Navidad climbs on Calcite Hill resource (June 16, 2005)

A new resource estimate for the Calcite Hill deposit has pushed silver resources at IMA Exploration‘s (IMR-V) Navidad project in southern Argentina just past 300 million contained ounces.

Indicated resources at Calcite Hill are estimated at 12 million tonnes running 83 grams silver per tonne plus 0.75% lead, based on a cutoff grade of 50 grams silver-equivalent. Another 50,000 tonnes of inferred material grades 28 grams silver and 0.66% lead.

The figure is based on 35 diamond drill holes collared over an area measuring 550 metres by about 150-250 metres. Most of the resource lies between 50 metres and 180 metres below surface.

The Calcite Hill resource includes a small portion of the previously reported Navidad Hill inferred resource, which has been upgraded to the indicated category. The Navidad Hill resource has been adjusted accordingly.

The new figure boosts the overall project’s indicated resource to 92.8 million tonnes averaging 101 grams silver and 1.36% lead, for 300.7 million contained ounces of silver and 1.27 million tonnes of lead. Inferred resources stand at 15.2 million tonnes running 78 grams silver and 0.45% lead.

The resources are contained in the Galena Hill, Connector, Navidad Hill, and Calcite Hill deposits, over a 2.3-km strike length along the Navidad Trend. It is based on a total of 27,982 metres of drilling in 174 holes.

Meanwhile, drilling continues around Calcite Hill, with surface exploration focussing on known mineralization at the Argenta and Esperanza Trends. Drilling also continues around the margins of Galena Hill, Navidad Hill, and the Connector zone; updated resource estimates will follow. So far, IMA has sunk a total of 32,200 metres worth of drilling in 194 holes at Navidad.

Surface exploration along the Argenta trend (parallel to the Navidad trend) has already turned up some high-grade lead values over significant widths, with the Bajo del Plomo, Filo del Plomo and Ginger zones yielding up to 273 grams silver and 10.7% lead over 10 metres, 71 grams silver and 7.3% lead over 17, and 30 grams silver and 4.8% lead over 21 metres, respectively.