- Drill Hole DHK-14 drilled at -10 degrees to the southwest of Huayra Kasa workings from Drill Bay #3 intersected almost 180m of silicified and mineralized breccia in the Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe. Hole ended in well-mineralized breccia once the drill reached its depth capacity and only penetrated approximately 50% of the breccia pipe.
- Channel sampling in 2019 at the north-western end of the Santa Barbara adit returned 0.32 g Au/t, 26.90 g Ag/t, 1.16% Pb, 28.5 g In/t and > 500ppm Sn along the margin of this pipe.
- A third potential breccia pipe immediately to the south, the Central Breccia Pipe, identified by surface geological mapping and Aster satellite data, is elongate in shape with potential dimensions of approximately 400m by 700m;
- Five (5) additional potential breccia pipe targets outlined further to the south and east; all confirmed and potential breccia pipes occur along ring structures in the margins of the Iska Iska caldera complex.
Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF FSE: P2QM) (“Eloro”, or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that diamond drilling has confirmed the presence of a second major breccia pipe southwest of the Huayra Kasa underground workings as shown in Figure 1. Drill Hole DHK-14 drilled at -10 degrees to the southwest of the underground workings from Drill Bay #3 intersected almost 180m of silicified and mineralized breccia from 151m to 330m in the Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe. This hole stopped in well-mineralized breccia at the maximum limit of the drilling range and only penetrated approximately 50% of the breccia pipe. Assays are pending. A field XRF analyser indicates the presence of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) predominantly before and in the periphery of the breccia transitioning to copper (Cu), bismuth (Bi) and tin (Sn) in the central part. However, the numbers measured are not quantitatively accurate hence cannot be reported. Note that silver (Ag) and gold (Au) cannot be detected by this instrument.
Based on surface geological mapping and interpretation of Aster satellite data (see inset map, Figure 1) along with digital terrain data, the new Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe has an approximate diameter of 400m which is substantially larger than the previously announced breccia pipe discovered adjacent the underground workings approximately 500m to the east. (see press release November 18, 2020). Furthermore, within the breccia, silicification is the predominant alteration suggesting that this pipe is closer to the source of the magmatic-hydrothermal mineralization. Sulphide mineralization occurs throughout the breccia as veins, stockworks, disseminations with locally massive zones. Fragments are principally dacitic in composition with local sandstone and pumice.
As an indication of the style of mineralization in this new breccia pipe, channel sampling in 2019 by Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo. at the end of the Santa Barbara adit returned 0.32 g Au/t, 26.90 g Ag/t, 1.16% Pb, 0.01% Zn, 28.5 g In/t and > 500ppm Sn over 2.6m in breccia along the southeast margin of this pipe. A third potential breccia pipe immediately to the south, the Central Breccia Pipe, identified by surface geological mapping and Aster satellite data, is elongate in shape with potential dimensions of approximately 400m by 700m (Figure 1). In addition to the potential Central Breccia Pipe, five (5) additional potential breccia pipe targets have been outlined further south and to the east; all confirmed and potential breccia pipes occur along ring structures in the margins of the Iska Iska caldera complex (Inset map, Figure 1). Eloro plans to systematically test each of these newly identified breccia pipe targets for mineralization with diamond drilling.
Tom Larsen, Chairman and CEO of Eloro, commented: “The discovery of a new breccia pipe and outlining of a number of potential targets for breccia pipes is highlighting the potential for Iska Iska to host a significant bulk mineable polymetallic deposit. We are currently preparing access roads to enable additional surface drilling to further evaluate the new pipe as well as drill-test other potential breccia pipe targets.
Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Chief Technical Advisor for Eloro commented: “The alteration in the Huayra Kasa breccia pipe just east of the underground workings is principally argillic and sericitic which is typical of higher level mineralization in a porphyry-epithermal complex. In contrast, the alteration in the newly discovered Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe is principally silicification. This and the presence of copper, tin and bismuth in the core of the breccia indicates that we are getting closer to the magmatic-hydrothermal source. Furthermore, given the strong association of gold with bismuth in the high-grade zones at Huayra Kasa, gold is likely to be present. It is also very likely that there is a major tin-copper-bismuth porphyry system beneath these breccia pipes; this possibility will be tested in the next round of surface diamond drilling. Meanwhile we are excitedly waiting for more assay results.
Qualified Person
Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P. Geo., Manager of Minera Tupiza, Eloro’s subsidiary in Bolivia and a Qualified Person in the context of National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101), has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Chief Technical Advisor for Eloro, and who has more than 45 years of worldwide mining exploration experience including extensive work in South America, provides technical oversight to the program in consultation with Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor to Eloro and Independent Technical Advisor, Mr. Charley Murahwi P. Geo., FAusIMM of Micon International Limited. Processing of the ASTER and satellite data was done by Sandra L. Perry, MS, P.Geo. of Perry Remote Sensing LLC in Denver, Colorado. Ms. Perry is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Drill samples are prepared in SGS BOLIVIA SA’s preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia with pulps sent to the main SGS laboratory in Lima, Peru for analysis by fire assay for gold and silver as well as 31 element ICP. Eloro employs an industry standard QA/QC program with standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into each batch of samples analyzed.
About Iska Iska
Iska Iska silver polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly-controlled by the Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi. The property can be classified as a silver polymetallic (Ag, Zn, Pb, Au, Cu, Bi, Sn, In) and porphyry-epithermal complex. This is an important mineral deposit type in the prolific South Mineral Belt of Bolivia.
Silver polymetallic mineralization at Iska Iska occurs within a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera that consists of granodioritic stocks and five (5) dacitic domes which are each about 500m in diameter. These rocks intrude/extrude an intensely deformed sequence of Ordovician shales, siltstones, and sandstones, which are partially covered by Miocene pyroclastic rocks. The silver polymetallic mineralization occurs mainly as veins, vein swarms, veinlets, stockworks, disseminations and in breccias associated with intense hydrothermal alteration. The Iska Iska dome complex has several major phases of igneous breccias, quartz porphyries, dikes and dacitic syn-kinematic flows.
On November 18, 2020 Eloro announced the discovery of a major breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. Diamond drilling intersected a number of extensive mineralized intersections within the major breccia pipe including 54.48 g Ag/t, 1.45% Zinc (Zn) and 1.60% Lead (Pb) over 16.39m (140.91 g Ag eq/t) within a broader interval of 122.74m grading 14.29 g Ag/t, 0.81% Zn and 0.41% Pb (53.67 g Ag/t eq) in Hole DHK-04 (see press release November 18, 2020).
The high-grade gold-bismuth zone outlined in channel samples in the underground working averaged 7.1 g Au/t and 0.2% Bi (8.29 g Au eq/t) over 3.04m width for strike length of 47m. Hole DHK-05 on the strike extension of the high-grade Au-Bi zone intersected 6.51g Au/t, 0.07% Bi and 31.96 g Ag/t (7.68 g Au eq/t) over 11.85m grading including 29.56 g Au/t,0.26% Bi/t and 63.69 g Ag/t (31.94 g Au eq/t) over 2.31m in this high grade zone.
Silver-polymetallic mineralization within the Iska Iska system occurs over a potential strike length of more than 2.5km along major ring structures in the caldera complex. A synchrotron study of the underground channel samples (see press release dated June 25, 2020) concluded that the mineral cluster analysis identified four mineralogical domains that cover the entire sampling area suggesting they are related and represent a single, large mineralizing system. Furthermore, the mineralogy of the domains is consistent with minerals identified in hand specimen and are likely related to a telescoped porphyry/epithermal style of mineralization.
About Eloro Resources Ltd.
Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 99% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in southern Bolivia. Eloro commissioned a NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited and is available on Eloro’s website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barrick’s Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silver’s La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. La Victoria has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,150 m to 4,400 m above sea level.
For further information please contact either Thomas G. Larsen, Chairman and CEO or Jorge Estepa, Vice-President at (416) 868-9168.
Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company’s plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
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