Pinnacle Silver and Gold (PINN) has reported encouraging initial results from its underground drilling programme at the El Potrero gold-silver project in Durango, Mexico, with assays of up to 59.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 424 g/t silver.
The programme has drilled 58 of the planned 108 holes, with assays received for the first 37. Drilling is focused on the historic Pinos Cuates mine along the Dos de Mayo vein, with results extending the potential strike length of the mineralised zone to at least 70 metres.
The standout result came from hole EPUG26035, which returned 13.18 metres at 9.69 g/t gold and 143 g/t silver. Within this intersection, a 1.07-metre section containing visible gold assayed 59.2 g/t gold and 424 g/t silver.
Meanwhile, holes EPUG26025 and EPUG26026 extended mineralisation towards the southeast by up to 21 metres, with the latter returning 1.5 metres at 9.54 g/t gold and 134 g/t silver. The company said the Dos de Mayo vein displays the characteristics of a low-sulphidation epithermal breccia vein.
“The first results from the Pinos Cuates mine are extremely encouraging,” stated Robert Archer, President and CEO of Pinnacle.
“As we have recently demonstrated from the underground channel sampling at the Dos de Mayo mine, higher-grade mineralization occurs in sub-vertical ‘shoots’ separated by lower-grade vein material. Given that the underground drilling is being conducted either in or adjacent to the vein, we have to keep in mind that some of the mineralization here has already been mined, but the drill holes are proving to be invaluable in improving our understanding of the El Potrero mineralizing system.”
Drilling is continuing at Pinos Cuates before moving to the Dos de Mayo mine. Surface drilling is expected to begin in September-October, targeting gaps between the historic mines as well as extensions along strike and at depth. The programme will also test the El Capulin and La Estrella veins for the first time.
The combined drilling results are expected to support an internal resource estimate and preliminary mine plan. El Potrero lies within 35 kilometres of four operating mines in Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental and hosts three historic mines along a 500-metre strike length.
View from Vox
The high-grade results provide further evidence of the potential within the underexplored El Potrero system. With underground drilling still ongoing and surface drilling planned, the next phase of exploration could help define the scale and continuity of the mineralisation.