Greenstone reports El Recio gold veins

Toronto-based Greenstone Resources (TSE) has encountered a new area of gold mineralization at the El Recio property in Costa Rica where the company is conducting a feasibility study for a possible combined underground/open pit operation.

Greenstone says seven holes were drilled into the Verdun vein to follow up high grade values found in surface trenching. All seven holes returned significant gold values with the best running 0.52 oz gold per ton over 10 ft.

Based on these results drill- indicated reserves in a 170-m-long- by-100-m-deep zone are estimated at 59,210 tons grading 0.35 oz over 5.6 ft using a 0.15 oz cutoff grade. At 1.7 m, dilution would be minimal Greenstone says.

Open in both directions along strike and at depth and with a known strike length of 430 m, the new zone is about 110 m from existing underground workings, according to the Toronto company.

“Greenstone’s crews will begin to tunnel into this area in June to prove up reserves for production next year,” said President Ian Park who hopes to be able to make a production decision within three months. If the decision is positive, Park said he would go ahead with plans to build a 400-ton-per-day conventional agitation leach circuit capable of production around 25,000 oz to 35,000 oz gold annually.

A surface trenching program has also uncovered two additional new gold-bearing veins bringing the number discovered so far to eight.

The Pederal vein, located 120 m east and parallel to the Verdun returned 0.81 oz over 2.5 ft while the Guapinol vein assayed 0.22 oz over 2.9 ft, Greenstone says.