Surface and underground sampling undertaken by Pinnacle Silver and Gold PINN has confirmed the presence of strong gold-silver mineralization in the Estrella vein at the high-grade El Potrero gold-silver project in Durango.
The limited mine workings are 42.5 metres long and channel sampling identified two mineralized zones yielding 5.49 grams per tonne gold and 48 grams silver over an average width of 0.72 metres and strike length of 12 metres, and 1.87 grams gold and 51 grams silver over an average width of 1.1 metres and a strike length of 22.5 metres.
The two zones are separated by 18 metres of lower grade material in the adit but could coalesce below this.
Individual samples assayed up to 17.7 grams gold and 24 grams silver over 0.5 metres, 8.77 grams gold and 32 grams silver over 0.5 metres, and 3.51 grams gold and 196 grams silver over 0.8 metres.
On surface, the vein has been traced for almost 150 metres along strike and is still open in both directions, reaching a width of six metres at the northern end of the exposure.
Systematic channel sampling will be conducted in the coming weeks.
Pinnacle also released results from the La Dura 2 mine workings, following previous results that returned 1.98 grams per tonne gold 98 grams silver along a 12-metre strike length. Surface sampling of the vein has extended the gold-silver mineralization along strike such that the zone can now be followed for approximately 45 metres.
Within the seven vein samples taken on surface, assays included 6.89 grams gold and 208 grams silver over 1.4 metres, 5.95 grams gold and 185 grams silver over one metre, 5.75 grams gold and 230 grams silver over 0.7 metres, and 3.39 grams gold and 248 grams silver over 1.3 metres. This new information will aid in delineation drilling of La Dura once the surface program begins.
“The identification of high grades of gold and silver mineralization in the Estrella vein is a key development for the Potrero project as the vein is approximately 500 metres southwest of the main Dos de Mayo structure that hosts the three principal mines on the property, and it significantly opens up the size of the mineralized system, both laterally and vertically,” said Robert Archer, Pinnacle’s chief executive.
“At surface, La Estrella sits at an elevation of 1,880 metres above sea level (masl) whereas Dos de Mayo is predominantly exposed between 1490 and 1570 masl, suggesting that there could be up to 400 metres of vertical continuity of the epithermal system preserved below La Estrella. Geologically, the vein exhibits brecciated, lattice bladed and banded textures, and contains substantial amounts of clay minerals such as kaolin, with red, orange, and lemon-yellow oxides, all features that typically occur in the upper parts of a low-sulphidation epithermal system. La Estrella is developing into an important drill target once permits are in place. Similarly, the identification of significantly higher-grade gold-silver mineralization in outcrop at La Dura 2 has more than tripled the known strike length of this mineralized zone. Given the limited extent and orientation of the underground workings here, this zone will be drilled from surface as soon as possible.”
View from Vox
The high-grade samples from El Potrero just keep on coming – surely a good sign ahead of the company’s upcoming underground drilling campaign. This is clearly a project with enormous potential. The question now becomes just how much gold and silver is really there, and at what grades? Drilling will go a long way towards answering those questions, and this year the plan is to drill both from surface and from underground.