El Malacate yields low-grade

Vancouver — The assay results from first nine holes into the Bordo Blanco and Ahumada zones has prompted Placer Dome (PDG-T) to stop funding work on Minefinders‘ (MFL-T) El Malacate property in Mexico.

Focussing on a 65-sq.-km area, Minefinders identified seven drill-ready gold targets within, and peripheral to, the Malacate caldera system in northern Sonora state. The strongest surface anomalies are found within the Ahumada North and West Bordo Blanco areas.

Rock chip samples collected from the northern portion of the Ahumada prospect returned from 0.5-to-7.7 grams gold. Five holes drilled into this area returned a high value of 1.7 gram gold over 5 ft. The mineralization is hosted in stockwork-veined and altered conglomerates, felsic dykes and andesitic volcanic flows that stretch for more than 2 km and up to 600 metres wide.

The southern portion of the Ahumada prospect was tested by one of the holes, yielding a high value of 0.2 gram gold over 5 ft. Earlier this year, the junior’s field program returned encouraging values from hydrothermal breccias, open space and cockscomb quartz with calcite replacement textures over an area that measures 2 km by 100 metres. Surface sample results from this area yielded from 0.1-to-4 grams gold.

At the West Bordo Blanco prospect, an altered and stockwork-veined conglomerate, which has been traced over a strike length of 2 km, returned values grading 0.5-to-5 grams gold. Here, two holes cut anomalous mineralization ranging up to 0.88 gram gold over 5 ft.

Moving to the East Bordo Blanco, hole 3 hit 5 ft. grading 1.2 gram gold.

As part of a deal to earn a 51% stake in the property, Placer Dome funded the drill program. However, based on the results the major has elected to stop work. Under an agreement inked in January, Placer could earn its interest by making cash payments totaling US$500,000 and spending US$4.5 million on exploration.

Minefinders will continue drill testing the ground.

In Chihuahua state, Minefinders has launched feasibility drilling over its wholly owned Dolores property. The program is slated to include 15,000 metres of core drilling and 5,000 metres of reverse circulation drilling. Total resources currently stand at 115.6 million tonnes grading 0.75 gram gold and 43.3 grams silver.