Antilles Gold says it has confirmed high-grade copper results using portable x-ray fluorescence analysis on the latest diamond drillhole sunk into the company’s El Pilar copper-gold porphyry deposit in Cuba.
Data from the results shows a 29m hit grading 2.05 per cent copper from 151m including 11m going 4.7 per cent, with a 1m section at a staggering 17.37 per cent.
Management says the intersection of high-grade copper mineralisation in sulphides in the southern part of the El Pilar prospect confirmed by the readings gives it great encouragement for the potential of the prospect. It is also confident the system is growing to the south-east, which has seen no drilling completed to date and where the company is seeing both high grades and widths of mineralisation expanding.
Antilles has also received assay results from several holes drilled into the overlying copper-gold oxide deposit. Highlights include a 15m hit grading 2.1 grams per tonne gold from surface, in addition to 6m at 1.19g/t gold from 20m.
The company also recorded positive copper results with a 25m section at 0.9 per cent copper from 45m and a shallower 16m intercept going 0.71 per cent copper from just 4m.
The continuing high copper grades in the El Pilar oxide deposit will be reflected in the MRE for the proposed Nueva Sabana gold-copper mine when published in January 2024, and reinforce the Company’s confidence in commencing construction of the low cap-ex mine in May/June 2024, which is expected to show outstanding returns on funds invested. Antilles Gold chairman Brian Johnson
The company recently completed five diamond holes at its El Pilar oxide deposit and three at the adjacent Gaspar deposit, with management saying the results reinforce the development of its proposed Nueva Sabana mine.
Gold results from El Pilar show 5m at 3.35g/t gold from surface, 2m going 3.61g/t gold from 7m and 5m grading 1.55g/t gold from 13m in the same hole. A second hole also recorded positive results, with 4m reading 2.3g/t gold from surface, 3m at 8.53g/t gold from 13m and 1m going 9.65g/t gold from 27m.
However, Gaspar returned the best gold grades, with 2.5m at 11.39g/t gold from 21m and 2m at the peak result of 49.3g/t gold from just 22m.
The ongoing drill campaign at El Pilar is expected to be completed by next month, with a mineral resource estimate for the proposed Nueva Sabana mine scheduled for January next year.
Antilles and joint venture (JV) partner Geominera SA, the Cuban Government’s mining company, have been encouraged by metallurgical testing for both gold and copper, with simple flotation producing 85 per cent recoveries for the gold.
Just last month, the company revealed assays from the five previous diamond holes at El Pilar, quoting “outstanding” results from the shallow gold-bearing zone and “robust” grades from the underlying copper-rich domain. It appears to have a growing story developing.
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