Bluebell sings for AusAmerican
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Australian-American Mining Corporation (ASX: AIW) has received results from initial exploration activity conducted at the company’s Bluebell project in Arizona.
The program has returned wide zones of copper/gold/silver mineralisation which include high grade sections.
Initial exploration program returned wide zones of mineralisation including:
– 38 metres at 1.2 per cent copper, 0.51 grams per tonne gold and 22.9 grams per tonne silver;
– 22m at 0.45 per cent copper and 2.9g/t silver; and
– 13m at 0.86 per cent copper and 4.6g/t silver.
Mineralisation demonstrated high-grade intersections including:
– 8m at 1.1 per cent copper, 1.47g/t gold and 28.4g/t silver;
– 9m at 1.9 per cent copper, 0.36g/t gold and 27.0g/t silver; and
– 3m at 5.6 per cent copper, 0.86g/t gold and 104.6g/t silver.
The company said the results returned at the Bluebell project to date validate its exploration model of a lower grade stock work mineralisation surrounding higher grade massive sulphide lenses as well as its recently published exploration target for the project.
“Given that the almost all the historical mined lenses were under cover, we were surprised at the high grades in the surface mineralisation identified to date,” AusAmerican managing director Richard Holmes said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“When Bluebell was mined nearly 80 years ago there was no assaying for precious metals in the stock work mineralisation.
“We were delighted to see the exceptional grades of gold and silver in the new zones of mineralisation and look forward to seeing if these results can be replicated in other parts of the project.
“We believe this bodes well for the further development of our open pit exploration target concept at Bluebell.”
Channel sample locations and results at Bluebell copper/gold/silver project, Arizona. Source: Company announcement
During a three week mapping and sampling campaign conducted during September and October, 440 samples were collected throughout the Bluebell project area on locations of individual channel sampling lines that were dictated by available rock exposure – therefore systematic coverage was not achievable.
AusAmerican said its focus for the program was to determine the geochemical characteristics of the host rock of the known VMS mineralisation.
It also aimed to identify the surface expression of the stock work mineralisation.
The company intends using the information in planning drill holes for an upcoming drill program early next year, which will be focused on identifying a resource amenable to open pit extraction.
The exploration work also identified a new mineralised horizon from 14 rock chip samples taken on an outcrop located toward the north of the property.
The samples returned an average grade of 2.7g/t gold and 38g/t silver, with individual gold assays ranging from 0.42g/t to 5.78g/t.
AusAmerican said this horizon represents a new exploration target and further work is required to understand the discovery.
Two samples were taken from old waste dumps located at the De Soto project during a reconnaissance trip.
The samples returned:
– 1 per cent copper, 2.9g/t gold and 61.2g/t silver; and
– 1.4 per cent copper, 0.3g/t gold and 10.3g/t silver.
AusAmerican indicated more work is required to adequately assess the De Soto project.
The company expects to publish an exploration target and work program for De Soto in late 2012.