Source : THE AGE NEWS
Advance Metals has intersected a broad zone of copper-silver-gold mineralisation beneath a known high-grade silver system at its Gavilanes project in Mexico, hinting it could be sitting on a much bigger, multi-layered high-grade discovery.
The company says the second hole of a maiden diamond drilling program at Gavilanes not only extended the known high-grade silver system to the south, it also delivered the strongest copper interval at the project to date.
The upper part of the hole confirmed the continuity of the silver system, returning a solid 8.4m grading 245 grams per tonne (g/t) silver from 90m, featuring a richer 3-metre core grading a whopping 523g/t silver.
However, it was the deeper intersection that has blown the doors off the project, knocking out an exceptionally broad 54.6m zone of contiguous copper-silver-gold mineralisation from 180m, grading 0.6 per cent copper, 22g/t silver and 0.3g/t gold.
‘Gavilanes has the potential to host a much larger polymetallic system.’
Advance Metals managing director and chief executive officer Dr Adam McKinnon
That broad hit contained a higher-grade zone of 12m at 1.1 per cent copper, 42g/t silver and 0.7g/t gold, giving strong credence to management’s theory that Gavilanes could host a stacked epithermal system synonymous with the world-class Mexican silver belt.
Advance’s project sits just 23km east of First Majestic Silver’s world-class San Dimas epithermal mine, which has historically produced a jaw-dropping 745 million ounces of silver and 11 million ounces of gold. The region is widely regarded as the world’s premier historic silver province.
The latest results have prompted a review of historical drilling, which has now identified a previously under-appreciated hit in a hole 75m to the north of the latest hit, which also featured a strong copper-silver-gold zone at depth.
Advance Metals managing director and chief executive officer Dr Adam McKinnon said: “Our second diamond drill hole is a significant result for Advance. Importantly, a broad copper-silver-gold zone sits below the silver-dominant mineralisation, supporting our view that Gavilanes has the potential to host a much larger polymetallic system.”
Advance’s maiden drilling campaign to chase major extensions of the existing silver system at Gavilanes is already hitting the mark. The project currently hosts a substantial historical foreign resource estimate of 22.4 million silver-equivalent ounces grading an impressive 246g/t silver-equivalent. However, management now believes the strong opening drill result has boosted confidence in delivering a maiden JORC-compliant resource well above that figure, later this year.
The success builds on Advance’s recent exploration wins at its nearby Yoquivo project in Chihuahua, where drilling doubled the project’s inventory to an impressive 33 million silver-equivalent ounces, highlighting the company’s growing footprint in the world’s premier silver belt.
With assays still pending from a third hole and a fourth hole now drilling southern extensions, market watchers can expect a steady stream of exploration news over the coming months.
Beyond Mexico, Advance has also strengthened its portfolio by consolidating 100 per cent ownership of its high-grade Victorian gold assets, where previous drilling returned spectacular bonanza-grade intercepts, including 7.5m at 55g/t gold.
Advance went looking for more silver and may have uncovered something much bigger. As the shallow resource grows and a broader polymetallic system takes shape below, the company looks to have plenty of bullets left in the chamber.
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