Olympus proves up Phuoc Son

Vancouver — Olympus Pacific Minerals (OYM-V) has intersected encouraging gold values at the Phuoc Son project in central Vietnam.

The 2,300-metre reconnaissance program identified three prospects that yielded gold-skarn mineralization associated with intrusive stocks.

Drilling at the Khe Rin prospect intersected 6.5 grams gold per tonne over 3.1 metres at a down-hole depth of 27.4 metres in hole 4, and 4.35 grams gold over 9.9 metres at 71.4 metres down-hole in hole 10. At the Khe Do prospect, hole 23 hit 9.5 metres grading 7.9 grams gold at 78.4 metres down-hole, while at the Tra Long prospect, hole 1 cut 1 metre grading 69.98 grams gold at 75 metres down-hole.

The prospective area was delineated earlier this year by an open-ended, 3-km-long, gold-in-soil anomaly that is coincident with a zone of strong calc-silicate (skarn) alteration. The Khe Do and Khe Rin zones both occur in metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary rock sequences. The skarn alteration in these rocks is thought to be related to a granodioritic intrusive just below the surface.

Associated base metal values would seem to indicate a strong relationship between gold and copper, consistent with high-temperature formations in a near-porphyry environment.

Syenite, leucodiorite and hornblende-quartz-diorite dykes were intersected, and some of the dykes show high-temperature contact-skarn zones, quartz veining, gold mineralization and biotite-quartz-potassium feldspar alteration. The gold correlates well with molybdenum values at Khe Rin and with bismuth-tellurium grades at Khe Do.

Meanwhile, drilling in the southeastern part of the property has been testing the downdip extension of gold mineralization exposed within shallow, small-scale mine workings along the western limb of a northerly plunging anticline.

The Bai Dat zone comprises gold, silver and base metal mineralization hosted by quartz veins and breccias in greenschist metamorphics. The westerly dipping quartz vein system appears to have been folded near the surface into a northerly plunging anticline. Veins are typically 1-4 metres thick, with breccias and quartz-carbonate veinlets locally extending into the wall rocks. Open-pit and underground artisan miners have worked the vein over a 300-metre strike length along the anticline axis. The high-grade shoot was cut by 18 of the 32 holes drilled, showing an average grade of 22.7 grams gold over 3.6 metres.

Moving 1 km to the north, at the Bai Go zone, mineralization is associated with multiple quartz veins that measure up to 44 metres in true thickness. To date, 15 of the 28 holes drilled intersected a high-grade gold shoot. The average grade for the holes was 13.2 grams over 5.3 metres

The rig will be used for further infill and stepout drilling at these two zones, with follow up drilling at the Khe Rin prospect planned for next year.

The Phuoc Son project, situated 140 km southwest of the port city of Danang, is a joint venture involving Olympus, with a 57.18% interest, Ivanhoe Mines (IVN-T), with 32.64%, and Zedex, with 10.18%. Olympus is the operator.