Pacific Rim finito at La Calera

Vancouver — Pacific Rim Mining (PMU-T) has terminated its option on the La Calera gold project in El Salvador after most of the 39 holes it drilled this year turned out to be duds.

The holes that did hit gold were spotty and low-grade at best.

Pacific Rim tested the bulk-minable potential of the property following 6,200 metres of core drilling, carried out last year, which indicated potential for open-pit bulk mining.

Exploration focused on two northwest-trending veins that cut upper Tertiary Balsamo Formation volcanics. These quartz calcite veins contain low-sulphidation-style epithermal gold and silver mineralization and are exposed on prominent ridges. Mapping and sampling last year indicated an average of 1.99 grams gold per tonne with no regard to length of sample taken.

An independent report in 2003 stated that “La Calera contains gold and silver mineralization whose grades, if present in a sufficient volume of rock with a configuration amenable to mining, might be exploited profitably.”

However, the Rosa North Extension was tested by five holes, and only one, hole 4, revealed any hint of gold: 1.5 metres grading 0.66 gram gold and 0.9 gram silver at a depth of 291 metres; the Calichal South zone returned one hole that averaged 0.69 gram gold and 2.16 grams silver from a depth of 204 metres in hole 43B; and at the Rosa South Extension, one of four holes proved golden: 1.5 metres grading 0.62 gram gold and 0.1 gram silver at a down-hole depth of 88.5 metres.

The best intercept from the recent, second phase of drilling was 45 metres grading 1.24 grams gold and 2.17 grams silver at 112.5 metres down-hole in hole 58.

La Calera is 45 km northeast of San Salvador and 15 km from the company’s El Dorado project, where a feasibility study in under way.

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