Vancouver With four rigs turning on the Dolores gold-silver project, Minefinders (MFL-T) is aiming to have a bankable feasibility study in hand for the Mexican property before year-end.
Located in northern Chihuahua State, the wholly-owned project has been the subject of an aggressive drill program, which is slated for completion in the next couple of months. The drill results will be used for a new resource model, which in turn, will form the basis of a completely new economic mine plan, expected to be completed this summer as part of a bankable feasibility study.
The latest drill results indicate the potential of economically mining mineralization beneath the current open pit mine plan by utilizing underground methods. Hole 193, the deepest hole completed on the property and some 100 metres below the proposed bottom of the open pit, cut 34 metres grading 5 grams gold per tonne, including a 1 metre section running 119.9 grams gold and 227.5 grams silver.
The higher grade shoots in this part of the deposit extend for more than 200 metres along strike and can be traced up-dip, through the open pit minable portion of the deposit for more than 300 metres.
Moving 400 metres north along the same structure, hole 200 cut 10 metres grading 25.35 grams gold and 317.9 grams silver from 403.5 metres down hole.
Other highlights include hole 195, which yielded 22 metres grading 1.63 grams gold and 37.2 grams silver from 188 metres down hole and hole 198, which returned 16 metres averaging 4.84 grams gold and 37.2 grams silver from 124 metres down hole.
Engineering consultants have been working on the Dolores feasibility study since Jan. with McClelland Labs and Hazen Research completing the final metallurgical studies for the project. Tests include additional column leaching, bottle rolls, and all necessary hardness, abrasion, and mill work index tests required for final mine design and costing. Roscoe Postle Associates are working on the mineral resource estimate for the Dolores deposit and M3 Engineering & Technology has been working on the feasibility study since Feb.
Last year, engineering firm of Pincock, Allen, & Holt (PAH) verified that Dolores held a measured indicated and inferred resource of 9.8 million tonnes grading 3.5 grams gold and 189.5 grams silver using a 3 gram gold per tonne cut off. Dropping to a 2 gram gold cut off, the resource comes in at 18.8 million tonnes grading 2.4 grams gold and 139.3 grams silver and at a 1 gram cut off the resource climbs to 40.8 million tonnes averaging 1.56 grams gold and 89.8 grams silver.
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