Mirasol delivers spectacular silver hits

Results for the remaining 21 holes completed during a first pass of drilling on the Julia vein target confirm Mirasol Resources (mrz-v) has made a significant high-grade silver discovery at its wholly owned Virginia project in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province.
The 2.2-km-long Julia vein was tested by 28 shallow diamond drill holes, for a total of 1,616 metres, at targeted depths of 25 and 50 metres below surface. The drilling returned true width intercepts ranging from just under 1 metre to 28 metres in length, with grades between 81 and 6,298 grams silver per tonne.
“We believe that the Virginia silver vein system has the potential to leverage Mirasol to a new level and that, if further drilling is as successful as the initial drill phase, we could move towards defining a resource relatively quickly,” Mirasol president and CEO Mary Little tells The Northern Miner. “This would continue to transform Mirasol from a successful prospect generator to a company with resources and
potentially a producer.”
The Julia vein is traceable for more than 2 km in outcrop, subcrop and as large float blocks. It displays changes in direction as well as probable vein splits or splays. Mirasol has divided the north-northwest striking structure into three segments – Julia North, Julia Central and Julia South.
A total of 58 saw-cut channel samples, taken from surface at 26 metres spacing in the north segment and 15 metres in the south segment, averaged a previously reported 805 grams silver and 1.16% lead across a 1.8-metre true width.
The Julia North segment of the structure has been tested by 14 holes, which demonstrate excellent continuity of the mineralization over a 500-metre strike length and to 60 metres downdip. The zone is moderately-to-steeply dipping at 50-80 degrees to the west. The mineralization remains open to the north and downdip.
The majority of the holes exceeded the widths and grades anticipated by Mirasol from surface channel sampling. Selected highlights from the most recent drill results include: hole 14, which cut a true width 26.6 metres averaging 348 grams silver, including a 5.9-metre section of 1,208 grams, beginning 5 metres from surface; hole 28, located 500 metres south of hole 4, returned 9.3 metres true width of 654 grams silver, including 5 metres of 1,152 grams silver, starting at 60 metres downhole; and hole 16, drilled roughly between holes 14 and 29, hit a true width 19.9 metres of 368 grams silver, including 1,627 grams silver across 3.5 metres.
“There is considerable continuity between holes in Julia North, although one must qualify that drilling is still widely spaced and to fairly shallow depths,” says Little. “Several steps in the structure also occur but the structure appears to continue under cover to the north.”
New holes into Julia Central and Julia South also intercepted significant values. The widest of these came from Julia South, where hole 23 intersected a true width 7.6 metres averaging 245 grams silver, including 2.6 metres of 560 grams silver, at 26 metres depth.
Hole 13 pulled 2.7 metres true width of 462 grams silver from the central segment, starting at 33 metres downhole. Julia Central has been tested by only three holes to date, while Julia South has been drilled by 10 holes.
“The character of the Central segment is different. Geologically, the vein jogs and crops out less continuously. Also the Central segment is shorter than North,” says Little, explaining why Julia Central received fewer drill holes.
The Julia zone is described by Mirasol as an epithermal quartz vein system, displaying both banded and brecciated textures. The mineralization is described as strongly oxidized, with abundant iron oxides. Minor amounts of galena are the only sulphide observed.
At Julia North and Central, faulting in and around the zone has produced variable core recoveries ranging from 40-80%. Julia South mineralization is hosted in more competent rock and core recoveries are generally high, in the 90% plus range.
Julia is one of eight new veins identified to date in the Virginia prospect area of the Santa Rita property in western Santa Cruz, 100 km southeast of the town of Las Heras. The property package was first staked by Mirasol in 2004 and subsequently expanded. A prospecting program in late 2004 targeted parts of the property that had never been previously explored, resulting in the discovery of the Julia vein.
Mirasol has resumed exploration work on Virginia as it begins to test some of the other veins surrounding Julia with a program of mechanical trenching. Drilling is expected to resume this quarter.
With an estimated $15 million in cash, Mirasol is well-financed to deliver in its near-term exploration objectives. The company has 37.4 million shares outstanding, or 42.7 million fully diluted. At presstime, it was trading around $5 in a 52-week range of $1.51-$6.40.