Drill results from Batero in Colombia 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, about 20 km north of Medoro Resources‘ (MRS-V) Marmato project and 100 km southeast of AngloGold Ashanti‘s (AU-N) La Colosa project.

AngloGold Ashanti 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 one of the pioneers at AngloGold Ashanti and was 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 DDH-013 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 260.80 metres grading 0.73 gram gold and 0.15% copper and 135.70 metres grading 1.00 gram gold and 0.16% copper from 10 metres below surface.

The deposit remains open in two directions and other noteworthy holes include DDH-011, which returned 458.50 metres grading 0.64 gram gold and 0.12% copper (from 7.5 metres below surface), including 154.50 metres grading 0.80 gram gold and 0.14% copper, (7.5 metres below surface).  

Eight metres below surface, hole DDH-015 intersected 234.00 metres grading 0.54 gram gold and 0.08% copper including 114.70 metres grading 0.78 gram gold and 0.12% copper. And fourteen metres below surface, hole DDH-016 returned 219 metres grading 0.82 gram gold and 0.13% copper, including 138 metres grading 1.00 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 phase one drill program. Currently a second phase, 24,000 metre drill campaign is underway.

The company expects to release an initial resource estimate before the end of the fourth quarter and the result of metallurgical testwork is expected 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,” Canaccord wrote in its daily “Morning Coffee” 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 a low of 58¢ (July 27 2010) and a high of $6.57 (March 4 2011). The company has about 47.6 million shares, fully diluted.