MacDonald’s Golden Hill shows good potential

A gold target within MacDonald Mines Exploration’s (ASE) Golden Hill property in east-central Cuba has returned gold values, and two other targets show potential to host gold mineralization.

At the Little Golden Hill site, copper assays have confirmed that all 14 holes contain copper in concentrations ranging from 0.56% over 23.8 metres to 1.34% over 12.4 metres.

Of 17 completed holes, numbered GH-34 through GH-50, seven returned gold values ranging from 0.36 gram gold per tonne over 5.65 metres to 3.97 grams over 21.6 metres in the at-surface oxide zone. Seven of those holes returned 0.65% copper over 18.2 metres.

With assays pending for one intersection, 14 of the 17 holes returned copper and gold values ranging from 0.17% copper and 0.29 gram gold over 9.3 metres to 2.5% copper and 0.23 gram gold over 6.25 metres. The values occurred in the sulphide mineralization below the at-surface oxide zone The diamond drill program at the Little Golden Hill zone has outlined a flat sulphide zone 46-91 metres thick, with high copper values and some gold. This sulphide zone is 30-46 metres below surface and overlain by a highly oxidized cap with high gold values.

A resource estimate is being calculated at the Golden Hill property and will take into account the deposit’s open-pit potential. The estimate will also combine the high gold values of the oxidized cap, which are likely amenable to inexpensive heap-leach mining, with the copper and gold of the sulphide zone.

At the Three Hills zone, 750 metres to the southeast and on the Golden Hill property’s main geological structure, three holes, numbered GH-51, 52 and 53, were drilled in the area of hole GH-10, which ended in a semi-massive sulphide zone averaging 0.57 gram gold over 33.8 metres.

Of these new holes, GH-51 intersected 42.35 metres of surface gossan underlain by 22.25 metres of siliceous semi-massive sulphide.

GH-52, drilled in the same location but more sharply north, intersected 22.5 metres of gossan and 84 metres of siliceous, semi-massive sulphide from 40.25 to 124.25 metres.

GH-53, drilled down 30 metres east-northeast of the other two, intersected 37.4 metres of gossan underlain by 18.9 metres of siliceous, enargite-enriched massive sulphide.

The intersections reveal a setting similar to Little Golden Hill and may yield similar gold assay results.

Big Golden Hill, where a large sulphide zone was identified by an induced-polarization survey conducted last year, was also drilled. Two holes, GH-54 to GH-58, hit disseminated and semi-massive sulphides typical of precious metal-rich epithermal ore deposits, while a third also intersected sulphides.