Long intercepts send Batero higher

Batero Gold (BAT-V) released the best drill results yet from its Batero-Quinchia project in Colombia and the news took the company’s shares for a wild ride.

In Toronto on Feb. 17, Batero shares shot-up 35% or $1.02 to finish the day trading for $3.93 on 3.01 million shares traded.

The positive activity around the stock was generated by exceedingly long intercepts that are hard to come by outside of Colombia these days.

Assays were highlighted by drill hole 8 assaying 0.72 grams gold and 0.13% copper over 591.5 metres and drill hole 5 returning 0.46 grams gold and 0.09% copper over 398.85 metres.

Both holes came out of the La Cumbre porphyry and neither of the intercepts represents true-widths.

“These drill results confirm our strategic approach to step-out drilling and strong belief that La Cumbre mineralization extends at depth,” Brandon Rook, president and chief executive of Batero said in a statement.

The company’s drill program is made up of four rigs aiming to define the mineralized extent of the porphyry bodies discovered over four years ago, while also looking for new discoveries.

Two of the rigs are testing La Cumbre, where Batero says five historic holes have confirmed the porphyry body. So far the company has drilled 11 holes at the zone.

A third rig is testing what is called the La Lenguita area – a new exploration target that sits 500 metres northeast of La Cumbre.

Batero says the visuals from the hole indicate gold mineralization but results are pending.

The last rig is drilling the first hole at another exploration target known as Matecana, which sits 340-metres lower and 1-km southeast of La Cumbre.

The 16,000-metre drill program got underway in October of last year and Batero plans to add to it by bringing a fifth rig to the project in March, then following that up with the addition of three more rigs shortly after.

Batero-Quinchia includes three known gold porphyry target centres along Colombia’s emerging Mid-Cauca porphyry gold and copper belt. The belt is also home to Medoro Resources’ (MRS-T) Marmato deposit, which sits 20-km to the north and AngloGold Ashanti’s (AU-N, AGG-T) La Colosa deposit which sits 100 km to the south.