Northern Crown drills Guadalupe Mine zone

Drilling by Northern Crown Mines (NCW-V) at the Guadalupe de Los Reyes project in northwestern Mexico has intersected epithermal gold mineralization.

The discovery occurred in the Guadalupe Mine zone, as the company was exploring above old mine workings for low-grade envelopes amenable to open-pit mining.

(Gold and silver were first discovered in the region in the late 1700s, with production at the Guadalupe de Los Reyes mine occurring between 1872 and 1938.)

Results are available from six of 22 drill holes, and these are divided into two areas.

The first three holes, from the central portion of the zone, are as follows: 5.2 metres of 1.17 grams gold and 37.8 grams silver per tonne for hole 96GL-1; 51.8 metres of 1.62 grams gold and 54.3 grams silver for hole 96GL-2 (including 15.2 metres of 3.3 grams gold and 105.3 grams silver); and 24.4 metres of 1.8 grams gold and 72.1 grams silver for hole 96GL-3.

Results for the second area, 1 km to the west, include: 21.3 metres of 0.9 gram gold and 24.3 grams silver in hole 96GW-1; 29 metres of 3.59 grams gold and 44 grams silver from hole 96GW-2 (including 18.3 metres of 5.48 grams gold and 62.5 grams silver); and 13.7 metres of 0.46 gram gold and 27.1 grams silver from hole 96GW-3.

Elsewhere, exploration drilling was carried out 2 km to the north on the Orito zone, where sub-economic gold-silver values were intersected in eight drill holes.

Field exploration is on hold pending the onset of the rainy season. Northern Crown plans to outline a minimum 500,000 oz. gold this year, to be followed by preliminary feasibility studies for mine development.