General Minerals expands discovery

In the west-central Bolivian department of Cochabamba, General Minerals (GNM-T) is expanding silver mineralization at its Atocha property.

Tunneling into the underground target has encountered silicification over 2 km, with a width up to 300 metres, indicating an extensive hydrothermal system.

General Minerals is currently digging a series of tunnels into the Condor zone. In one of these, Tunnel PM-3, crews encountered mineralization that grades 113.6 oz. silver per ton. This mineralization occurs 39 metres below the historic Condor workings. The company plans to extend PM-3 eastward for crosscuts in the hope of outlining additional mineralization.

Farther to the southeast, but still within the Condor zone, General Minerals encountered mineralization in Tunnel PM-7. Seven channel samples, representing the first 13 metres, averaged 13 oz. silver per ton.

Approximately 1 km south of Condor is the Carmen zone, where, in the first quarter, underground crews began opening old underground workings that date back to the Spanish colonial period.

High-grade silver-copper mineralization has been discovered in the Santa Isabel tunnel. Sampling on the vein, 20 metres below an adit, returned assays of up to 277 oz. silver and 10.7% copper over 0.75 metre. The company has traced the Santa Isabel workings for 78 metres along strike and over a vertical extent of 40 metres.

A decline into the zone, now in progress, is designed to intercept mineralization 30 metres below the adit level. Later drifting at that level will provide a better understanding of continuity, as well as a metallurgical bulk sample. The company also plans to bring in a drill to evaluate the mineral potential at depth.

Metallurgical bottle-roll tests on material from the Condor zone indicate a silver recovery of 90%. More tests are planned.

Meanwhile, in the Atacama region of north-central Chile, General Minerals has completed the first of eight drillholes at the Productora copper-gold prospect. Vancouver-based Teck (TEK-T) has agreed to earn a 60% interest in the 21-sq.-km property.

Highlights from the drilling include hole 9, which encountered secondary enriched mineralization from 72 metres to a depth of 214 metres. The first 30 metres averaged 0.49% copper, while the remaining 112 metres ran 0.65% copper. The interval also contained small amounts of gold, molybdenum and cobalt.

Hole 10 contained 14 metres grading 0.18% copper and 0.76 gram gold per tonne, whereas hole 11 encountered 20 metres of 0.77% copper and 0.34 gram gold. Hole 13 hit 42 metres grading 0.31% copper to a depth of 200 metres, followed by another 116 metres averaging 0.41% copper. Mineralization consisted of chalcopyrite associated with magnetite in silicified and potassically altered rock.

Follow-up drilling is planned for areas near holes 9 and 13.

For the first quarter, General Minerals posted a loss of US$381,000 (or 2 cents per share), compared with a loss of US$942,000 (5 cents per share) in the corresponding period in 1998.