Desert Sun sees open-pit potential at Morro do Vento

Desert Sun Mining (DSM-T) says results from drilling at its Jacobina property in Bahia state, Brazil, indicate that a low-grade resource could be built up at the Morro do Vento gold prospect.

Results from eight holes returned significant gold grades over true widths of 48-62 metres. Known mineralization at the prospect occurs in showings along a strike length of about 2 km.

Hole MVT-293, drilled near the middle of Morro do Vento’s “Intermediate Reef” sequence (part of the Jacobina stratigraphy, which extends at least 10 km north and south of the former Jacobina gold mine) intersected 49.5 metres of gold mineralization grading 0.8 gram per tonne. A second hole drilled on the same section, MVT-295, intersected 81.6 metres grading 0.8 gram per tonne about 50 metres below the first hole. That intersection represented a true width of around 57 metres.

Another hole drilled 100 metres north of that section, MVT-301, cut a 71.2-metre core length running 0.7 gram gold per tonne, representing a 62-metre mineralized width. Another 150 metres to the north, hole MVT-297, intersected 1 gram gold per tonne over 48 metres.

Two other holes returned grades of around 0.6 gram per tonne over comparable widths, while two others intersected higher-grade mineralization over narrower widths.

Induced-polarization surveys on the prospect suggest that the mineralization extends to a vertical depth of at least 400 metres.

There is no definitive resource estimate on Morro do Vento, which was not included in a recent feasibility study on reopening the Jacobina mine (T.N.M., Sept. 22/03). That study estimated a reserve of 10.7 million tonnes grading 2.2 grams gold per tonne in three deposits: Joao Belo, Serra do Corrego, and the Itapicuru Basal Reef.

The Morro do Vento mineralization occurs on the eastern side of a north-south hill, suggesting that if an economic tonnage could be built up, the deposit could be mined by open pit with a low stripping ratio.

Desert Sun also announced it would expand its exploration program at Jacobina, with the goals of bringing inferred resources up to indicated status and defining additional resources. The company has budgeted US$5 million for the work, and plans 41,500 metres of drilling, with 18,000 metres on Joao Belo, 4,000 metres on the Basal Reef, and 6,500 metres on inferred resources at the Canavieiras deposit. The rest of the drilling will test targets at Morro do Vento and Serra do Corrego, as well as two other targets, Joao Belo Sul and Campo Limpo.

Further exploration is planned for the extension of the Jacobina sequence north of the mine area. Desert Sun received title to a further 505 sq. km of exploration concessions, in addition to the 192 sq. km it already holds. It has appliations in for another 337 sq. km.