Exeter releases Caspiche and Cerro Moro gold assays

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

Caspiche, in the Maricunga region of the Chilean Andes, is a target that Exeter hopes will turn out to be a large low-grade gold deposit, and possibly a candidate for a heap-leach recovery. It is located in the same region as Kinross Gold’s (K-T, KGC-N) Maricunga gold mine, Kinross’ and Barrick Gold’s (ABX-T, ABX-N) Cerro Casale gold project, and Andina Minerals’ (ADM-V) Volcan gold project. At an altitude of more than 4,200 meters, Caspiche is located 148 km east of the city of Copiapo.

The geological model Exeter uses to describe the project is a two-layer mineralized zone, with the upper layer comprising a gold-only oxide mineralization, and the lower layer consisting of sulphide copper-gold mineralization in porphyry rock (T.N.M. Dec 29/08 – Jan 4/09).

With three rigs on site, the current round is anticipated to include 9,300 metres of drilling. In January and February the company released assays from five holes. True widths are not known.

Hole 28 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 grading 0.85 gram gold and 0.47% copper from a 600 metre depth.

Hole 29 intersected 72 metres of 0.52 gram gold from a 66 metre depth 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 depth in the lower porphyry layer.

Hole 31 intersected 122 metres grading 0.22 gram gold from 44 metres depth in the upper oxide layer. It then cut 462 metres of 0.35 gram gold and 0.15% copper from a depth of 166 metres in the lower porphyry layer. That intercept included a 96-metre segment of 0.59 gram gold and 0.3% copper from 532 metres.

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

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

With 50,000 metres of drilling completed so far, a number of 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 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 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 100-210 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 is pending the finalizing 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 release resource estimates for both Caspiche and Cerro Moro this year. The Caspiche estimate will be in the inferred category, since spaces between holes are wide.

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 were trading at $2.87. The shares have been trading in a $1.05-5.11 range in a 12-month window.