Canadian Shield completes resource on Colpayoc in Peru

Canadian Shield Resources (EXP-V) has completed a maiden resource estimate on its Colpayoc gold project, about 15 km south of the Yanacocha mine complex in Peru.

The property, 15 km west of the city of Cajamarca, is at an early stage of exploration and its Daylight zone is the most advanced of six areas of mineralization the company has identified so far.

The Daylight zone contains an area of outcropping gold mineralization, hosted within a classic gold porphyry system, which has received 2,500 metres of trenching, and four drill holes, totaling 647 metres.

Initial surface sampling identified an area, roughly 300 metres in diameter, of consistent gold mineralization in trenches, which was later tested with four drill holes to a depth of 180 metres.

At a 0.3 gram gold per tonne cutoff grade, Colpayoc’s Daylight zone contains an inferred resource of 7.58 million tonnes grading 0.6 gram gold per tonne for contained gold of 144,600 oz.

Of that, the oxide portion adds up to 4.67 million tonnes grading 0.59 gram gold for 87,800 oz. contained gold and the “reduced” portion is 2.91 million tonnes grading 0.61 gram gold for 56,800 contained oz.

Canadian Shield has an option to acquire a 100% interest, subject to a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty, on the 4,200-hectare property.

Gold mineralization discovered so far is within sheeted and stockwork quartz/magnetite/pyrite-iron oxide veins, hosted within a highly altered granitic intrusion. Oxidation extends to a depth of about 45 metres.

The company acknowledges that drilling has been limited to date and that the initial resource estimate was prepared to “guide future exploration and expansion of the resource.” All four holes encountered mineralization to the end of each hole at 200 metres, but “resources can only be included adjacent to the drill holes, and between the drill holes on interpreted northeast structural trends, until additional drilling is completed,” the company explained in a statement.

It is still too early in the exploration process to justify estimating an in-pit resource, which is the preferred option.

Drilling in the Daylight zone is focused on an outcropping area of mineralization within a magnetic anomaly that is three km in diameter, extending beyond the outcropping intrusive into adjacent sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone. The mineralization remains open, along strike and at depth.

The property contains northwest trending fault zones, and northeast trending fault zones within the sedimentary rocks surrounding the porphyry system. In several places, these structures host variably brecciated felsic volcanics (possible vent breccias), with precious metal mineralization, including gold assays up to 10 grams gold per tonne and silver assays up to 912 grams silver per tonne reported from surface rock samples.

Epithermal silver-gold mineralization is present within felsic volcanic and skarn mineralization may be present, associated with a series of magnetic anomalies within the sedimentary rocks, at depth.

At presstime Canadian Shield was trading at 53¢ per share and over the last 52 weeks has traded in a range of 48¢-$2.45 per share. The company has 11.89 million shares outstanding.