More high grade at Quimsacocha

Iamgold (IMG-T) continues to cut high-grade gold in drillholes at its Quimsacocha gold property, 40 km southwest of Cuenca, Ecuador.

Last year, 71 holes (21,900 metres) were drilled, highlighted by:

• hole 122, which cut 101 metres (true width is estimated at close to 30 metres) that had an average grade of 9.5 grams gold, 46.7 grams silver and 0.4% copper. Included in this interval are several intercepts from 6-13 metres wide that graded from 15-20 grams gold, 47-86 grams silver per tonne and 0.3-1.7 % copper;
• hole 124, which cut several high grade intercepts, including 15.9 metres that graded 31 grams gold, 130 grams silver and 2.4% copper and higher in the hole, 13.6 metres that graded 17 grams gold, 44 grams silver per tonne and 1.1% copper;
• hole 128, which cut 22 metres that graded 9 grams gold, 60.5 grams silver and 0.9% copper. This intercept included a 4-metre-wide high-grade interval that graded 33 grams gold per tonne, 230 grams silver per tonne and 3.8% copper;
• hole142, which cut 25 metres grading 13 grams gold, 56 grams silver and 0.6% copper (this included a 9.4-metre intercept that graded 23 grams gold, 74 grams silver and 1% copper;
• hole 149, which cut 79 metres that graded 4.7 grams gold, 16 grams silver and 0.2% copper at a down-hole depth of 117 metres. This interval includes a 23.5-metre intercept that graded 10 grams gold, 27 grams silver and 0.5% copper. This hole cut several highgrade zones, one of which graded: 21 grams gold, 66 grams silver per tonne and 1.1% copper over 9 metres.

Apart from these holes, 31 holes cut significant mineralization from 1-77 metres wide, which graded up to 25 grams gold, a maximum of 295 grams silver per tonne, and a high of 7.2% copper. Nineteen of the 71 holes cut gold grades that were greater than 7 grams gold per tonne.

Drilling has focused primarily on the D1 zone, although a new zone, "Loma Larga", has now been identified 250 metres to the south of this (hole 149, mentioned above, tested Loma Larga). The two zones have been identified over an area that is one km long by 750 metres wide. Mineralization is open in all directions.

The D1 zone comprises thick sequences of sub-horizontal gold and silver mineralization. High-grade veins are often within horizons, typically tens of metres thick, which grade in the 2-gram-gold-per-tonne range. In addition to being hit at vertical depths of 150 metres, the lower-grade zones have been cut at a vertical depth of 25 metres.

The 130-sq.-km property is underlain by volcanic rocks, which are in contact locally with an intrusive pipe that has an imprint of four km.