News from Minera Andes' nearby property. The two best holes had
intercepts of 15.2 meters averaging 8.23 g/t gold and 741 g/t silver,
and 6.1 meters averaging 61.53 g/t gold and 1,647 g/t silver. It can
only help Yamana when the Spring drill season approaches.
Neil.
=============
Minera Andes Intercepts More High-Grade Gold
Mineralization in Second Round of Exploration at El
Pluma/Cerro Saavedra
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON--More high-grade silver/gold mineralization
has been intersected in two holes drilled in the vicinity of a
discovery hole at Minera Andes' El Pluma/Cerro Saavedra discovery
property located in the West Deseado silver/gold belt of Santa
Cruz Province, Argentina.
In addition, new drill targets, including those for significant
disseminated mineralization potential, have been located in
trenching and surface exploration at this very large,
92,000-hectare (228,000 acres) discovery property for which Minera
Andes holds 100 percent mineral ownership applications. Strong
potential exists for the delineation of more exploration targets.
So far, Minera Andes' exploration has concentrated on vein
structures in a localized zone within the Saavedra West target
area. The latest round of drilling was completed within a one
square kilometer area on a property that covers 255 square
kilometers. To date, for Minera Andes' entire program at El
Pluma/Cerro Saavedra, only about 20 percent of the surface of the
property within a 15 km by 4 km trend of mineralization covered by
the land package has been explored.
In the latest round of drilling at the Saavedra West target area,
Hole EP-20, drilled 20 meters southwest of original discovery Hole
EP-12, cut 50 feet (15.2 meters) averaging 8.23 g/t (0.240 oz/t)
gold and 741 g/t (21.63 oz/t) silver. Hole EP-21, drilled 20
meters northeast of EP-12, cut 20 feet (6.1 meters) averaging
61.53 g/t (1.79 oz/t) gold and 1,647 g/t (48.02 oz/t) silver.
SIGNIFICANT GOLD AND SILVER INTERCEPTS (x)
CERRO SAAVEDRA WEST, ARGENTINA
Intercept
Drill T.D. From To Interval Gold Silver
Hole Incl. Az. ft. ft. ft. ft.(xxx) g/t g/t
(xx) degree degree (oz/t) (oz/t)
--------------------------------------------------------------
EP-20 -45 N225 330 80 130 50 8.23 741
(0.24) (21.6)
Includes 85 100 15 24.48 1553
(0.71) (45.3)
Includes 120 130 10 2.50 844
(0.07) (24.6)
--------------------------------------------------------------
EP-21 -45 N225 330 200 220 20 61.53 1647
(1.79) (48.0)
Includes 200 210 10 121.60 3235
(3.55) (94.4)
--------------------------------------------------------------
(x) All significant drill intercepts have been checked by
independent assay laboratories.
(xx) Holes EP-18-19 and EP-22 to 37 contain anomalous to
non-significant results.
(xxx) Quoted intervals represent approximate true widths.
Several high-grade and disseminated targets identified on the
property remain to be tested when field work resumes in the fourth
quarter of 1998. Minera Andes' geologists forecast a 3,000 meter
drilling program.
The second phase program included 20 reverse-circulation angle
holes totaling 2,012 meters (6,605 feet) at the Saavedra West
target (see map 2). Drilling was limited to a short, one-month
program due to the approaching Argentine winter. Consequently,
the second round of drilling concentrated on extending the
high-grade structurally controlled mineralization previously
encountered in Hole DDH-12 drilled in March 1998.
In addition, an increased land position now totaling 92,000
hectares (228,000 acres) reported in our May 22, 1998 news release
contains new prospective areas outside of the El Pluma/Cerro
Saavedra property with several geologic and satellite imaging
targets scheduled for exploration when work resumes.
DISSEMINATED MINERALIZATION POTENTIAL
In the Deseado Massif region of southern Argentina, where the El
Pluma/Cerro Saavedra property is located, the dominant type of
precious metal mineral occurrence is vein-type similar to the
Cerro Vanguardia deposit (3.2 million ounces of gold). This type
of mineralized vein occurrence in Santa Cruz Province typically
has little or no wall rock alteration and minimal potential to
create a disseminated deposit, due to the fact that the rhyolitic
wall rocks are relatively dense and impermeable. In contrast, the
vast majority of major precious metal mines developed during the
past 20 years have been lower-grade, high tonnage disseminated
deposits where the precious metals were deposited in highly
permeable hosts rocks fed by high-grade "feeder" structures.
At the Saavedra West area precious metal mineralization is hosted
by very porous volcaniclastic and epiclastic rocks that are highly
altered up to several hundred meters from major high-grade
structures. This indicates high volume fluid movement through the
rocks and is a very favorable environment for significant
disseminated gold and silver mineralization.
Drilling to date has defined high-grade gold and silver
mineralization that is largely structurally controlled. However,
the better mineralization, in terms of grade and thickness, occurs
where structures cut favorable, more permeable rock types. In
addition, both the drilling and trenching show that lower grade
mineralization also occurs as disseminated mineralization in
environments where lithology appears to be the dominant ore
control. This strongly indicates the potential for significant
disseminated mineralization on the property.
The next phase of work at El Pluma/Cerro Saavedra will include
geologic and alteration mapping, geochemistry and geophysics to
generate new targets and further define additional targets at
Saavedra West, El Pluma and La Sorpresa. In addition, a program
of reconnaissance exploration will focus on developing targets in
the ten other "windows" in the basalt cover where alteration is
known to occur and developing targets beneath the thin (less than
10 meters) basalt and alluvium cover.
Minera Andes is a mining exploration corporation that controls
approximately 25 properties on about 700,000 acres of mineral
exploration land in Argentina. Most of the properties are located
in the Andean cordillera and primarily contain gold, copper and
silver mineralization targets. The Corporation is presently
pursuing the further development of its epithermal silver/gold
discovery in Santa Cruz Province. Selected opportunities in other
countries are also under review.
Visit our web site: www.minandes.com.
Although Minera Andes believes many of its properties have
promising potential, its properties are in the early stages of
exploration. None have yet been shown to contain proven or
probable mineral reserves. There can be no assurance that such
reserves will be identified on any property, or, that if
identified, any mineralization may be economically extracted. |
