Monterey Minerals (CSE: MREY) revealed its 2020 exploration plans at its flagship Alicia high-grade gold project in Alicia Municipality, Philippines. The focus for the program will be to prove continuity between identified veins and to better understand the larger system at depth, while beginning groundwork for a JORC or NI 43-101 resource.
Highlights from the 2020 exploration plan includes drilling along the 11 kilometres of strike to a depth of 300 metres to discover the source of the veins at surface and test the premise that veins are merging at depth. The company will also look to define down-dip continuity of the system, grade distribution, consistency and characteristics.
Primary drill targets for the program will be that of the Pamaraw-Sumilhig Area along with the Baloy Vein. The company will also conduct geological mapping, trenching, and sampling to get a better sense of the geology.
The Pamaraw-Sumilhig area has been targeted for the program due to previous drilling not generating significant results as a result of poor data collection by the previous opertor. Holes drilled were too shallow and too close to the vein. The target for the area is below the Sumilhig Adit, which has a total on-vein length of 190 metres. The review of the geology conducted by Monterrey suggests that the base of mineralization at this location is deeper than what has been previously drilled.
With respect to the Baloy Vein Area, exploration work here will include drilling below anomalous intercepts, while also probing downhole sulphide continuity. The company will look to extend the vein along strike and at depth here. Exploratory work in the past has identified anomalous grades close to the fault that require further exploration.
Past exploration work at the Alicia Project has shown positive results. Three major parallel gold-bearing mineralized quartz veins have been identified at the projhect, along with numerous semi-parallel veins. Average thickness of the quartz veins ranges from 0.5 metres to 3.9 metres wide. Past artisanal mining and moden exploratory work has been focused on both the Pamaraw and Baloy Veins, similar to Monterrey’s 2020 exploration program. Channel sampling and shallow drilling on the Baloy Vein has returned significant results that include:
- 1.2m of 116 g/t Au, 1,263 g/t Ag, 6.3% Cu, 6.5% Zn, and 47.9% Pb;
- 1.5m of 40.9 g/t Au, 437 g/t Ag, 1.1% Cu, 3.6% Zn, and 62.9% Pb; and
- a channel sample that returned 1,299.9 g/t Au and 332.6 g/t Ag
Monterrey has noted that certain geological indicators have pointed to a well-develop epithermal system, with the presence of such potentially providing for a much larger resource target within known mineralization. Mineralization is believed to be from a deep epithermal source along with a near surface high grade base metal sulphide source.
Monterrey Minerals last traded at $0.055 on the CSE.
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