Independence to drill in Panama

Toronto-based Independence Resources (VSE) is poised to begin 500 metres of diamond drilling on its Chami concession in western Panama.

Situated in Chiriqui province, the 16,500-hectare property covers a series of overlapping calderas cut by northeast- and northwest-trending faults. Late Tertiary andesitic rocks host two separate styles of gold mineralization: quartz vein structures at the Boca del Monte area and epithermal-style, silicified, altered zones at Cerro Mosquito.

Soil sampling in the latter area has outlined a broad, northwest-trending belt of anomalous gold values extending over an area 3 km long by 1 km wide. Geological mapping indicates siliceous alteration lenses which measure up to 100 metres wide and which are flanked by clay alteration and associated with the soil anomalies.

Rock sampling of quartz veins in the Boca del Monte area returned peak values of 0.29 and 0.033 oz. gold per ton. Independence will test both areas with five to seven shallow drill holes.

Meanwhile, at the 7,000-hectare Cristal concession, east of Chami, geochemical sampling has outlined three copper-gold-molybdenum anomalies with values of up to 1,100 parts per million copper, 165 parts per billion gold and 53 parts per million molybdenum.

The anomalies suggest a series of porphyry targets, and geological mapping over the grid area indicates a quartz diorite body intruding into andesitic-to-basaltic volcanics. A zone of chlorite-epidote-altered quartz stockwork and breccia is thought to correspond to the anomalies. Follow-up work, including geophysical surveys, will delineate additional drill targets. The company can earn a half interest in the Cristal and Chami concessions from GeoMinas, a wholly owned subsidiary of MinAmerica of Panama, by paying $250,000 plus 200,000 shares and by spending an aggregate of $2.5 million.