Gran Colombia takes stock of Echandia

Drilling at the Marmato property in Colombia has encountered additional gold mineralization.

The discovery by Gran Colombia Resources (GRM-T) follows a 17-hole diamond drill program which spanned 4,094 metres. The program tested 200 metres of the stike length of a geochemical anomaly measuring 300 by 400 metres.

The results point to a near-surface resource of 6.5 million tonnes grading 1.03 grams gold and 47.3 grams silver per tonne.

The mineralization is contained in saprolite associated with intense argillic and propylitic alteration between dacite porphyry and andesitic rocks. The zone overlies a deeper resource block, which, based on the sampling of old mine adits 100-200 metres below surface, hosts 104 million tonnes averaging 1.12 grams gold. From the adits, the company drilled eight underground holes over 2,418 metres to confirm that resource.

All of the surface holes intersected significant mineralization, the lowest assay being 0.35 gram gold. Six of the holes returned core lengths in excess of 100 metres, and assays over the zones averaged 0.35-1.3 grams gold and 10-69.4 grams silver.

Highlights from the program include: hole 4, which returned (from surface) 151.42 metres of 0.53 gram gold and 14 grams silver, including 70.18 metres (from 81.24 to 151.42 metres) of 0.89 gram gold and 13 grams silver; hole 7, which returned (from surface) 136.03 metres of 1.02 grams gold and 19 grams silver, including several smaller, higher-grade intersections; and hole 15, which returned 119 metres (from 142.8 to 262 metres) of 0.85 gram gold and 69.4 grams silver, including 4 metres (from 181.6 to 185.6 metres) of 5.28 grams gold and 851.2 grams silver, and 5.75 metres (from 189.25 to 195 metres) of 2.38 grams gold and 342.2 grams silver.

Underground results include 56.31 metres of 0.94 gram gold and 3.8 grams silver, including 5.83 metres of 10.68 grams gold and 21.3 grams silver, in hole 8B.

The highest grade from underground was 1.46 metres of 19.36 grams gold and 43.6 grams silver in hole 6, which tested a 33.1-metre zone averaging 1.2 grams gold and 3 grams silver.

The lowest grade from underground was encountered in hole 1A, which hit 0.27 gram gold and 73.4 grams silver over 14.8 metres. The smallest zone was intersected by hole 2A, which returned 1.8 grams gold and 5.2 grams silver over 3.02 metres.

Gran Colombia is currently drilling the western section of the underground resource, while drilling on surface continues to test the strike length of mineralization.