St. Elias to drill Zona Verde

Channel sampling on the Cueva Blanca gold property in Peru is allowing St. Elias Minerals (SLI-V) to enhance a promising new gold zone.

Situated in the northern portion of the property, the Zona Verde prospect has been outlined over a 1.4-km-by-300-metre area, and the mineralization is said to be open in all directions. Following up on encouraging results from the Discovery outcrop, including 47.12 grams gold per tonne over 9 metres, the company carried out 1.6 km of trenching over the new gold-bearing zone. About 400 metres of trenching have been completed over the Discovery outcrop, with the following results:

– 0.17 gram gold over 20 metres;

– 0.18 gram gold over 20 metres;

– 0.25 gram gold over 18 metres;

– 0.33 gram gold over 15 metres;

– 0.17 gram gold over 18 metres; and

– 0.21 gram gold over 20 metres.

The remaining 1.2 km of trenching were completed along strike of the newly discovered zone. The highest values, in the northern portion of the zone, were 0.42 gram gold over 20 metres and 0.23 gram gold over 10 metres.

Some 300 metres north of the Discovery outcrop, check assays have confirmed the previous gold values of continuous chip samples over a 65-metre length, with check assays returning 0.5 gram gold. On average, the check assays returned 0.52 gram gold.

According to St. Elias, gold mineralization is hosted in a friable rock unit comprising limonite and clay-altered feldspar and is controlled by a north-northwesterly striking fault known as Quebrada Falla. Based on the phaneritic texture of the mineralizing unit, the original rock is believed to have been a coarse-grained intrusive.

St. Elias will continue chip sampling in an attempt to define the limits of the new zone in preparation for drilling, scheduled to begin in June.

The 110-sq.-km property covers a large epithermal alteration system in the Yanacocha-Pierina belt of western Peru. Inca Pacific (ip-v) worked the property in 1997 and drill-tested a zone of sheeted quartz-carbonate veins known as the Cruz system. The best intercepts included:

– 9.5 metres grading 8.1 grams gold per tonne in hole 17, and

– 10.8 metres grading 2.4 grams in hole 21.

St. Elias can earn a 49% interest in the property from Inca Pacific by paying US$50,000 in cash, issuing 500,000 shares and spending US$1.5 million on exploration, all of which must be completed by November 2001.