Bulk sampling bonanza at Batato (May 31, 2004)

Bulk sampling of the Tarale 1000 and Tarale 11 structures on Sur American Gold‘s (SUR-V) Comval gold project is returning higher grades as underground development advances. The latest sampling brings to five the number of “bonanza-grade” veins on the Batato property, which is part of the company’s Comval project on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

The Tarale 1000 vein, discovered two months ago, is a 1.1-metre-wide structure where a development tunnel along the vein shows grades increasing with depth. For example, from 0 to 13 metres, a 750-kg sample graded an average of 0.5-16.2 grams gold per tonne. At 15 metres into the tunnel, along Tarale 1000, a 750-kg sample graded 102.7 grams gold, and at 17 metres, another 750-kg sample graded 263 grams gold.

The latest development along the Tarale 11 vein has advanced the face 17 metres from the portal where the vein has held its 1-metre width. Bulk sample results from 750-kg samples collected at 1-metre intervals include up to 424.3 grams gold at 9 metres from the portal.

Exploration over the past year has turned up more than 60 individual vein systems. At the Batato gold porphyry deposit, in the southern portion of the project, there are long intervals of gold mineralization averaging between 0.5 and 1.5 grams gold within quartz micro-veinlets between major veins.

Previous bonanza gold results include Tarale 7, with values of up to 784 grams, Ugpo, with up to 118 grams, and Tarale 56, with up to 165 grams gold.