Two rigs at San Fernando

By adding a second drill rig to the San Fernando gold property in west-central Mexico, San Fernando Mining (TSE) has intensified exploration and predevelopment work.

The $2-million program will consist of 20,000 ft. of reverse-circulation in-fill drilling and at least 7,000 ft. of additional diamond drilling in the area of La Fortuna mine.

A drill-indicated resource is outlined at 5.1 million tons grading 0.078 oz. gold and 1.1 oz. silver per ton, plus 0.28% copper. Situated in Durango state, the deposit has a north-south strike length of 700 ft. and a downdip extent of 1,150 ft. A proven and probable reserve, potentially minable by open-pit methods, is estimated at 3.8 million tons grading 0.093 oz. gold. The drilling of seven holes over a strike length of 200 ft. recently extended the southwestern portion of the Fortuna zone downdip for an additional 250 ft. The drilling also indicates the zone steepens to about 65 from an average of 45-50. Assay results are pending.

A large bulk sample is being collected, which will provide material for metallurgical testwork. The company is investigating possible sites for waste dumps and tailings disposal.

At least 13,000 ft. of additional drilling will test targets outside of the mine area. The prospect known as La Soledad, situated 7 miles south of La Fortuna, is the subject of a helicopter-supported exploration program. A new zone, called La Bonita, consists of vuggy quartz and sericite breccia over a length of 500 ft. and encompasses historic underground workings. A road is under construction to allow access for drilling of the Meloncita West zone, situated 3,200 ft. southwest of La Fortuna. Recent trenching returned 62.2 ft. of 0.14 oz. gold from a strongly mineralized alteration zone.

Geochemical sampling, carried out 2,500 ft. to the west, continues to define the Cantarana zone, where previous sampling returned values of up to 0.3 oz. gold and 50 oz. silver. Closer to La Fortuna, sampling has resulted in the discovery of a mineralized zone over a length of 300 ft. The structure consists of quartz breccia with chloride-epidote alteration, and San Fernando reports gold values of as high as 1.1 oz.