Sulliden’s drills stall at Mario (December 14, 2001)

Nearly out of cash, Sulliden Exploration (SUE-T) has suspended a 3,500-metres drilling campaign on the Mario base metal property, 50 km southwest of Huancayo, Peru.

So far, drilling aimed at testing the Punapuna high-grade zinc-lead-silver massive sulphide zone and its untested northerly and southerly extensions amounts to about 1,553 metres.

The Punapuna zone, part of a large electromagnetic anomaly was discovered last August during geophysical surveying. It occurs at a contact between marble and brecciated dacite on the western flank of a dacitic dome. Recent detailed horizontal loop electromagnetic (HLEM) geophysical surveying has confirmed that the conductor extends for more than 1 km to the south of section 450 S and 500 metres to the north of section 300 S. It follows the same limestone-dacite contact that hosts Punapuna and reaches a width of up to 100 metres over the last 300 meters to the southeast.

Results received from initial drilling include:

• 4.5% zinc over 2.6 metres, including 0.62 metres of 9.2% zinc, 0.2% copper, 11.6 grams silver and 0.4 ram gold per tonne; and
• 0.9% zinc, 0.4% lead, 0.02% copper, 67.7 gram silver and 0.2 gram gold over 0.9 metre.

The first hole cut a zone of well-mineralized skarn at an intrusive-marble contact, with mineralization comprising disseminated to semi-massive sphalerite and pyrite associated with epidote, rhodocrosite and calcosilicates. The geophysics conductor associated with the Punapuna zone remains open and untested for another 500 metres to the north.

The second hole encountered mainly pyrrhotite, pyrite and magnetite, with minor sphalerite and chalcopyrite on a geophysics anomaly at the contact between the limestone/marble unit and the dacite/diorite intrusive body similar to the one associated with the Punapuna zone.

The prospective intrusive-limestone contact can be trace for about 2 km. The company is looking for additional financing to resume drilling as soon as possible.

Last August, Sulliden signed an agreement with Cominco (now Teck Cominco [TEK-T]) to earn a 100% interest in the 2,700-ha property, where the major spent two years carrying out mapping, geophysical surveying and drilling.

The Montreal-based junior can earn its interest by spending US$1.2 million on exploration over six years, including US$100,000 in the first year. If Sulliden completes its earn-in, Cominco will retain a 2% net smelter return royalty.