Canplats pulls long intercepts from ‘Red Road’ project

Vancouver – It seems investors have high expectations for Canplats Resources‘ (CPQ-V) Camino Rojo project in Zacatecas state, Mexico: a set of results from the polymetallic project including two long, strong intercepts sent Canplats’ share price down 12%.

The first diamond drill results from the 150,000-hectare Camino Rojo project’s Repressa zone extended the known mineralization at depth and confirmed previous reverse circulation (RC) drill results; further RC results extended the margins of the zone laterally.

Diamond drill hole CRD-01 cut 725 metres grading 0.49 gram gold per tonne, 10.03 grams silver per tonne, 0.13% lead, and 0.4% zinc from surface, the top 230 metres of which graded 0.78 gram gold, 15.77 grams silver, 0.25% lead, and 0.45% zinc. The second diamond hole, CRD-02, was drilled from the same collar to the west rather than to the north and returned 54.6 metres grading 0.97 gram gold, 11.73 grams silver, 0.27% lead, and 0.26% zinc.

Hole CRD-03 was collared 150 metres east, in the centre of the Repressa zone, and intersected 728 metres grading 0.5 gram gold, 12.01 grams silver, 0.11% lead, and 0.28% zinc from surface, the top 214 metres of which returned 0.95 gram gold, 24.83 grams silver, 0.24% lead, and 0.33% zinc.

While two diamond drill rigs target mineralization at depth, two RC rigs are focused on extending and delineating the upper layer of oxide mineralization. Hole 25, which intersected 120 metres from surface averaging 0.78 gram gold, 18.46 grams silver, 0.4% lead, and 0.39% zinc, extended the Repressa zone 100 metres east of hole CR-12, which hit 234 metres of 0.61 gram gold, 20.02 grams silver, 0.3% lead, and 0.58% zinc.

Hole 32 returned 300 metres from surface grading 0.7 gram gold, 11.18 grams silver, 0.19% lead, and 0.35% zinc, pushing the western margin of the Repressa zone further to the west, underneath a strong northwest-southeast fault.

In addition, four RC holes tested the Don Julio zone, a strong IP chargeability anomaly 1,000 metres southwest of Repressa. The holes returned anomalous values up to 2.5 grams gold over 2 metres. Canplats plans to complete more drilling to test the favourable alteration and trace element geochemistry encountered in shallow RC drilling to date.

Following the results Canplats’ share price fell 45 or 12% to close at $3.39. Indeed, the latest results showed slightly lower grades, though greater lengths, than the slew of results Canplats has released from Camino Rojo in the last few months.

For example, hole CR-15 cut 240 metres from surface grading 0.84 gram gold, 17.81 grams silver, 0.36% lead, and 0.49% zinc and hole CR-20 returned 236 metres of 0.63 gram gold, 20.21 grams silver, 0.33% lead, and 0.55% zinc from 14 metres below surface.

Canplats geologists discovered Camino Rojo in late 2007 when they traced red-stained roadfill to its quarry. Canplats quickly staked some 150,000 hectares of ground and appropriately named it the ‘Red Road’ project.

Mineralization in the Represa zone is hosted in weak to moderately silicified, laminated siltstones and sandstones with moderate to intense hematite alteration and localized zones with weak to moderate brecciation and fine quartz micro-veinlets. Mineralization generally starts at surface, covered by an overburden ranging in depth from 0.25 metres to 3 metres.

Since the Camino Rojo discovery Canplats’ share price has gained over $3 to hover around the $3.50-mark. The company has a 52-week trading range of 23 to $4.05 and has 56.5 million shares issued.