Miramar confirms Cuban gold zone

Drilling on the Mantua copper project in Cuba is confirming the presence of an overlying gold zone.

Miramar Mining (TSE), which holds a 50% interest, has completed a 35-hole program to evaluate the gold potential of a gossan zone which overlies the known copper deposit at Mantua.

The open-pit resource at Mantua is estimated at 3.9 million tonnes grading 3.47% copper. Yearly output from a copper-leaching operation project is projected at 18 million kg (40 million lb.) at a cash cost of US40 cents per lb.

Twenty-three holes within the central third of the 1,300-metre strike length of the Mantua copper deposit returned a weighted average grade of 2.3 grams gold and 10.5 grams silver per tonne. Tests are under way to determine the zone’s amenability to heap leaching.