Radius drills Lupita

Vancouver — Junior Radius Explorations (RDU-V) has tabled low-grade results from two more holes at the Lupita zone on its Tambor gold project in Guatemala. The Simon Ridgway-led company is now drilling farther west, at the Sastre zone.

Two of the final three holes collared at Lupita bottomed in mineralization. Hole LW-6 hit 18.3 metres grading 1.39 grams gold per tonne, starting at a down-hole depth of 115.8 metres.

Hole 7, which was collared 200 metres west of hole 4 (135.6 metres averaging 1.22 grams gold), returned 149.3 metres of 0.77 gram gold, starting from surface.

Hole 5 failed to penetrate the rocks above the favourable phyllite unit.

So far, hand-trenching and drilling have outlined a zone of mineralization measuring 400 by 400 metres. A newly built drill access road uncovered mineralized carbonaceous phyllite some 500 metres west of hole 7, indicating that the structure remains open along strike and at depth. This recessive weathering horizon has been traced 3.5 km to the west, to the Bridge zone, where it disappears under volcanic ash cover. Previous channel sampling at the Bridge zone returned 85 metres grading 3.59 grams.

The junior twinned hole 4 with a core hole to confirm the grade distribution and test the depth extent of the zone. The hole was lost at 90.5 metres, owing to poor ground conditions. Assay results are pending.

Lupita is the most easterly of several targets to be tested. The gold mineralization occurs in a carbonaceous phyllite unit in association with strong, multi-stage, hydrothermal quartz veining containing disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite. A hangingwall amphibolite schist, sitting at the top, was unmineralized.

Based on the drilling, Radius believes the phyllites have been sliced into the amphibolite schist along a fault zone. The mineralized zone is dipping about 10 to the west. The oxidized mineralization exposed in the trenches is now believed to be just a thin skin, or rind, on surface. The mineralization intercepted in the drilling consisted entirely of sulphides.

Reverse-circulation drilling is in progress at the Sastre zone and will test the downdip extension of surface mineralization uncovered in trenches. Radius has budgeted six holes for this target.

The Tambor property occurs in a new belt of rocks, which has now been traced over a distance of more than 20 km. Regional work in the past 18 months has uncovered three large gold anomalies in this belt. Ten individual prospects have been identified, all of which will be drilled.