Valerie explores property

Valerie Gold Resources (VLG-V) continues to explore its Santa Barbara property in eastern Ecuador while awaiting drill results from a 2,500-metre drill program.

The 100-sq.-km property is 425 km south of the capital city of Quito and 80 km east of Loja. Three principal targets have been identified: the SB copper-gold anomaly, the El Hito copper porphyry showing and the Napintza gold prospect.

Valerie can earn a half interest in the property from TVX-Normandy Americas by paying US$100,000 initially and spending US$4 million on exploration over three years. TVX-Normandy is owned 50.1% by TVX Gold (TVX-T) and 49.9% by Australian-listed Normandy Mining (NDY).

Valerie’s drill program focused on the SB prospect, a coinciding 1.5-sq.-km copper-gold soil and induced-polarization anomaly. The core of the anomaly is defined by a 500-parts-per-million (ppm) copper and 300-parts-per-billion (ppb) gold contour that measures 950 by 350 metres. A 650-metre-long trench, cut 2-4 metres deep across the centre’s strongly leached rock, averaged 0.25% copper and 0.85 gram gold per tonne over its entire length. As part of its due diligence, Valerie noted 184 metres of the trench cut alluvium material. The junior sampled only the underlying volcanic and intrusive rock, returning, in the first set of samples, 466 metres averaging 0.14% copper and 0.78 gram gold per tonne, including 99 metres grading 0.2% copper and 0.94 gram gold. A second set averaged 0.94 gram gold over the 466 metres.

Elsewhere on the property, Valerie is performing soil sampling on the Napintza target, 5 km south of SB. Previous work yielded highly anomalous gold of up to 1,000 ppb, as well as anomalous zinc, in both stream-sediment and reconnaissance soil samples. The target area measures 1.5 sq. km.

Geophysical surveys are to follow at Napintza, as well as at El Hito, 3.5 km east of SB, where soil-sampling has outlined an open-ended copper anomaly measuring 2,000 by 500 metres. The anomaly’s core is defined by a 750-by-300-metre 500-ppm contour. Hand trenching has returned values of up to 0.92% copper from leached surface rocks.

In related news, Valerie dropped its options on the Octo gold property in Alaska and the Estrella gold project in Mexico.