Atna encouraged by results from the DR

The results from a first phase of widely spaced drilling on the San Antonio I concession in the Dominican Republic leads Atna Resources (ATN-T) to believe it might have intersected the upper edge of a totally blind base metals- and precious metals-rich massive sulphide deposit.

Atna is earning a 60% interest in the concession from Energold Mining (EGD-V) by spending US$3 million over three years and issuing US$300,000 worth of shares. Atna completed 10 holes totalling 1,437 metres. The drilling was designed to test, at shallow depths, several areas of a 6,000-by-600-metre multi-element soil anomaly, with coinciding induced-polarization (IP), chargeability and resistivity anomalies.

Five of the holes were collared in the Parcela area, where, in 1990, then-property owner Battle Mountain Gold had intersected a narrow, 0.3-metre band of massive sulphides grading 16.9% zinc and 2.6% copper, plus 1.1 grams gold and 25.7 grams silver per tonne in hole 4. Atna’s first hole undercut this hole by 60 metres and intersected 3.4 metres of copper-rich mineralization in the hangingwall averaging 5.9% copper, 3.5% zinc, and 0.1% lead, plus 2.27 grams gold and 85.7 grams silver, at a depth of 88.2 metres. Farther downhole, a 1.4-metre-thick interval of massive sulphides grading 10.5% zinc, 2.4% copper, 1.1 grams gold and 142.7 grams silver was encountered at a depth of 135.1 metres at the contact between hangingwall sediments-tuffs and highly altered pyritic, quartz-sericite schists.

Atna stepped out 100 metres along strike to the northwest with hole 2 and intersected a previously reported 3.1 metres of massive sulphides averaging 8.6% zinc, 3.4% copper and 0.1% lead, plus 1.38 grams gold and 185.2 grams silver, at a downhole depth of 152.4 metres. This interval included 1.1 metres grading 16.6% zinc, 6.8% copper and 0.3% lead, plus 1.47 grams gold and 462.5 grams silver.

Hole 2 was undercut 70 metres downdip by hole 10, which intersected only stringer-style copper and zinc mineralization in the highly altered footwall rocks.

A further 100 metres to the northwest, another Battle Mountain hole had returned 15.2 metres of hangingwall mineralization averaging 1.2% copper, 0.5% zinc, 0.7 gram gold and 9 grams silver (including a 0.3-metre interval grading 15.2% zinc, 0.9% copper, 5.8 grams gold and 29.1 grams silver. Atna stepped out a further 100 metres along strike with hole 4 and hit 2.7 metres of massive sulphides grading 4.1% zinc, 2.2% copper and 0.1% lead, plus 1.83 grams gold and 20.94 grams silver at 148.8 metres down-hole.

The massive sulphide mineralization in the La Parcela area has been encountered over a strike length of 400 metres and to a depth of 130 metres.

Atna made a new discovery, 2 km southeast of La Parcela, while testing a surface oxide copper showing. Hole 7 intersected 1.9 metres grading 15.8% zinc, 1.2% copper, 1.31 grams gold and 23.97 grams silver, at a down-hole depth of 56.1 metres. Follow-up hole 8 was drilled 100 metres downdip and hit 1.2 metres of massive sulphides grading 5.3% zinc, 1.29% copper, 1.48 grams gold and 16.3 grams silver at a 139.7-metre depth.

This new discovery could represent a separate centre of high-grade mineralization associated with a thickening of the rhyolitic host rocks. The area between the two zones was tested with limited drilling. Hole 9 was collared 1,000 metres to the southeast, along strike of La Parcela, and intersected similar altered footwall rocks containing disseminated and stringer-style copper and zinc sulphides.

An area where gossanous, banded baritic rock was discovered in subcrop adjacent to a field of large jasper boulders, 1,500 metres southeast of La Parcela, was tested by holes 5 and 6. Surface sampling of the float boulders had yielded gold values in the range of 1-5 grams, with highly anomalous base metal values. Results from the drilling were disappointing, and a more detailed assessment of the area suggests the holes were not oriented in the correct direction to test the depth extent of mineralization.

Following a compilation of all the fieldwork and assay results, follow-up drilling will be carried out.