Emerita shares rise on high grade results at polymetallic Romanera project in Spain

Emerita Resources (TSXV: EMO; US-OTC: EMOTF) says new high-grade gold and silver results from its La Romanera polymetallic project in southwestern Spain will add key value to the pre-resource deposit.

Toronto-based Emerita released assays from seven drill holes at its wholly-owned Iberian Belt West (IBW), comprising three polymetallic deposits and located about 144 km west of Seville, near the border with Portugal.

Highlights from the delineation drilling include hole LR060, which returned 51.7 metres grading 0.6% copper and lead, 1.3% zinc, 1.74 grams gold per tonne and 33.3 grams silver from 217.4 metres depth in the lower lens of mineralization.

That hole also included 4 metres grading 0.9% copper, 2% lead, 8.1% zinc, 3.46 grams gold and 42.5 grams silver from 242.2 metres; and 9 metres grading 1.4% copper, 0.9% lead, 2% zinc, 2.83 grams gold and 47.8 grams silver from 256.5 metres.

The upper lens, intersected at 195.4 metres downhole, returned 3.3 metres of 0.1% copper, 1.6% lead, 3.7% zinc, 0.68 grams gold and 68.6 grams silver.

Hole LR075 hit mineralization at 125.2 metres down and cut 19.4 metres grading 0.2% copper, 3.1% lead, 6.4% zinc, 2.28 grams gold and 118.6 grams silver.

Hole LR106 cut mineralization from the lower lens starting at 493.8 metres depth, returning  15.6 metres grading 0.3% copper, 1.5% lead, 2.8% zinc, 1.3 grams gold and 100.1 grams silver, including 3.8 metres grading 0.3% copper, 4% lead, 9.4% zinc, and 2.2 grams gold and 236.5 grams silver.

Holes LR060 and 075 were among five drilled into the upper-central part of Romanera between 100 metres above sea level and 50 metres underground, and are characterized by thick, polymetallic massive sulphides, the company said.

LR106 and one other were in the lower-central part of the deposit, between 300 and 400 metres underground.

“These deeper holes are particularly noteworthy in that they represent some of the higher grade and thickest intercepts drilled to date and remain open for further expansion of the deposit at depth,” said Ian Parkinson, Emerita’s executive vice- president of corporate development. “It is very exciting to see such wide mineralized intercepts. The excellent gold and silver grades are expected to add significant value to the deposit. These results will be included in our maiden resource estimate.”

IBW extends along a strike length of about 12 km and also includes the Infanta and El Cura deposits, with Romanera being the furthest west.

The region has been mined as far back as Roman times, with Rio Tinto (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) having drilled Romanera more recently in the 1990s. Emerita said the deposit’s non-NI 43-101 compliant resource shows it contains 34 million tonnes grading 0.42% copper, 2.2% lead, 2.3% zinc, 44.4 grams silver and 0.8 grams gold; including containing a higher-grade resource of 11.21 million tonnes grading 0.4% copper, 2.47% lead, 5.5% zinc, 64 grams silver and 1 gram gold.

Emerita continues to drill at Romanera and La Infanta to test the historical results and extend the mineralized lenses along strike and at depth to produce an NI 43-101 resource.

The company’s shares were up by more than 10% Thursday morning in Toronto on the news of Emerita’s results, reaching $1.02, before falling to 95¢ in the afternoon. Its shares have traded in a 52-week window of 56¢ and $3.14, giving Emerita a market value of $196.9 million.