Auspex, Vestor size up Aljustrel complex

Partners Auspex Minerals (APJ-V) and International Vestor Resources (IVS-V) have released initial results from surface drilling at the Aljustrel mining complex in south-central Portugal.

Each company holds a 37.5% interest in the project, with the remainder held by the Portuguese state.

The program is entirely focused on the Feitais deposit, which is one of four massive sulphide targets that comprise the project, the others being Moinho, Sao Joao and Gaviao.

To date, four holes have been drilled, with massive sulphide values reported from three of them.

The first hole was deflected away from the plunging sulphide deposit and did not intersect it, whereas assays for the third and fourth holes have yet to be released.

The second hole, which was designed to probe a relatively untested area of the deposit, hit 95 metres of massive sulphides followed by 33 metres of stockwork mineralization. Assay results from the massive sulphide portion of the hole returned 50.6 metres (true width) grading 0.3% copper, 1.5% lead and 5.5% zinc, as well as 60 grams silver and 0.9 gram gold per tonne, starting at a depth of 350.2 metres down-hole.

Included in the hole were three higher-grade intercepts. The first started at a down-hole depth of 350.2 metres and intersected 31.8 metres (true width: 25.8 metres) averaging 0.2% copper, 2% lead, 7% zinc, 72.1 grams silver and 0.8 gram gold. The second intercept started at 394.2 metres down-hole and hit 5 metres (true width: 4 metres) grading 0.5% copper, 2.6% lead, 10.3% zinc, 86.7 grams silver and 1.2 grams gold. The third started at a depth of 408 metres down-hole and intersected 4.6 metres (true width: 3.8 metres) grading 0.4% copper, 1.3% lead, 6.3% zinc, 41.8 grams silver and 1.6 grams gold.

A 43.6-metre (true width) copper-rich zone was intersected at a depth of 424 metres down-hole. The zone was intersected in the lower portion of the massive sulphide body and continued into the footwall stockwork zone. Average grades ran 1.8% copper, 0.2% lead, 0.9% zinc, 14.7 grams silver and 0.4 gram gold. The intercept included a 9.7-metre interval (true width) grading 3% copper, 0.1% lead, 1% zinc, 21.1 grams silver and 1.2 grams gold starting at a depth of 466.2 metres down-hole.

The overall hole assayed 103.7 metres (true width) grading 0.9% copper, 0.9% lead, 3.3% zinc, 37.3 grams silver and 0.7 gram gold starting at a depth of 350.2 metres down-hole.

The deposit still remains open down- and up-plunge.

Auspex and International Vestor have budgeted $1.8 million this year on a program that will involve surface core drilling, metallurgical testing, collection of environmental base-line data, and engineering studies.

SRK Canada has been commissioned to study the feasibility of reopening the Aljustrel mine as a major producer of zinc, lead and silver. The mine was historically mined for pyrite.