Francisco steps up drilling at Marlin

Vancouver — With a second round of drilling under way at its promising Marlin prospect in Western Guatemala, junior Francisco Gold (FGX-V) has tabled impressive gold-silver grades from a roadcut south of the previous program.

The roadcut intersected strongly silicified and argillized zones displaying stockworks, veins and silica-hematite alteration. Channel samples collected at 2-metre intervals returned 11.6 grams gold and 107 grams silver per tonne over 84 metres.

Geophysical work, covering the initial drill grid of the Main zone, has identified gold-silver bearing silica-rich zones buried below the post-mineral cover. The company is following up this discovery by conducting a 20-km induced-polarization resistivity survey to learn more about the geometry of the Main zone, as well as the potential dimensions of the two adjacent zones of mineralization: Los Cochis and Don Pancho-Don Tello.

The high-resistivity anomaly on the Main zone extends for about 800 metres along an east-west strike and remains open in both directions. Another anomaly, 400 metres northwest of the Main zone, is coincident with the Los Cochis zone.

Drilling is currently testing the Main zone anomaly. Three recently completed stepout holes, drilled west and south of the Main zone, intersected strongly silicified and argillized quartz rich zones. Assays are pending.

Earlier this year, Francisco completed 15 holes (1,429 metres) on the Marlin Main zone. The holes were drilled beneath a portion of high-grade mineralization outlined by previous trenching and under post-mineral volcanic ash cover on the zone’s eastern extension.

The drilling identified a near-surface, oxidized horizon of mineralization over a 300-by-175-metre area with an average true thickness of 25-30 metres. The horizon dips gently to the south at 20-30. Highlights include hole 2, which returned 78 metres grading 2.4 grams gold and 37.4 grams silver per tonne from surface; and hole 3, which cut 24 metres of 12.92 grams gold and 257 grams silver at a downhole depth of between 16.5 and 40.4 metres.

In the second phase of drilling, Francisco will drill 10 additional holes (1,000 metres) in an attempt to expand the western, southern and southeastern limits of the Main zone.

Marlin is underlain by a series of Tertiary-aged felsic volcanic, sub- volcanic and dyke rocks exposed within an erosional window of a younger, Quaternary-aged ash-flow blanket. The area of interest extends eastward from the Los Cochis zone, past the Main zone to the Don Tello showing.

Francisco believes the Main zone is characterized by a manto-like body that plunges to the south. Most of the highest-grade mineralization is associated with a tuffaceous breccia unit just beneath the Marlin sill.

The Main zone prospect is an oval-shaped area measuring 350 by 175 metres. Of 305 grab samples, the average grade was 6.06 grams gold and 71 grams silver. Previous trenching outlined a high-grade core averaging 11.06 grams gold and 100 grams silver in a 125-sq.-metre area.

Marlin is part of a package of properties originally held by Montana Gold, a privately owned Canadian company. Since it began exploration work in Guatemala in 1996, Montana has staked more than 6,000 sq. km of mineral concessions along a major structural trend in the country’s western region. Francisco has agreed to acquire Montana by issuing an initial 650,000 shares upon closing. If 1.5 million oz. gold-equivalent ounces are defined (proven and probable), it will issue up to 1.4 million more.