Vancouver – Six months after buying out its partner at the El Quevar project in Argentina Golden Minerals (AUM-T, AUMN-N) has increased the project’s contained silver by 42%.
An updated estimate for the Yaxtch deposit at El Quevar pegged indicated resources at 902,000 tonnes grading 310 grams silver per tonne and inferred resources at 4.8 million tonnes averaging 336 grams silver. Combining resource categories, the deposit is home to 60 million oz. silver.
The new estimate incorporated data from 12 new drill holes, which increased the tonnage. The grades slipped, however, because the new estimate assumed a 3-metre minimum mining width and capped the grade at 3,000 grams silver, both of which dilute the resource grade.
The resource is based on 185 holes drilled to date at Yaxtch, which remains open along strike in both directions and up and down dip. To the west the mineralization is hidden under a post-mineral cover; Golden Minerals only realized recently that the mineralization continues under the alluvium. One hole, number 195, punched through the postmineral cover on the western side and hit 7 metres of mineralization grading better than 1,000 grams silver.
Golden Minerals is now preparing to drill on the west side of the post mineral cover, to see if the deposit extends under and then past the alluvium. If drills find mineralization west of the covered area, the Yaxtch deposit will more than double in length. It currently strikes for 2.4 km.
But Golden Minerals is not waiting for any more drill results at Yaxtch before taking the next step – the company is nearing the halfway mark in constructing a production-scale underground decline to access the zone. The decline will be used to confirm mine modeling and proposed mining methods in support of a feasibility study due out by the end of the year. The decline will also allow Golden Minerals to take bulk samples for metallurgical testwork.
In buying Hochschild Mining‘s (HOC-L) 35% stake in El Quevar in January, Golden Minerals gained sole control of a 640-sq. km property in northwest Argentina’s Salta province that is home to 13 targets. Yaxtch is the only one of those targets that has been drilled extensively. The company recently probed another El Quevar target known as Quevar Norte, which is 3 km north of the Yaxtch, and three of six holes intersected silver mineralization grading better than 100 grams silver. Hole 2 returned 1,289 grams silver over 28 metres.
Drilling is now underway at another El Quevar target known as Mani, which is southwest of Yaxtch.
In addition to its work at El Quevar, Golden Minerals is also advancing exploration programs in Mexico and Peru. At the Zacatecas project in Mexico, an initial 24-hole drill program totaling 5,900 metres tested the Panuco target at the north end of the property; several holes hit high-grade silver with gold in epithermal veins. The best intercept returned 386 grams silver and 0.3 gram gold per tonne over 3.1 metres.
The company also tested the San Pedro de Hercules target, which is in the southern part of the Zacatecas project, which also produced mineralized intercepts from epithermal veins. Drilling is now underway at a target near the centre of the project called El Cristo, which is directly northeast of the famous Veta Grande silver vein system.
And Golden Minerals is set to begin drilling at three other projects. In Mexico the company plans to complete a 12-hole program at the Matehuapil project as well as an initial drill program at La Pinta, and in Peru the company will drill 3,000 metres at the Palca project.
Golden Minerals is well funded to support all of these drill programs, having raised $35 million since the beginning of the year. The company’s now has $45.9 million in cash and equivalents.
On news of the increased resource at El Quevar Golden Minerals’ share price gained 51¢ or 7% to close at $8.01. The company has a 52-week trading range of $3.40 to $15.50 and has 9.3 million shares outstanding.
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