TNM Drill Down: Colombia, Nicaragua and BC top week’s gold assays

Our TNM Drill Down features highlights of the top gold assays from the Jan. 26-Feb. 2 period. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by data company Mining Intelligence.

Projects in the Americas led the week’s best results. Collective Mining’s (TSX: CNL) Guayabales project in Colombia had the top assay. Calibre Mining’s (TSX: CXB) followed with its El Limon project in Nicaragua. And Thesis Gold (TSXV: TAU) was third with its Ranch project in British Columbia.

Guayabales in Colombia

At Collective Mining’s Guayabales project in western Colombia, drill hole APC88-D2 cut 548.9 metres grading 1.33 grams gold per tonne from surface for a width x grade value of 730.

The assay came from the newly-discovered Olympus Deeps system, located about 500 metres north of Collective’s flagship Apollo porphyry system. The hole, which also returned 133.9 metres grading 3 grams gold per tonne from 154.7 metres depth, went through Apollo and cut a zone of high-grade gold-silver-copper mineralization. It’s interpreted as the initial intercept into a gold-related brecciated porphyry intrusion, and Collective said it’s similar to Aris Mining’s (TSX: ARIS) Marmato mine 2.5 km away.

The hole also extended the brecciated porphyry body to the northeast.

Collective’s executive chairman Ari Sussman said Olympus Deeps marks its third porphyry discovery in the last 18 months, with the area between it and the Trap target forming about 3.5 km of prospective ground.

“The Guayabales project stands out as one of the best exploration growth projects globally and we are excited that drilling has now resumed at the Apollo and Trap targets and will commence by the middle of February at the Olympus target,” he said.

Collective plans at least 40,000 metres of drilling this year, focusing on expanding the Apollo system with four drill rigs.

El Limon in Nicaragua

At Calibre Mining’s El Limon project in western Nicaragua, drill hole LIM-23-4866 cut 4.1 metres grading 111.92 grams gold per tonne from 140.4 metres, for a width x grade value of 459.

The assay was from last year’s exploration and delineation drilling program of more than a dozen holes at the Panteon VTEM Gold Corridor, west of the producing Limon mine.

“The latest results are impressive and show a combination of new high grades and broad widths which should prove beneficial for future production, providing further opportunity to leverage the surplus processing capacity at our Libertad mill,” said Calibre CEO Darren Hall.

Tom Gallo, senior vice-president of strategy and growth said that to date the company has drilled 250 metres down, with mineralization open at depth. Step-out drilling is focused on the latest holes and the Panteon North deposit just to the west, which hosts 944,000 tonnes grading 9.4 grams gold for 240,000 oz. in proven and probable reserves. About 50,000 metres of drilling are planned this year around the Limon complex.

Limon produces 500,000 tonnes per year and has historical production of 3.5 million ounces. It hosts probable reserves of 6.2 million tonnes grading 3.57 grams gold for 1 million ounces, according to a December 2022 report.

Ranch in British Columbia

At Thesis Gold’s Ranch project in the Toodoggone mining district of north-central B.C., hole 23TH2DD005 cut 60 metres grading 4.53 grams gold per tonne from 141 metres for a width x grade value of 272.

The intercept, which included 19 metres at 19.39 grams gold, came from the Thesis II zone, a broad, mineralized, near-surface domain. Drilling there is aimed at testing deeper mineralization identified in 2022.

“The 2023 drilling results at Thesis II and Thesis III represent yet another step towards unlocking the full potential of the Ranch Project,” Thesis president and CEO Ewan Webster said. “Our targeted strategy for the 2023 program focused on furthering our understanding of the high-grade, near-surface potential at Ranch as we progress towards a maiden resource estimate.”

The initial resource will be included in an updated preliminary economic assessment expected in the third quarter that will incorporate drill results from the adjacent Lawyers project, southeast of Ranch.