Yamana hits high-grade silver

In a remote area of southern Patagonia, Yamana Resources (YRI-T) has made what appears to be a significant silver discovery.

The company has hit high-grade silver in drillholes at the grassroots Lejano prospect in Argentina. The drill program was designed to follow up high-grade grab samples.

Yamana geologists were to the mineralized area by a strong “kill zone,” where oxidizing sulphides created acidic soils that wiped out the area’s vegetation.

The 60-sq.-km property had seen no previous exploration. “There wasn’t a hammer mark before I arrived,” said company geologist Matt Hughes. “It was a completely virgin find.”

Initial sampling located areas of strong hydrothermal alteration within Jurassic-aged rhyolitic rocks. Drilling began in January and immediately indicated Yamana was on to something; the top 8 metres of the first hole returned 621 grams silver per tonne, plus 9.7% lead and 0.46 gram gold.

Later, Hole 11 encountered 12 metres of oxide mineralization from surface grading 642 grams silver, 1.78 grams gold and 6.1% lead. The interval included 4 metres of 1,155 grams silver, 3.77 grams gold and 8.1% lead.

In hole 8, Yamana hit 22 metres from surface grading 290 grams silver, 1 gram gold and 4.4% lead, including 6 metres of 476 grams silver and 2.7 grams gold and 9.8% lead.

In all, Yamana has sunk 35 shallow reverse-circulation drillholes at Lejano.

Twenty-five holes tested an east-west dipping structure on what has been dubbed the South ridge, while 10 holes checked the North ridge. The holes, drilled by the company’s own rig, were kept short to stay clear of the water table and to provide a rapid assessment of the potential at the property, said Vice President Greg Taylor.

The nature of the mineralization and alteration leads Project Manager Mel Klohn to believe Yamana may have hit an important deposit which, he suggests, could be a mineralized rhyolite porphyry at depth.

The drilling is part of a 3,600-metre campaign designed to test 11 targets on five properties within the company’s extensive Santa Cruz project.

The company anticipates results next month from recently completed drilling at two targets at the Bacon property, another part of Santa Cruz. The rig is expected to proceed to the Goleta property before testing the Hombro and Estrella properties.

Yamana plans to return to Lejano in the next few months to conduct more drilling.