Exeter Set To Update Caspiche Resource

VANCOUVER — The drills have stopped turning for a winter break, but lengthy gold-copper intercepts keep rolling in from Exeter Resource’s (XRC-V, XRA-X) Caspiche project in Chile.

Exeter produced an initial inferred resource estimate for Caspiche in March. The report assessed the thin oxide blanket at 74 million tonnes grading 0.55 gram gold per tonne and pegged the deeper sulphide resource at 376 million tonnes averaging 0.61 gram gold and 0.25% copper.

Given the results out of Caspiche since the resource data cutoff, those numbers look set to grow. Before the estimate was even complete, Exeter announced a 1,214-metre intercept from hole 32 grading 0.9 gram gold and 0.33% copper that would have extended the zone at depth. And that announcement marked the beginning of a slew of strong results.

First, Exeter extended two holes that had been stopped prematurely. The full assays for hole 23 came in at 102 oxide metres grading 0.65 gram gold, starting at surface, followed directly by 1,058 sulphide metres averaging 0.7 gram gold and 0.35% copper. Collared 100 metres north, hole 16 ended up hitting 92 oxide metres grading 0.41 gram gold, from 73 metres depth, followed by 792 metres grading 0.96 gram gold and 0.4% copper.

At the same time, in mid-April, Exeter released the results of two new holes. Hole 35 was drilled to the southeast, perpendicular to the drill grid, to test for the continuity of mineralization in that direction. It returned 120 metres of oxide mineralization from surface grading 0.69 gram gold per tonne; from the sulphide zone, the drill returned 905.7 metres grading 0.87 gram gold and 0.26% copper.

And hole 27, drilled to test the northeastern limits of mineralization, cut 150 metres grading 1.09 grams gold in the oxide zone and then hit 554 metres grading 0.4 gram gold and 0.15% copper in the sulphide zone. The company expects this result to extend the resource envelope to the northeast.

Then, in mid-June, Exeter announced that another southwest-oriented hole affirmed the continuity of the deeper sulphide mineralization, returning 876 metres grading 0.75 gram gold and 0.29% copper, including 582 metres averaging 1 gram gold and 0.36% copper. Roughly 250 metres of this intercept sits vertically below the resource envelope. The oxide portion of hole 39a came in at 60 metres grading 0.22 gram gold.

The mid-June release also announced assay results for hole 37, which was drilled to test an area 200 metres below hole 32 but appears to have hit the western margin of mineralization on that drill section. The hole returned 708 sulphide metres grading 0.5 gram gold and 0.22% copper.

Drilling, which totalled 16,500 metres this year, has now been suspended and will resume in October. By that time, Exeter plans to have updated the Caspiche resource estimate. From the latest results, the company says it can infer a steep southwest plunge to the higher-grade zone within the greater resource.

The company is also advancing infrastructure studies and metallurgical test work at Caspiche. A recent study on water regulations and possible sources identified potential seawater intake locations, pipeline routes, and desalination techniques. A similar study investigated the options available to power a mine at Caspiche.

And initial metallurgical test work showed recoveries between 77.5% and 84% when leaching gold from oxide ore grading 0.4 to 0.5 gram gold crushed to 12.5 mm. Most gold was leached within 20 days. Further work will adjust crush sizes and leach timelines to optimize recoveries.

Recoveries from the sulphide ore were also encouraging. In basic rougher-cleaner tests on ore grading between 0.27% and 0.48% copper, recoveries ranged from 67% to 85%. Gold recoveries from sulphide ore were lower, ranging from 32% to 73% from ore grading between 0.52 and 1.6 grams gold. Testing continues.

At the end of March, Exeter had $40.3 million in cash and equivalents. The stock currently sits near $3.20 in a 52-week trading range of $1.05 to-$4.60. The company has 62 million shares outstanding.