Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
28 Aug 2012drilling result▲ GoodMajor
Stepped out to the extreme southwest end of the known mineralisation and found grade in the overlying volcanic rocks rather than the limestone basement: 30.90 metres at 1.65 g/t gold and 145.4 g/t silver. A different host rock matters because the volcanics later prove much harder to recover metal from.
Hole TU-12-164 on the Main Ixtaca Zone returned 188.70 metres at 1.32 g/t gold and 97.8 g/t silver. Three holes on section 50+000N, with earlier holes, showed the Northeast Extension to be continuously mineralised over 400 metres down dip.
A single hole, TU-12-145, extended Ixtaca North and returned unusually silver-rich intervals: 11.00 metres at 1.09 g/t gold and 580.7 g/t silver, and 6.80 metres at 1.13 g/t gold and 860.7 g/t silver. Silver, not gold, is carrying the value in this part of the system.
Nine holes, with 44.01 metres at 1.04 g/t gold and 95.8 g/t silver on the northeast extension. TU-12-155 was drilled close to perpendicular to that zone, giving a true width for the first time and showing it strikes differently from the main and north zones - a geometry the earlier angled holes had obscured.
Ixtaca North now traced over nearly 700 metres of strike on the company's interpretation. Best interval was 25.00 metres at 4.22 g/t gold and 15.41 g/t silver in the main zone, with TU-12-138 giving 95.20 metres at 0.54 g/t gold and 61.1 g/t silver in the north zone.
Eleven more holes, four of them into the newly recognised Ixtaca North zone running parallel to the main zone. TU-12-126 returned 126.1 metres at 1.21 g/t gold and 63.0 g/t silver, including 8.75 metres at 4.09 g/t gold and 228.8 g/t silver.
Twenty-two holes, including the first infill sections tightened from 50-metre to 25-metre spacing: TU-12-96 gave 97.9 metres at 0.92 g/t gold and 65.2 g/t silver, including 7.79 metres at 4.76 g/t gold and 277.3 g/t silver. The tighter grid is the first sign the company is drilling towards a resource estimate rather than just chasing extensions.
Nine holes were reported, with TU-12-103 returning 17.00 metres at 3.74 g/t gold and 67.4 g/t silver, which the company called the highest grades yet from the Northeast Extension Zone. The holes covered the main, south, southeast and northeast zones.
Four holes reported: TU-11-88 in the main zone gave 75.07 metres at 0.87 g/t gold and 59.5 g/t silver including 7.73 metres at 3.93 g/t gold and 249.5 g/t silver. The two holes testing the northeast extension were much weaker - TU-11-93 returned 43.50 metres at only 0.14 g/t gold - so the good grades remain concentrated in the main zone.
More 2011 Ixtaca results, headlined by TU-11-83 with 163.45 metres at 1.27 g/t gold and 61.6 g/t silver, including 8.00 metres at 9.82 g/t gold and 492.8 g/t silver. TU-11-92, drilled south of the main zone, hit 5.57 metres at 1.05 g/t gold before the hole was lost, and the company named this the Ixtaca South Zone. Assays for five holes were still pending.
Year-end review of everything outside Tuligtic, where 86 holes for 31,016.64 metres were drilled at Ixtaca during 2011. The rest of the portfolio saw only surface work, including 671 soil samples at the BP project on Nevada's Carlin trend returning gold up to 34.9 parts per billion - encouraging geochemistry, but nothing drilled.
Seven more Ixtaca holes, led by TU-11-72 at 224.00 metres of 0.95 g/t gold and 57.5 g/t silver, including 28.96 metres at 2.44 g/t gold and 103.1 g/t silver. TU-11-74 stepped southwest and stayed in mineralisation, so the zone is still open in that direction.
Started a Titan 24 deep-imaging geophysical survey over the wholly owned El Cobre copper-gold porphyry project in Veracruz, where past drilling had traced mineralisation over four kilometres of strike; the survey also covers the never-drilled Villa Rica zone. Intended to lay out a drill programme for early 2012, so El Cobre is second in line behind Ixtaca.
Five holes into the main Ixtaca zone at Tuligtic, Mexico, with four rigs turning: TU-11-67 returned 120.70 metres at 1.02 g/t gold and 72.6 g/t silver, including 21.95 metres at 2.75 g/t gold and 210.1 g/t silver. Wide, continuous vein mineralisation with high-grade cores rather than a narrow one-hole hit.