Pacific Rim advances San Francisco project — Also acquiring Peruvian gold project

Junior Pacific Rim Mining (PFG-T) is encouraged by results from first-phase drilling at its wholly owned San Francisco project in northwestern Argentina.

Two of the holes, Nos. 12 and 13, were designed to intersect a large north-striking fault zone and coincident quartz vein.

Hole 12 intersected 21 metres averaging 3.3% zinc and 1.2% lead, plus 44.8 grams silver and 0.28 gram gold per tonne starting at a down-hole depth of 263 metres.

Hole 13 cut 9 metres of 31.8 grams silver and 0.59 gram gold, starting 230 metres down-hole. This was followed by a 13-metre section of 16.7 grams silver and 1.22 grams gold. Another, 9-metre interval, farther down-hole, assayed 36.7 grams silver and 0.59 gram gold.

Holes 10 and 11 were the first to intersect the target, a fault-hosted quartz vein system.

“We have moved the prospect several steps forward,” says Thomas Shrake, Pacific Rim’s chief executive officer, “and results to date clearly demonstrate that additional drilling is warranted.”

In other news, Pacific Rim has agreed to acquire the Luicho gold property in Peru, 540 km southeast of Lima.

To do so, the company must spend US$1.4 million by the second anniversary of the signing of the agreement. A final payment of US$24.2 million will be made after the third year. If a production decision is made, a maximum 3% royalty will be payable to the vendor, a private Peruvian company.

The 1,000-ha property represents a low-sulphidation epithermal prospect. Mineralization is contained in quartzites and breccias and controlled by stockwork quartz veining.

Continuous chip samples were collected from surface outcrops, as well as from historic underground workings. The average value of all 431 samples collected was 1.57 grams gold per tonne. Of these, 59% exceeded 0.31 gram gold and 41% exceeded 0.62 gram gold per tonne.

Most of the samples higher than 0.62 gram gold occur in a wedge-shaped fault block that measures 1.2 km long and 150-400 metres wide. The block has an apparent vertical relief of 300 metres.

At last report, Pacific Rim had 24.8 million shares on a fully diluted basis and $7.9 million in working capital.