Batero’s new Colombian results show promise

Eight drills are turning on Batero Gold‘s (BAT-V)  two gold and porphyry centres at its 100%-owned Batero-Quinchia project in Colombia. The project is 20 km north of Medoro Resources‘ (MRS-V) Marmato project and 100 km southeast of AngloGold Ashanti‘s (AU-N) La Colosa gold project.

AngloGold identified the two porphyry centres – La Cumbre and Dos Quebradas – in 2006–2007. Batero’s director of Colombian operations and exploration manager, Rafael Alfonso, was a pioneer at AngloGold and part of the team that discovered the company’s 12.9-million-oz.-gold La Colosa deposit, 150 km west of Bogota. 

Highlights from eight new drill holes have expanded La Cumbre’s higher-grade, near-surface mineralization and include the longest vertical mineralized intersection to date. Hole 13 intersected 0.45 gram gold and 0.12% copper over 592.5 metres and bottomed in gold and copper mineralization at a depth of 602.5 metres. The intersection also included 261 metres grading 0.73 gram gold and 0.15% copper and 136 metres grading 1 gram gold and 0.16% copper from 10 metres below surface. 

The deposit remains open in two directions. Other noteworthy holes include 11, which returned 459 metres grading 0.64 gram gold and 0.12% copper from 7.5 metres below surface and 155 metres grading 0.80 gram gold and 0.14% copper 7.5 metres below surface.  

Eight metres below surface, hole 15 intersected 234 metres grading 0.54 gram gold and 0.08% copper including 115 metres grading 0.78 gram gold and 0.12% copper. Fourteen metres below surface, hole 16 returned 219 metres grading 0.82 gram gold and 0.13% copper, including 138 metres grading 1 gram gold and 0.16% copper.

“The existence of a substantial near-surface secondary enrichment zone could significantly enhance the development opportunities of this project,” Brandon Rook, Batero’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

The drill results from La Cumbre porphyry are part of the company’s now completed 16,000-metre initial drill program. A follow-up 24,000-metre drill campaign is underway.

The company expects to release an initial resource estimate before the end of the fourth quarter, and metallurgical test results in the coming months.

Nicholas Campbell, a mining analyst at Canaccord Genuity, “sees potential for Batero to delineate a 10-million-plus ounce gold-equivalent resource at Batero-Quinchia,” according to a morning note to clients on May 20.

At presstime in Toronto, Batero was trading at $3.09 per share, and over the last year has traded between 58¢ (July 27, 2010) and $6.57 (March 4, 2011). The company has 47.6 million shares, fully diluted.