Exeter Cuts Lengthy Low-Grade Gold At Caspiche

Exeter Resource(XRC-V, XRA-X) has reported drilling results from its Caspiche gold-copper and Cerro Moro gold-silver projects, in South America.

At Caspiche, in the Maricunga region of the Chilean Andes, the company released assays from five holes in January and February.

Exeter describes the geology at the project as a two-layer mineralized zone, with the upper layer comprising gold-only oxide mineralization, and the lower layer consisting of sulphide copper-gold mineralization in porphyry rock.

Hole 28 at Caspiche cut 862 metres of 0.54 gram gold per tonne and 0.29% copper from a depth of 208 metres in the lower porphyry layer, ending in mineralization. The intercept included 372 metres of 0.85 gram gold and 0.47% copper from 600 metres. True widths are not known.

Hole 29 returned 72 metres of 0.52 gram gold from 66 metres in the upper oxide layer. It then cut 581 metres grading 0.5 gram gold and 0.19% copper from 138 metres depth in the lower porphyry layer.

Hole 30 cut 44 metres of 0.17 gram gold from a depth of 94 metres in the oxide layer. It then intersected 817 metres of 0.67 gram gold and 0.22% copper from 138 metres in the lower layer.

Hole 31 returned 122 metres grading 0.22 gram gold from 44 metres depth in the oxide layer, then 462 metres of 0.35 gram gold and 0.15% copper from 166 metres in the porphyry layer. That intercept included 96 metres of 0.59 gram gold and 0.3% copper from 532 metres.

Finally, hole 32 cut 930 metres of 0.89 gram gold per tonne and 0.31% copper from 95 metres in the lower porphyry layer. The intercept includes 488 metres grading 1.3 gram gold and 0.44% copper from 537 metres. Assays from a 342-metre length of hole 32 are pending.

With three rigs at Caspiche, 148 km east of the city of Copiapo, the current round is anticipated to include 9,300 metres of drilling. The project is located in the same region as Kinross Gold’s (K-T, KGC-N) Maricunga gold mine.

In December, Exeter released assays from its second flagship project, Cerro Moro, in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province. Cerro Moro is a vein system hosting gold-silver mineralization. The project is 105 km southwest of the port town of Puerto Deseado.

With 50,000 metres of drilling completed, multiple veins have been discovered at Cerro Moro. The latest drilling has targeted the Escondida vein, which is the main focus of the project. Exeter released results from eight holes, of which it highlighted two.

Hole 389 cut 3.4 metres of 73 grams gold per tonne and 6,470 grams silver from a depth of 70 metres; and hole 454 intersected 4.7 metres grading 45 grams gold and 73 grams silver from 174 metres depth.

The other six include hole 398, which cut 2 metres of 54 grams gold and 3,667 grams silver; hole 405, which intersected 4.8 metres of mineralization in three segments, with grades of up to 2.5 grams gold and 100 grams silver; hole 444, which returned 2.2 metres of 3 grams gold and 125 grams silver; hole 445, which cut 4 metres of 8.3 grams gold and 628 grams silver; hole 446, which intersected 3.3 metres in two segments, grading up to 1.9 gram gold and 336 grams silver; and hole 455, which cut 4.2 metres in four segments, grading up to 2.4 grams gold and 65 grams silver per tonne. Most mineralization was found in the 100- to 210-metre-depth range. True widths are not known.

Exeter would like to explore an adjacent property controlled by Fomicruz, a mining company owned by the province’s government. Further drilling will wait until the finalization of an option agreement with Fomicruz, which Exeter anticipates will give it an 80% stake in the adjoining property, subject to exploration expenditures.

Exeter plans to compile resource estimates for both Caspiche and Cerro Moro this year. The Caspiche estimate will be inferred, as holes there are widely spaced.

On Sept. 30, Exeter had working capital of $23 million. The company has 50.2 million shares outstanding and 57.8 million shares fully diluted. At presstime, Exeter shares traded at $2.61.The shares have a 12-month range of $1.05-5.11.