EXPLORATION 1997 — Costa Rican work pays off for Lyon Lake

Sampling by Lyon Lake Mines (LLL-M) at the Canamazo concession on Costa Rica’s Beta Vargas gold property has revealed five areas of gold mineralization.

Recent results have enabled Lyon Lake to identify mineralization at the Guaitilar, Castillo, Cerro Gordo, Sinter and Zopilota targets.

Exploration to date has been concentrated in the Guaitilar area, 4 km northwest of the Beta Vargas mine. The area, which comprises two distinct mineralized zones (the West and East), corresponds to a previously identified, 1.4-km-long soil anomaly with a core measuring 500 metres wide.

The northwest-southeast-oriented West zone extends for more than 500 metres.

One of two tunnels discovered by the company in the side of a mountain there returned an average grade of 2.92 grams gold per tonne over 18 metres. Lyon Lake is currently sampling the other tunnel, which is 47 metres long.

Mechanical trenching across the East zone, which strikes north-south over 500 metres, was conducted on three levels and confirmed the potential of the Guaitilar area. Results include: 38 metres of 1.7 grams gold per tonne on the upper level; 46 metres of 2.29 grams (including 34 metres of 2.77 grams) on the intermediate level; and 60 metres of 1.06 grams (including 30 metres of 1.41 grams) on the lower level.

Mineralization at the Castillo target trends east-west in a structure sub-parallel to the West zone of the Guaitilar area, which lies 1.5 km to the southwest, and corresponds to a 350-by-300-metre soil geochemical anomaly.

A tunnel has also been discovered in this area, as well as exposed stockworks. Sampling of the tunnel is under way.

In the Cerro Gordo area, 2 km north of the Guaitilar area, two more tunnels are being evaluated, one of which is near a 200-by-100-metre soil geochemical anomaly.

The Sinter area, which lies 2 km northwest of the Guaitilar area, hosts numerous quartz veins. Six trenches, which were excavated over 600 metres, intersected the same gold-bearing structure (over an average width of 30 metres) as that found in the Castillo area. Sampling of those trenches is under way.

According to Lyon Lake, sampling will soon commence on the Zopilota area, 1 km east of the Guaitilar area. To define and increase gold reserves at the Beta Vargas deposit, 20 holes were drilled over 1,357 metres. The company will next drill 45 holes at the Canamazo concession.