Andean Silver (ASX:ASL) has identified a distinct breccia-hosted ‘high-grade’ silver-gold trend at its Cerro Bayo Project in Chile.
Surface sampling returned up to 62,663 grams per tonne silver equivalent (AgEq) at the newly defined Juanita prospect.
The prospect sits outside the company’s existing 136-million-ounce silver equivalent resource and extends over a two-kilometre strike length.
Initial outcrop mapping and rock chip sampling returned peak results, including 25,047g/t silver and 453.2g/t gold. Additional results include 41,489g/t AgEq and 16,963g/t AgEq.
“Juanita is emerging as a potentially significant silver-gold prospect. Its mineralisation differs from the vein-style deposits common across the company’s tenure, with high-grade silver and gold occurring over a substantial strike length and through multiple mineralising events,” Managing Director Matthew Allen says.
Mineralised breccia zones show observed widths up to 18m, though individual zones range from approximately one to five metres in width.
Repeated structural reactivation, multiple mineralising events, and favourable host lithologies indicate Juanita has potential to host a ‘large’ silver-gold breccia mineralised system.
Historic drilling conducted up to 2004 returned intersections including 17.1m @ 194g/t AgEq from hole BJ920, which included 3.3m @ 897g/t AgEq.
However, geological modelling indicates much of the historic drilling did not effectively test the most prospective portions of the breccia system.
The prospect sits within a regionally significant north-northwest to north-south trending structural zone controlled by a steeply west-dipping normal fault traceable for more than 2km.
These structures have similar geometries to those hosting major deposits across the Cerro Bayo Project.
“Juanita historically has remained underexplored for 20 years due to the subtle surface expression of the system exposed on surface and limited intersection in historic scout drilling,” Allen adds.
ASL will undertake geological mapping and sawn channel sampling along the 2km Juanita trend to further define the extent of ‘high-grade’ silver-gold mineralisation ahead of drill testing.
Andean Silver is a Chilean-focused silver-gold explorer advancing the Cerro Bayo project, with a strategy to upgrade resources and advance feasibility studies.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Andean Silver
