Antilles Gold Ltd (ASX:AAU, OTCQB:ANTMF) has received preliminary assays for three cored holes from a six-hole, 1,800-metre program at El Pilar in central Cuba that wrapped up in September.
The holes were located along 300 metres of strike on the gold-copper oxide deposit that appears to overlay a large copper-gold porphyry deposit.
Five of the holes penetrated the gold and copper domains of the oxide deposit, and into what is probably the outer zone of a porphyry intrusion.
Highlights
Preliminary results include:
- 3 metres at 13.81 g/t gold from 10 metres;
- 4.3 metres at 4.47 g/t gold from surface;
- 13.4 metres at 3.53 g/t gold from 14.3 metres;
- 72.4 metres at 0.63% copper from 36.6 metres including 26.2 metres at 0.86% from 72.8 metres; and
- 30.4 metres at 0.55% copper from 49.5 metres including 8 metres at 1.39% from 53.5 metres.
Within the next six to eight weeks, all assays will be confirmed at SGS’s laboratory in Peru.
Virtually continuous copper
Antilles Gold exploration director Dr Christian Grainger said that the assays from the oxide deposit were consistent with the results from 24,000 metres of historical drilling that were the basis for the exploration target range reported to the ASX in July.
Virtually continuous copper grades in two holes, below the enriched gold domain, are associated with secondary chalcocite that is an easily leachable copper oxide mineral and is 80 weight per cent copper in nature.
The company welcomes that composition of the fresh rock sulphide mineralisation. Only chalcopyrite and bornite have been identified below the oxide mineralised zones and the lack of arsenic-bearing sulphides indicates it will be able to create a very clean concentrate.
A gold oxide zone of +2 g/t gold, with an additional lower oxide zone of leached copper of +0.5% copper, is seen as extremely positive for early mine development and cash flow generation.
What’s next?
AAU is preparing for an upcoming detailed ground geophysical program of both induced polarisation (IP) and magnetics.
The 3-kilometre by 2-kilometre geophysical grid will guide the upcoming drilling campaign to target concealed sulphide porphyry copper-gold mineralisation, which is the source of the El Pilar oxide copper-gold mineralisation.
The company thinks extensions to the surface oxide copper-gold mineralisation, or additional new zones, are "highly probable".
A 15,000-metre cored drilling program is planned for the porphyry deposit in February 2023.
The company will kick off a separate 7,000-metre program on the oxide deposit in January 2023 to establish JORC resources, along with a scoping study for an open pit mine to produce gold and copper concentrates.
This next mine could potentially be commissioned in the second quarter of 2025, soon after the La Demajagua gold-silver mine.