Vancouver – A new resource estimate for ECU Silver Mining‘s (ECU-T) Velardena project in Durango State, Mexico, has more than doubled the project’s calculated resources.
The Velardena property covers a cluster of four historic mines. The mines are close enough to be interconnected and to date ECU has focused primarily on two: Santa Juana and San Mateo. A fifth mine is part of the San Diego property, 10 km to the northeast.
In the oxide category Velardena hosts measured and indicated resources of 998,000 tonnes grading 3.08 grams gold per tonne and 167 grams silver per tonne, as well as inferred resources of 447,000 tonnes grading 1.46 grams gold and 206 grams silver. Measured and indicated sulphides sit at 2.7 million tonnes grading 2 grams gold, 112 grams silver, 0.41% lead, 0.62% zinc, and 0.16% copper, plus inferred resources of 13.3 million tonnes grading 2.02 grams gold, 185 grams silver, 1.46% lead, 1.51% zinc, and 0.17% copper.
Many of the veins and vein packages at Velardena remain open along strike in two directions and at depth. As such the report also estimated the property’s potential resources, reflecting observed lateral and interpreted downward extensions of veins identified in the resource calculation. Potential resources range from 31 million tonnes grading 3.31 grams gold and 252 grams silver to 63 million tonnes grading 2.5 grams gold and 234 grams silver.
Measured and indicated resources increased by 116% compared to the previous resource estimate from July 2006. The new report’s inferred resources include most of what were classified as potential resources in the last estimate.
ECU gained 20 or 11% on news of the resource estimate to close at $2.05 on 1.8 million shares traded. The company has a 52-week trading range of $1.30 to $3.43 and has 242.6 million shares issued.
ECU has identified more than 39 veins on the Velardena property. The recent resource estimate was based on 32 of the 39 veins. The remaining seven veins, which have been identified through surface sampling or underground workings, require further evaluation.
The project lies on the eastern flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Mineralization is related to a series of felsic to intermediate intrusive rocks occurring over a strike length of some 15 km and occurs as veins, stockworks, and skarns.
The historical mines provide extensive underground access, to which ECU has added since it started work at Velardena in 2005. Since the last resource estimate ECU completed 24,000 metres of drilling and 2,500 metres of underground development. The company recently started work on a new ramp to provide access to several areas hosting potential resources in order to be able to upgrade those resources.
Considerable mining infrastructure already exists at Velardena. Two mills give ECU a milling capacity of 400 tonnes per day. One is a flotation mill that has been producing lead and zinc concentrates since mid-2004; the other is directly beside the company’s exploration lab.
In addition, the project is on the national power grid and a four-lane highway passes within 10 km of the project.
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