Partners pull gold at El Limon

Vancouver — Sixty-forty partners Teck Cominco (TEK-T) and Miranda Mining (MRM-V) continue to define a zone of gold mineralization at the El Limon prospect in Mexico’s Guerrero state. The deposit is part of a larger project known as Morelos Norte.

Late last year, drill crews completed 29 holes and, in the process, outlined a section of gold-bearing skarn mineralization covering a 1,000-by-300-metre area. Mineralization is associated with magnetite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pyrite.

The northern part of the zone is near the surface, whereas the southern portion occurs at depths exceeding 100 metres.

The first 29 holes tested the zone at 100-metre line spacings.

Recent drilling infilled the previous holes at 50-metre spacings. Highlights include the following:

– hole 30 — 12.95 grams gold over 3 metres at 118 metres down-hole;

– hole 31 — 9.29 grams gold over 3.1 metres at 39 metres down-hole;

– hole 37 — 4.29 grams gold over 10.7 metres at 38 metres down-hole;

– hole 38 — 1.26 grams gold over 39 metres at 192 metres down-hole;

– hole 39 — 6.12 grams gold over 3 metres at 42 metres down-hole;

– hole 40 — 12.58 grams gold over 7.5 metres at 99 metres down-hole;

– hole 44 — 16.78 grams gold over 3 metres at 65 metres down-hole;

– hole 47 — 10.47 grams gold over 2.3 metres at 113 metres down-hole;

– hole 51 — 35.06 grams gold over 2.4 metres at 112 metres down-hole and;

– hole 53 — 36.82 grams gold over 3 metres at 209 metres down-hole.

The joint venture has completed a preliminary metallurgical report on seven composite samples from the 2001 drill program. The results showed that gold can be recovered from the sulphide-rich portions of the mineralization by a simple flow sheet consisting of a grinding circuit followed by cyanide leaching and then a carbon-in-pulp circuit using activated carbon.

Teck (as it was formerly known known) picked up the 260-sq.-km property, 150 km southwest of Mexico City, in 1998, when the Mexican government auctioned-off unclaimed parts of the 500-sq.-km Morelos national mining reserve. Bidding US$3.1 million, Teck considered the area prospective for skarn-style mineralization similar to its nearby Nukay project, which hosts a resource of 4.4 million tonnes grading 4.47 grams gold in three separate zones, plus an indicated resource of 28.4 million tonnes averaging 1.64 grams gold at the Los Filos zone. A US$1.8-million program is slated for the project this year.

The major holds a 78.3% stake in the project, with Miranda Mining taking the remaining 21.7% interest, 14% of which is carried.