Denver — Following completion of a second round of drilling,
The 27 holes recently drilled bring to 48 the number completed to date. In total, the drill program has spanned 4,639 metres.
Highlights from the recent work, which was focused on the Alejandra and Dorada zones, include:
– a 22.5-metre intercept in hole 27 that averaged 8.2 grams gold and 95 grams silver per tonne, including 15.7 metres of 11.2 grams gold and 124 grams silver; and
– a 29.3-metre intercept in hole 47 that returned 29.3 metres of 5.4 grams gold and 24 grams silver, including 9 metres of 14.6 grams gold and 32 grams silver.
The resource is pegged at 7 million tonnes averaging 4.8 grams gold and 34 grams silver, equivalent to 1.1 million oz. gold and 7.6 million oz. silver. The estimate is based on a cutoff grade of 1 gram gold per tonne.
A higher-grade core within the Alejandra North zone contains about 1.7 million tonnes grading 10.9 grams gold and 81 grams silver, equivalent to 577,962 oz. gold and 4.3 million oz. silver.
Using a 5-gram cutoff (deemed more suitable for underground mining), the resource shrinks to 4.6 million tonnes grading 6.1 grams gold and 40 grams silver, or 887,627 oz. gold and 5.9 million oz. silver.
Ecuadorian used a downdip length of 200 metres, while drilling tested the vein system to a depth of 130 metres. However, owing to to local topography, the company has intersected mineralization over a vertical distance of 500 metres. Both the Alejandra and Dorada zones in the south remain open along strike and at depth.
The Alejandra zone consists of Tertiary-age epithermal mineralization in strongly brecciated volcanics, most of which is obscured by surface cover. The Dorada zone, which is believed to have open-pit potential, consists of brecciated, silicified and clay-altered intrusives with minor volcanics.
Ecuadorian hopes to raise up to US$3 million in equity financing for a third round of drilling, looking for possible extensions along strike and at depth. The program would consist of 3,000 metres of drilling and entail driving a second adit into the Alejandra North zone. The first adit, going back only 27 metres, is centrally located, whereas the proposed adit would go toward the eastern side, near hole 47.
The company has US$500,000 in cash on hand.
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