Mansfield drilling expands Lindero

Vancouver – Drilling by Mansfield Minerals (MDR-V, MFMNF-O) on its Lindero project in Salta Province, northwestern Argentina, continues to encounter zones of “blind”, non-outcropping mineralization suggesting a significant possibility to boost the property’s resource tonnage potential.

Consisting of a dozen holes, the latest round of drilling brings the total to 50 with most intersecting wide zones of low-grade gold mineralization in the porphyry body.

Hole LDH-50 cut 102 metres (from 34-metres downhole depth) grading 1.1 grams gold per tonne including a 66-metre interval of 1.22 grams gold. The hole was collared to undercut significant surface trenching results from last fall on the northwest body and encountered the zone at depth with indication it widens.

Step-out and offset holes LDH-47 and 48 also intersected wide gold mineralized intervals including a 142-metre section (from 158-metres downhole depth) averaging 1.06 grams gold with a 14-metre portion grading 2.25 grams gold at the bottom of the mineralized interval.

Mansfield now feels that the southwest and northwest bodies, originally thought as separate zones, are contiguous with the unmineralized core of the deposit appearing much smaller than previously modeled.

Gold mineralization at Lindero is mainly hosted in an intense magnetite and quartz-magnetite stockwork and correlates with a zone of strong potassic alteration.

Discovered by the company in 1999, the porphyry gold project caught the attention of Rio Tinto (RTP-N, RIO-L) that optioned it in 2002. However after only 10 drill holes, the major dropped it in 2003 citing it was unlikely to meet its size threshold.

An engineering study in late-2003 reviewed an inferred resource estimate of about 30 million tonnes grading 1.08 grams gold in the three main zones using a 0.6 gram gold cut-off grade, for just over one million contained oz. of gold.

The Lindero desosit enjoys good geometry – as a roughly 200-metre high hill it would have a very low strip ratio. Gold mineralization is mostly oxide and is leachable with cyanide producing about 70% recovery in 100 days.

The project is located about 12 km southeast of Mansfield’s Rio Grande gold property under option to Antares Minerals (ANM-V, ANMFF-O) that is earning up to 60% interest.

Shares of Mansfield moved up 20 on the drill results to close at $2.85 apiece. The company posts a $98-million market capitalization given its 34.4 million shares outstanding and has a 52-week trading range of 69-to-$3.60.