shown inbold text :
Drill Hole | Area | From (m) | To (m) | Type | Interval (m) | Ag g/t | Au g/t | |
DDH-24-003 | JAC | 69.0 | 102.0 | Oxides | 33.0 | 86.5 | 0.01 | |
DDH-24-004 | JAC | 54.0 | 69.0 | Oxides | 15.0 | 31.0 | 0.01 | |
DDH-24-004 | 105.0 | 108.0 | Oxides | 3.0 | 71.8 | 0.01 | ||
DDH-24-004 | 110.0 | 143.4 | Oxides | 33.4 | 244.9 | 0.01 | ||
DDH-24-004 | Includes | 125.0 | 131.0 | Oxides | 6.0 | 603.4 | - | |
DDH-24-005 | JAC | 93.0 | 119.0 | Oxides | 26.0 | 112.9 | 0.03 | |
122.0 | 129.0 | Oxides | 7.0 | 143.3 |
Note: All results in this news release arerounded. Assays are uncut and undiluted. Widths are drilled widths,not true widths. True widths are estimated to be approximately 80% ofthe interval widths for oxides.
Figure 1 – Plan View of LatestDrill Holes
Figure 2 – Long Section ThroughNewly Announced Drill Holes
Phase IV Exploration ProgramUpdate
The ongoing, fully-funded 20,000m Phase IV drill program is focused on the following high-priorityexploration targets:
Epithermal District: Approximately 75% of the drill program will focus onexpanding the existing Mineral Resourceestimates near the main Oculto deposit and on identifying additionalnear-surface high-grade silver-gold oxide mineralization.
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Oculto Northeast Zone: Broad spaced drilling within the conceptual open pit and itsnortheast extensions in 2023 intersected silver and goldmineralization which was not included in the latest Mineral Resourceestimate. This new mineralized zone represents a high-prioritytarget.
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JAC Extension / Alpaca: Recent drilling in this area has uncovered a trend of silvermineralization perpendicular to the JAC zone which is believed toconnect the Alpaca target to the high-grade JAC zone. This isinterpreted as being a conjugate set of mineralised structures, withsilver occurring both within andesite volcanics and in underlyingbasement rocks.
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Cerro Bayo: Arecent reinterpretation of geology has emphasised the possibility ofshallow mineralisation in the Cerro Bayo area, which is locatedapproximately 500 metres east of the Oculto pit boundary. A previousgeochemical survey obtained highly anomalous gold results and ahistorical drill hole intersected shallow gold mineralization. Detailed geological mapping in the Cerro Bayo area and adjacentOculto Northeast zone will be completed within the next month todefine structures which will be targets for drilling.
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Fantasma: Historical drilling at Fantasma outlined a Mineral Resourceestimate which is located approximately 1 km west-northwest of theOculto deposit. Recent intercepts suggest that silver mineralizationcontinues from Oculto towards the Fantasma zone and that these zonesmay connect.
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Laderas: Drilling is planned to explore for extensions of the existinggold dominant Mineral Resource historically outlined in this areawhich is immediately north of the conceptual open pitboundary.
New Regional Step-out Targets: Approximately 25% of the drill program will befocused on new regional step-out exploration targets on the Diablillosproperty that remain largely untested to date. These targets include asubstantial quartz-sericite alteration zone and associated anomalousgold in historical shallow holes drilled at the Cerro Viejo target andthe newly defined Jasperoid magnetic target.
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Porphyry Complex (Cerro Blanco /Cerro Viejo): The Cerro Blanco / Cerro Viejoarea is located approximately 3.5 km northeast of the Oculto deposit.Following an electromagnetic survey the Company plans to commencedrilling deeper holes in September to explore for an underlyingporphyry system. Gold mineralization in this area is typicallyassociated with pyrite in quartz-sericite alteration, which isinterpreted as potentially representing the upper part of amineralised porphyry system.
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Jasperoid Target: This is an elongated zone of low magnetic response which wasidentified in the geophysical survey conducted in late 2023. The zonefollows the trend of a major north-south regional fault and a nearbyhistorical reverse circulation drill hole intersected anomalous goldin vuggy silica. The geology of this zone makes it a high prioritytarget for epithermal gold-silver mineralisation.
Collar Data
Hole Number | UTM Coordinates | Elevation | Azimuth | Dip | Depth (m) | Area | Notes | |
DDH 24-001 | E719933 | N7198848 | 4,190 | 0 | -60 | 203.5 | JAC-Oculto connection | No meaningful intercepts |
DDH 24-002 | E720500 | N7200502 | 4,216 | 0 | -60 | 130.5 | North Laderas | No meaningful intercepts |
DDH 24-003 | E719068 | N7198623 | 4,129 | 0 | -60 | 152 | JAC | - |
DDH 24-004 | E719186 | N7198628 | 4,131 | 0 | -60 | 194 | JAC | - |
DDH 24-005 | E719332 | N7198649 | 4,141 | 0 | -60 | 164 | JAC | - |
DDH 24-006 | E719973 | N7198926 | 4,194 | 0 | -60 | 150 | JAC-Oculto connection |
About Diablillos
The Diablillos property is located within the Punaregion of Argentina, in the southern part of Salta Province along theborder with Catamarca Province, approximately 160 km southwest of thecity of Salta and 375 km northwest of the city of Catamarca. Theproperty comprises 15 contiguous and overlapping mineral concessionsacquired by AbraSilver in 2016. The project site has good year-roundaccessibility through a 150 km paved road, followed by awell-maintained gravel road, shared with other adjacentprojects.
There are several known mineral zones on the Diablillosproperty. Approximately 150,000 m have been drilled to date, which hasoutlined multiple occurrences of epithermal silver-gold mineralizationat Oculto, JAC, Laderas and Fantasma. Additionally, severalsatellites zones of silver/gold-rich epithermal mineralization havebeen located within a 500 m to 1.5 km distance surrounding theOculto/JAC epicentre.
Comparatively nearby examples of high sulphidationepithermal deposits include: La Coipa (Chile); Yanacocha (Peru); ElIndio (Chile); Lagunas Nortes/Alto Chicama (Peru) Veladero(Argentina); and Filo del Sol (Argentina).
The most recent Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillosis shown in Table 2:
Table 2 - Diablillos Mineral Reserve Estimate – Asof March 07, 2024
Category | Tonnage (000 t) | Ag (g/t) | Au (g/t) | Contained Ag (000 oz Ag) | Contained Au (000 oz Au) |
Proven | 12,364 | 118 | 0.86 | 46,796 | 341 |
Probable | 29,930 | 80 | 0.80 | 76,684 | 766 |
Proven & Probable | 42,294 | 91 | 0.81 | 123,480 | 1,107 |
Notes for Mineral Reserve Estimate:
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Mineral reserves have an effective date of March 7th,2024.
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The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserve Estimateis Mr. Miguel Fuentealba, P.Eng.
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The mineral reserves were estimated using the CanadianInstitute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), DefinitionStandards for Mineral Resources and Reserves, as prepared by the CIMStanding Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIMCouncil.
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The mineral reserves were based on a pit design whichin turn aligned with an ultimate pit shell selected from a Whittle TMpit optimization exercise. Key inputs for that process are:
• Metal prices of USD $1,750/oz Au; USD $22.50/oz Ag
• Variable Mining cost by bench and material type.Average costs are USD $1.94/t for all lithologies except for“cover”, Cover mining cost of USD 1.73/t, respectively.
• Processing costs for all zone, USD $22.97/t. •Infrastructure and G&A cost of USD 3.32/t. • Pit average slopeangles varying from 37° to 60° depending on the geotechnical domain.• The average recovery is estimated to be 82.8% for silver and 86.6%for gold.
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The Mineral Reserve Estimate has been categorized inaccordance with the CIM Definition Standards (CIM, 2014).
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A Net Value per block (“NVB”) cut-off was used toconstrain the Mineral Reserve with the reserve pit 2shell. The NVB wasbased on "Benefits = Revenue-Cost" being positive, where,Revenue = [(Au Selling Price (USD/oz) - Au Selling Cost (USD/oz)) x(Au grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Au Recovery (%)] + [(Ag Selling Price(USD/oz) - Ag Selling Cost (USD/oz)) x (Ag grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x AgRecovery (%)] and Cost = Process Cost (USD/t) + Transport Cost (USD/t)+ GA Cost (USD/t) + [Royalty Cost (%) x Revenue]. The NVB methodresulted in an average equivalent cut-off grade of approximately 46g/tAgEq.
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In-situ bulk density was read from the block model,assigned previously to each model domain during the process of mineralresource estimation, according to samples averages of each lithologydomain, separated by alteration zones and subset byoxidation.
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All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes and ouncesof contained gold and silver are troy ounces.
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All figures are rounded to reflect the relativeaccuracy of the estimates. Minor discrepancies may occur due torounding to appropriate significant figures.
QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols
AbraSilver applies industry standard explorationmethodologies and techniques, and all drill core samples are collectedunder the supervision of the Company’s geologists in accordance withindustry practices. Drill core is transported from the drill platformto the logging facility where drill data is compared and verified withthe core in the trays. Thereafter, it is logged, photographed, andsplit by diamond saw prior to being sampled. Samples are then bagged,and quality control materials are inserted at regular intervals; theseinclude blanks and certified reference materials as well as duplicatecore samples which are collected in order to measure samplerepresentivity. Groups of samples are then placed in large bags whichare sealed with numbered tags in order to maintain a chain-of-custodyduring the transport of the samples from the project site to thelaboratory.
All samples are sent to the Alex Stewart samplepreparation facility in Jujuy, then the sample pulps are sent to theAlex Stewart laboratory in Mendoza where they are analyzed. Allsamples are analyzed using a multi-element technique consisting of afour-acid digestion followed by ICP/AES detection, and gold isanalyzed by 50g Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Silver results greaterthan 100g/t are reanalyzed using four acid digestion with an ore gradeAAS finish.
Qualified Persons
David O’Connor P.Geo., Chief Geologist forAbraSilver, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and he hasreviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in thisnews release.
About AbraSilver
AbraSilver is an advanced-stage exploration companyfocused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-goldproject in the mining-friendly Salta province of Argentina. Thecurrent Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate for Diablillos,from a recently completed Pre-Feasibility Study, consists of 42.3 Mtgrading 91 g/t Ag and 0.81 g/t Au, containing approximately 124 Mozsilver and 1.1 Moz gold, with significant further exploration upsidepotential. In addition, the Company has entered into an earn-in optionand joint venture agreement with Teck on the La Coipita project,located in the San Juan province of Argentina. AbraSilver is listedon the TSX-V under the symbol “ABRA” and in the U.S. on the OTCQXunder the symbol “ABBRF.”
For further information please visit the AbraSilverResource website at www.abrasilver.com , ourLinkedIn page at , and follow us on Twitter at
Alternatively please contact:
John Miniotis, President and CEO
Tel: +1 416-306-8334
Cautionary Statements
This news release includes certain"forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadiansecurities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarilybased upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, whileconsidered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks,uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual resultsand future events to differ materially from those expressed or impliedby such forward-looking statements. All statements that address futureplans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes,expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-lookinginformation. There can be no assurance that such statements will proveto be accurate, as actual results and future events could differmaterially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keepin mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in theCompany’s disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadiansecurities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Therisk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents couldcause actual events or results to differ materially from thosedescribed in any forward-looking information. The Company disclaimsany intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-lookingstatements, whether as a result of new information, future events orotherwise, except as required by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange norits Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in thepolicies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for theadequacy or accuracy of this news release
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