EXPLORATION ROUNDUP — Gitennes Exploration confirms high-grade mineralization at Virgen

Vancouver-based Gitennes Exploration (GIT-A) has confirmed high-grade gold-bearing mineralization at the newly discovered Alumbre zone on its Virgen gold property in north-central Peru.

Hole 97-33 intersected 33.02 metres (from 153.09 to 186.11 metres) averaging 11.37 grams gold per tonne, including a higher-grading interval of 6.01 metres (from 164.98 to 170.99 metres) grading 29.15 grams gold.

The hole was collared 50 metres north of discovery hole 24, which intersected four mineralized intervals: 14.9 metres (from 158.2 to 173.1 metres) grading 18.33 grams; 3.1 metres (from 186.8 to 189.9 metres) of 8.54 grams; 26.8 metres (from 235 to 261.8 metres) of 3.46 grams; and 21.3 metres (from 261.8 to 283.1 metres) of 1.64 grams (T.N.M., Aug. 25/97).

Gitennes believes the first interval of hole 24 correlates directly with the new intersection of hole 33. Both intersections occurred east of a vertical fault, in silicified volcanic rocks and breccias that dip to the west.

In addition, results are available from four other holes that stepped-out east, west and northeast of the discovery hole. Of these, only hole 30 intersected gold mineralization, returning values of between 0.2 and 3.1 grams gold in an 80-metre section of a 162-metre interval of highly altered rock. The hole was collared 50 metres east of the discovery hole.

The remaining three holes crossed faults and penetrated a deep, underlying system of silver-lead-copper mineralization.

Assays from hole 40, which was collared 100 metres south of the discovery hole, are still pending.

The Alumbre zone is located 900 metres southeast of the more advanced Rio Suro oxide zone, where results from re-assaying of five previously drilled holes have confirmed a separate zone of primary sulphide mineralization.

In reverse-circulation (RC) hole 97-14, 16 metres (from 40 to 56 metres) assayed 2.37 grams gold and 0.58% copper, while another 40 metres (from 56 to 96 metres) averaged 0.36 gram gold and 0.13% copper. Core hole 97-22, which undercuts the RC hole, assayed 5.03 grams gold and 0.81% copper over 4.5 metres (from 42.7 to 47.2 metres), and 0.17 gram gold and 0.18% copper over 6.4 metres (from 77.1 to 83.5 metres).

Similar values were obtained in core hole 97-21 and undercutting RC hole 97-18. Immediately following a 27.8-metre interval (from 46.3 to 74.1 metres) of oxide material, 6.1 metres of sulphide mineralization averaged 1.47 grams gold and 0.54% copper and was followed by 11.6 metres of zero core-recovery and 6 metres (from 91.8 to 97.8 metres) grading 2.20 grams gold and 0.74% copper. A second interval farther down-hole averaged 0.175% copper over 38.1 metres (from 125.3 to 163.4 metres).

Following 4 metres (from 55 to 59 metres) of oxide mineralization, hole 18 assayed 2.85 grams gold and 0.49% copper over 81 metres of sulphide mineralization.

RC hole 97-22 intersected sulphide mineralization from 96 to 120 metres and assayed 1.25 grams gold and 0.48% copper. This interval was immediately preceded by 77 metres of oxide material averaging 5 grams gold, which, in turn, were preceded by 19 metres averaging 0.46 gram gold.

The new sulphide zone has been tested by seven holes over a north-northeast strike length of 260 metres. It lies immediately east of the Alumbre fault, which bounds the north-south-striking Rio Suro zone to the west.

Although widths encountered in drill holes vary from 60 to 80 metres, results from holes 97-21 and 22, collared 190 metres apart, suggest a thickening of mineralization downdip and to the east.