Armed with new results from more than 250 metres of mechanized and hand-dug trenches,
The junior has already completed eight holes on the southern extension of the Main zone, stepping out more than 150 metres from previous drilling. All of the holes intersected strongly silicified and argillized zones of mineralization, reports Francisco.
A total of 3,000 metres of HQ-sized (63.5-mm in diameter) core drilling will be completed before the onset of the rainy season in late June.
The Main zone is a low sulphidation, epithermal gold-silver system hosted in a Tertiary andesitic volcanic package cut by latite dykes. It sits atop a 1.5-km-long ridge trending east-west at elevations of 2,200-2,300 metres. Based on results from trenching and 25 previously drilled core holes, Francisco has partially delineated a near-surface, oxidized, mineralized horizon extending over 400 metres in length and 200 metres in width. The horizon averages more than 3 grams gold and 31 grams silver per tonne and varies in true thickness from 15 to 60 metres. It dips gently to the south at 20-30 and remains open to the west, east and south. Preliminary metallurgical tests indicate the mineralization is amenable to standard cyanidation treatment, with recoveries of more than 90% for gold and 85% for silver.
Recent mechanized trenching outside of the zone’s southern and western boundaries yielded 76 metres averaging 7.1 grams gold and 144.1 grams silver per tonne in a cut oriented east-west along strike. Another trench, striking southwest-northeast, yielded 24 metres of 4.7 grams gold and 2.7 grams silver.
The Marlin property is 140 km northwest of Guatemala City and is accessible by a series of dirt roads from the town of Huetuetenango, some 30 km to the east. Marlin is part of a 6,000-sq.-km land package held by Francisco; it was staked along the projected strike of the Motagua fault, a large, regional, deep-seated structure.
The Marlin area occurs within a major, east-west-trending hydrothermal corridor. Mineralization is controlled by a series of shallow dipping thrust faults and splays. These faults are related to the regional east-west discontinuity and play a major role in localizing high-grade gold mineralization. The gold-silver mineralization occurs in quartz veins and stockwork zones, and is also disseminated in brecciated and silicified host rocks.
Ongoing exploration has identified an extensive network of faults and fractures, which extend for more than 10 km along strike of the Main zone. Crews have delineated prospective drill targets outside the Main zone.
The Don Tello-Los Tomates structural corridor lies 200-300 metres south of the Main zone and extends for a distance of more than 1,200 metres. The structure is dominated by a central, sub-vertical quartz-calcite vein and marginal stockwork envelope. Mechanized trenching and chip channel sampling of limited outcrops along this corridor indicate the presence of a high-grade component. The latest trench results include 5 metres of 13.2 grams gold and 114 grams silver, 10.2 metres of 8.2 grams gold and 78 grams silver, and 4 metres (true width) of 30.3 grams gold and 297 grams silver. Outcrop channel sampling yielded 3.8 metres of 15.6 grams gold and 104 grams silver, 1.5 metres of 5 grams gold and 78 grams silver, 3 metres of 1.5 grams gold and 76 grams silver, and 4.5 metres of 5.5 grams gold and 112.7 grams silver.
Los Cochis is a northeast-striking structural zone, though it extends northwest from the Main zone for more than 600 metres. Eighty-two chip samples taken along this corridor averaged 1.15 grams gold and 12 grams silver. Two recent trenches encountered a quartz stockwork zone up to 30 metres thick, and which dips moderately to the southwest. Trench values included 26 metres of 4.3 grams gold and 7.7 grams silver, plus 26 metres of 1.6 grams gold and 10.1 grams silver. Another target is developing where the Los Cochis intersects a northeast-striking structure.
Regional stream-sediment and grid soil sampling have turned up four new targets within a 12-sq.-km area surrounding the Main zone. All four anomalies are associated with strong argillic and silicified alteration, with a dominant northeasterly structural fabric.
Farther afield, reconnaissance work has discovered two large argillic altered zones near the Chiapas border. Sampling results are pending.
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