LATIN AMERICA — MacDonald expands mineral prospects in Cuba

The ongoing exploration programs of MacDonald Mines Exploration (MMP.A-A) continue to expand gold, silver and copper resources at the company’s Cuban properties.

Results from 27 holes drilled on the Three Hills zone have resulted in the discovery of two oxide gold bodies.

Hole GH-167, collared some 100 metres east of the main oxide zone, returned 22.9 metres averaging 3.61 grams gold per tonne. In addition, holes GH-164 to GH-166, collared some 200 metres towards the east-southeast in the area of GH-121 (0.61 gram gold over 7.65 metres), all returned similar grades and widths of mineralization. Both these zones remain open, and further drilling will be carried out in an effort to define their full extent.

Definition drilling in and around the main Three Hills gold oxide zone has doubled the strike length of the mineralized body, which remains open towards the west. The zone has also been expanded to the north and south. Highlights include hole GH-153, which returned 22.73 metres of oxide mineralization grading 2.89 grams gold. Further drilling toward the west will attempt to define the full strike extent of the oxide mineralization.

A significant increase in the tonnage of the underlying sulphide body has also been confirmed at Three Hills. This zone has been extended some 100 metres to the east and remains open towards the east and at depth. Hole GH-170 returned 51.05 metres averaging 2.35 grams gold and 0.25% copper in massive and semi-massive sulphides. Additional drilling will attempt to define further the eastern limits of the sulphide body.

The first exploration drilling in the Maclama area, 8 km west of the Golden Hill deposits, has been completed, and the drill is currently being moved back to Three Hills.

At Maclama, 27 widely spaced core drill holes, totalling 3,250 metres, were completed to test the Mac fault, a jasper unit and two distal induced-polarization (IP) targets known as IP-1 and IP-2.

The first 7 holes (M-01 to M-07) tested a large, horseshoe-shaped IP anomaly, 800 metres in diameter. Target IP-1, on the eastern side of the anomaly, returned an intercept in hole M-03 of 4.88 grams gold over 3.50 metres.

Target IP-2, on the west side of the anomaly, returned an intercept in hole M-05 of 0.8 gram gold over 24.3 metres, including a 7.5-metre interval grading 1.22 grams gold. Target IP-2 is also on an 800-metre-long, linear, northeast-striking gold-in-soil anomaly containing up to 3.54 grams gold.

This mineralization is hosted in a large pyrite-epidote-garnet skarn.

Drill holes M-08 to M-12 tested the Maclama Hill area. All five drill holes intersected gold mineralization. Hole M-11 returned 0.92 gram gold over 53.96 metres and included 6.1 metres which averaged 2.97 grams gold.

Mac fault

The Maclama Hill mineralization appears to be spatially related to the northeast-striking Mac fault, which has been traced for 2 km along strike.

The Mac fault has a coincident gold-in-soil anomaly that is greater than 100 metres wide and 1,200 metres long. As previously reported, surface grab samples and chip samples of outcrop along the anomaly have yielded values up to 11 grams gold and 100 grams silver.

The Maclama Hill target has been drill-tested on three parallel lines spaced 100 metres apart and is open downdip and along strike at both ends.

Encouraged by these new discoveries, MacDonald management plans to drill additional holes once the current program of definition drilling on the previously discovered oxide gold deposits has been completed.

MacDonald officials expect to achieve substantial economies-of-scale if the newly discovered mineralization can be added to the plans for production at Golden Hill and at MacDonald’s Florencia deposit.

A 100-line-km bulldozer-cut grid has been established, a soil geochemistry survey has been finished and ground geophysical surveys (including IP, magnetometer and vertical loop electromagnetics) have been completed.

Collectively, this work has demonstrated that the east-west-trending Golden Hill fault bisects the Maclama grid. In addition, the surveys have delineated a northeast-trending fault with an apparent left-lateral displacement of at least 600 metres. This (previously unknown) fault has been traced for 2 km and is the focus for veining, hydrothermal alteration, and gold mineralization in the Maclama area.

Soil geochemistry results define a continuous anomaly greater than 100 metres wide and 1.2 km in strike length coincident with the Mac fault. Several of these samples yielded values greater than 1 gram gold per tonne, with the highest yielding 10 grams. The soil anomaly remains open in both directions along strike.

New zone

Surface grab samples and chip samples of outcrop have yielded values of up to 11 grams gold and 100 grams silver.

Meanwhile, a new gold-silver zone has been found in the Golden Hill area.

Since the discovery of the Golden Hill epithermal, high-sulphidation gold-copper deposit in 1995, the company has expanded its search radius in the quest for additional economic mineralization. Recent surface prospecting has resulted in a new discovery, Zona Campo Santos, which is 1.1 km northeast of the peak of Big Golden Hill and which lies in the Golden Hill fault system.

Analytical results from oxidized surface rock have returned values as high as 1.4 grams gold and 100 grams silver. Of particular significance are high concentrations of antimony, arsenic, bismuth and lead. Based on previous experience in the Golden Hill area, such high concentrations of these trace elements occur only in proximity to economic mineralization. Based on the distribution of surface rock containing gold values, Zona Campo Santos appears to have a strike length of at least 500 metres. One bulldozer trench has cut and exposed a 20-metre-wide, vertically dipping, quartz and gossan veined zone.

Additional trenches are being cut, and a 50-metre-spaced grid is being put in place for soil geochemistry and ground geophysical surveys.

MacDonald Mines holds a 25% stake in the Golden Hill project, which it also operates, and is attempting to acquire an additional 25% through the takeover of Golden Hill Mining (GMHC-C). Geominera, a Cuban state-owned company, holds a 50% carried interest.