Mirador grades improve for Corriente

The latest round of drilling by Corriente Resources (CTQ-T) has returned some of the highest-grade intersections yet at the Mirador prospect in the Corriente copper belt in southeast Ecuador.

Seven vertical holes targeted the northern edge of Mirador. They have returned significantly higher copper and gold values than the rest of the deposit. The higher-grade area remains open to the north and to depth.

Results include:

• Hole 46 — 286 metres (from 32 metres below surface) grading 0.75% copper and 0.25 gram gold per tonne;
• Hole 49 — 381 metres (from 45 metres) grading 0.78% copper and 0.25 gram gold;
• Hole 51 — 226 metres (from 64 metres) grading 0.87% copper and 0.42 gram gold; and
• Hole 52 — 89 metres (from 16 metres) grading 0.76% copper and 0.2 gram gold, 51 metres (from 123 metres) of 0.75% copper and 0.16 gram gold and 111 metres (from 201 metres) of 0.69% copper and 0.14 gram gold.

According to Corriente, low-grade intersections in the holes represent small zones of post-mineral dykes that crosscut the copper-gold mineralization.

The holes wrap up a 20-hole, 7,900-metre drilling campaign that began at the start of this year. Corriente will use the results to make an initial assessment of Mirador’s grade and size.

Preparations are under way for a drill program to test the Warintza deposit. The drilling will target the high-grade secondary copper blanket discovered last spring during scout drilling. Hole W-01 cut 82 metres grading 1.37% copper and hole W-07 cut 95 metres grading 1.2% copper.

Corriente will also target outlying copper-molybdenite anomalies in a reconnaissance program.