LATIN AMERICA — Geomaque intensifies drilling in NW Honduras — Reserve calculation for Vueltas del Ro gold property anticipated in coming months

Delineation drilling by Geomaque Explorations (GEO-T) at its Honduran gold property has returned sufficiently encouraging values to warrant follow-up work.

No sooner had the company wrapped up its drilling of the San Juan zone of the Vueltas del Ro property than it launched a similar program at the Main zone, situated to the west.

Combined, the zones host an oxide resource of about 5.5 million tonnes grading 1.7 grams gold per tonne. By year-end, Geomaque hopes to elevate the resource to the reserve category, with a feasibility study anticipated for early next year.

Ninety-three of the 102 holes drilled in the San Juan zone, which is east of the Main zone, have met with success, the company says.

Results are available for the final nine holes, six of which intersected significant mineralization.

Highlights include:

* 15 metres grading 1.98 grams gold in hole 99;

* 5 metres of 1.17 grams and a separate 35.25 metres of 1.16 grams in hole 101;

* 13 metres of 18.66 grams (or 11.24 grams gold when assays are cut to 1 oz.) in hole 103; and

* 3 metres of 1.81 grams in hole 97.

Both deposits are open at depth and hosted by weathered and hydrothermally altered intercalated volcanics of the Jurassic Vueltas del Ro formation.

Extreme weathering of the host rocks makes accurate lithological classification difficult, Geomaque says, though the company’s interpretation of drill core suggests a rhyolitic to dacitic composition.

Gold mineralization is structurally controlled and occurs in native form in the residual saprolite horizon. Oxidation occurs down to a depth of 40 metres below surface, below which primary sulphide mineralization begins. Deep holes have been limited to the San Juan zone.

Drilling recently began in the Guitarrn area, between the two zones, where artisanal mining has occurred. Of the 18 holes drilled thus far, 14 are reported to have hit significant mineralization near the surface. The mineralized intersections were predominantly oxidized; only four holes encountered primary sulphides.

Gold values ranged from a low of 0.45 gram gold over 5 metres to a high of 3.38 grams over 6 metres, and typically ranged between 1 and 2 grams gold.

Highlights of the Guitarrn area program include:

* hole 120, which intersected the widest interval — 22 metres (from 5 to 27 metres) grading 1.07 grams gold;

* hole 114, which yielded 16 metres (starting from surface) grading 0.65 gram; * hole 115, which returned 10 metres (from 18 to 28 metres) of 0.73 gram; and * hole 100, which hit 9.25 metres (from 49 to 58.25 metres) of 1.10 grams.

The Guitarrn area is immediately east of the Main zone’s eastern limit of mineralization and 200 metres northwest of the San Juan structure.

Mineralization at Guitarrn is believed to be continuous with the Main zone, and Geomaque will test this theory with additional drilling next year.

Meanwhile, the old workings are being mapped and sampled. Sampling by former owners, in the 1970s, returned an average grade of 1 gram gold over 100 metres of drift.

The Vueltas del Ro property is in the northwestern state of Santa Barbara.