Mr. John Miniotis reports
ABRASILVER CONTINUES TO DRILL WIDE SILVER INTERCEPTS AT NEW JAC ZONE
Abrasilver Resource Corp.
has released assay results from six additional diamond drill holes from the continuing phase III program on the company's wholly owned Diablillos property in Salta province, Argentina.
Drilling activity remains focused on the recently discovered Jac zone, which is located several hundred metres southwest of the conceptual open pit that constrains the current mineral resource estimate on the main Oculto deposit (measured and indicated mineral resource estimate containing 1.3 million ounces gold and 109 million ounces silver -- see attached table). Key take-aways from the latest drill results include:
-
DDH 22-077
was drilled to test the continuation of the Jac zone to the north and intersected
32 metres at 122 grams per tonne silver starting at a
downhole depth of only 60 metres.
-
DDH 22-078
intersected several zones of oxide silver mineralization, including
41 metres at 103 grams per tonne silver starting from a shallow
downhole depth of only 58 metres.
-
DDH 22-079
was drilled to test the extension of the Jac zone northeast toward the Oculto deposit. The hole successfully demonstrated the potential continuity of mineralization between Jac and Oculto, intersecting
35 metres at 199 grams per tonne silver and 0.36 gram per tonne gold, including a
high-grade interval
of
6.0 metres at 548 grams per tonne silver and 0.88 gram per tonne gold.
-
DDH 22-080
encountered multiple zones of silver mineralization, including
5.0 metres at 442 grams per tonne silver,
within a broader interval of
52 metres grading 125 grams per tonne silver starting from only
50 metres downhole.
-
DDH 22-081
returned a broad zone of silver mineralization of
37.0 metres at 179 grams per tonne silver.
This hole is situated
approximately 625 metres beyond the southwest end of the Oculto mineralization included in the current mineral resource estimate.
-
DDH 22-082
encountered high-grade mineralization in the transition zone (containing a mix of oxides and sulphides) just beneath the oxide zone, with
26.5 metres grading 311 grams per tonne silver and 0.43 gram per tonne gold, including 7.0 metres grading 936 grams per tonne silver and 1.46 grams per tonne gold.
John Miniotis, president and chief executive officer, commented: "Each batch of drill results received from the new Jac zone increases the prospective scale of this unfolding, high-grade deposit. The continuity of high-silver grades and broad widths of mineralization encountered at shallow depths with stepout drilling clearly bodes very well for the potential economics of this new discovery. We eagerly await additional assay results, which we believe will lead to a significant mineral resource estimate (MRE) at Jac, adding to the large existing MRE on the Oculto deposit, which is located approximately 500 metres to the northeast."
Dave O'Connor, chief geologist, commented: "Drilling results from the new Jac zone continue to consistently encounter high-grade silver mineralization in oxides at shallow depths. Today's results further support our understanding that the silver mineralization at the Jac zone has excellent continuity. Importantly, the Jac zone is now delineated over a strike length of 600 metres, a vertical extent of 150 to 200 metres and average width of up to 150 metres and continues to remain open in multiple directions. The remainder of our phase 3 program will continue to step out the Jac zone along strike, laterally and down dip and will also selectively test other new high-priority exploration targets within the broader Diablillos land package."
The latest assay result highlights are summarized in an attached table.
Exploration update
Drilling is continuing with two diamond drill rigs focused on understanding the extent and orientation of silver and gold mineralization in the Jac zone. To date, assay results have been reported for 30 drill holes at Jac, which coincides with a northeast-southwest-trending magnetic anomaly, and there are assays pending for an additional 13 drill holes. These drill holes span 700 metres along strike and widths up to 200 metres.
The discovery hole at the Jac target was announced in
August, 2022. Drilling results to date, combined with interpretation of magnetics, suggest that the new Jac zone remains open in multiple directions. The company's top priority is to drill Jac to gain a detailed understanding of the geometry of the mineralization and fully define an MRE later this year. The existing phase III drill program may be expanded if mineralization continues to remain open at the completion of the remaining planned drill holes, a scenario that appears increasingly likely. Reconnaissance drilling will also be selectively testing other high-priority targets on magnetic anomalies beyond the Jac zone.
About Diablillos
The 80-square-kilometre Diablillos property is located in the Argentine Puna region -- the southern extension of the Altiplano of southern Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile -- and was acquired from SSR Mining Inc. by the company in 2016. There are several known mineral zones on the Diablillos property, with the Oculto zone being the most advanced with over 120,000 metres drilled to date. Oculto is a high-sulphidation epithermal silver-gold deposit derived from remnant hot spring activity following Tertiarty-age local magmatic and volcanic activity. Comparatively nearby examples of high-sulphidation epithermal deposits include Yanacocha (Peru), El Indio (Chile), Lagunas Nortes/Alto Chicama (Peru) Veladero (Argentina) and Filo del Sol (Argentina).
The most recent mineral resource estimate for the Oculto deposit is shown in an attached table.
Quality assurance/quality control and core sampling protocols
Abrasilver applies industry standard exploration methodologies and techniques, and all drill core samples are collected under the supervision of the Company's geologists in accordance with industry practices. Drill core is transported from the drill platform to the logging facility where drill data is compared and verified with the core in the trays. Thereafter, it is logged, photographed, and split by diamond saw prior to being sampled. Samples are then bagged, and quality control materials are inserted at regular intervals; these include blanks and certified reference materials as well as duplicate core samples which are collected in order to measure sample representivity. Groups of samples are then placed in large bags which are sealed with numbered tags in order to maintain a chain-of-custody during the transport of the samples from the project site to the laboratory.
All samples are received by the SGS offices in Salta who then dispatch the samples to the SGS preparation facility in San Juan. From there, the prepared samples are sent to the SGS laboratory in Lima, Peru where they are analyzed. All samples are analyzed using a multi-element technique consisting of a four acid digestion followed by ICP/AES detection, and gold is analyzed by 50g Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Silver results greater than 100g/t are reanalyzed using four acid digestion with an ore grade AAS finish.
Qualified Persons
David O'Connor P.Geo., Chief Geologist for Abrasilver, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.
About Abrasilver
Abrasilver is an advanced-stage exploration company focused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-gold project in the mining-friendly Salta province of Argentina. The current Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource estimate for Diablillos consists of 51.3 Mt grading 66g/t Ag and 0.79g/t Au, containing approximately 109Moz silver and 1.3Moz gold, with significant further upside potential based on recent exploration drilling. The Company is led by an experienced management team and has long-term supportive shareholders including Mr. Eric Sprott. In addition, Abrasilver owns a portfolio of earlier-stage copper-gold projects including the La Coipita copper-gold project in the San Juan province of Argentina. Abrasilver is listed on the TSX-V under the symbol "ABRA" and in the U.S. under the symbol "ABBRF".
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