Here's the news:
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: PACIFIC RIM MINING CORP.
SEC FILE: 029704
TSE SYMBOL: PFG
JANUARY 13, 2000
Pacific Rim Mining Corp. Announces Luicho Surface
Sampling Outlines New Mineralization Outside Structural
Corridor
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Pacific Rim Mining Corp. has
collected a further 1,060 surface samples on its Luicho project in
southern Peru, bringing the number of samples collected to date by
the Company to 3,771. This on-going sampling program continues to
expand and fill-in the Luicho gold anomaly.
The average grade of all 3,771 samples collected to date is 1.65
g/t gold. Most of these samples were collected from the
'structural corridor'; a 250 meter wide zone in which a series of
north-south and northeast-trending strike slip faults have
intensely brecciated the host rock. The structural corridor has
been separated into the Northeast, Central and South Zones, based
on the intensity of brecciation and the degree of mineralization.
The combined strike length of these three contiguous zones
currently extends 1.85 kilometers in a roughly north-south
direction, and remains open for expansion.
The cumulative results of Pacific Rim's sampling to date in each
zone are summarized in the table below.
/T/
Zone # of samples average grade % of samples average grade
in total of total samples exceeding 0.31 of samples
g/t gold cutoff exceeding
0.31 g/t
gold cutoff
Northeast 559 1.41 g/t gold 67% 2.04 g/t gold
Central 1400 3.07 g/t gold 73% 4.14 g/t gold
South 580 1.08 g/t gold 52% 1.94 g/t gold
Total for
Structural
Corridor 2539 2.25 g/t gold 67% 3.29 g/t gold
/T/
Pacific Rim's geological staff has made great progress in defining
the controls for gold mineralization. The two most important
factors are the degree of fracturing/brecciation and the inherent
ability of the rocks to hold those fractures open (the competency
of the rock). The key structural feature at Luicho is the
north-south Luicho Fault Zone. The shape of the structural
corridor is influenced by this fault zone, and its intersection
with a series of northeast trending faults. The southern portion
of the structural corridor runs north-south and is bound on the
west by the Luicho Fault. Where the northeast faults intersect
the Luicho Fault Zone, the corridor bends toward the northeast and
is bound by northeast trending faults.
A great number of samples were collected within the Luicho Fault
Zone north of the bend in the structural corridor. A sinuous 322
meter long string of 235 samples in this area averages 1.10 g/t Au
and represents a new, previously unrecognized area of surface
mineralization. This mineralization occurs in the sandstone
package 150 meters below its upper contact. This is deeper into
the sandstone section than any previous sampling.
These latest sampling results also identified an area of highly
anomalous gold in the Northeast Zone, immediately north of the
Central Zone. One sample string collected in this area averages
8.42 g/t gold over 52 meters.
"Luicho continues to provide pleasant surprises with time", states
Pacific Rim CEO Tom Shrake. "In addition to confirming the size
and grade of the structural corridor with these latest results, we
have added another significant target area that lies outside of
the corridor. The host rocks that are exposed within the Luicho
Fault Zone north of the corridor are mineralized over a minimum
width of 50 meters. Most importantly, these results provide
insight into the depth potential for the Luicho target, as the
mineralization outlined by these samples occurs 150 meters down
into the sandstone section. This provides solid evidence for a
significant vertical component to the Luicho system."
Individual samples collected by Pacific Rim are continuous rock
chip samples 2 to 3 meters in length. These samples are most
often strung together to produce continuous rock chip channels 10
to 100 (plus) meters in length. Sampling is supervised by Pacific
Rim's senior geologists Dave Ernst and Pete Dilles and the Luicho
program is ultimately supervised by Tom Shrake, CEO of the
Company. Samples are assayed by Bondar Clegg, an
ISO9002-registered analytical laboratory in Vancouver, BC, after
first being prepared at their facility in Lima. A check assay
program is on-going with Chemex Labs.
A map outlining the new continuous rock chip samples is available
at the Company's website (www.pacrim-mining.com) or by fax from
the Company.
On behalf of the board of directors,
Thomas C. Shrake, CEO
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding
upcoming programs and expected geological results. Actual results
may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such
statements. |
