Azure Minerals hits copper discovery at Loma Bonita

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) has completed the final three diamond core holes drilled as part of Phase IV drilling at the company’s Alacrán project in Mexico.

 The recent drilling was carried out on the Loma Bonita prospect and returned the first meaningful copper intercept encountered on Alacrán.

Diamond drill hole MDPD-016 intersected semi-massive copper sulphides, finishing in strong mineralisation, returning:

8.4 metres at 0.92 per cent copper from 192.4m, including 1.4m at 2.42 per cent copper from 199.4m to end of hole (200.8m)

MDPD-016 also intersected a near-surface gold-silver zone, returning:

25m at 0.78 grams per tonne gold and 28g/t silver from surface, including 11m at 1.09g/t gold and 39g/t silver from 14m.

The company now has a Phase V drill program underway at Loma Bonita, which is to be followed by drilling at Mesa de Plata Norte and on other nearby prospects.

A geophysical (Induced Polarisation) survey was also completed over Mesa de Plata and Loma Bonita with data interpretation currently in progress.

“The identification of semi-massive copper sulphide mineralisation as a very significant development for the Alacrán project,” Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This discovery supports our geological model that the hydrothermal breccia at Loma Bonita is part of a feeder zone within a large mineralised system that may extend to significant depths.

“The gold-silver mineralisation within the near-surface oxide zone at Loma Bonita is the highest priority for our exploration program, and drilling is continuing there in order to delineate the overall size and grade of this mineralised zone.

“Additionally we will continue to explore for precious and base metal mineralisation at depth.

“The first step in this process was to undertake a detailed IP survey over Mesa de Plata and Loma Bonita to seek geophysical anomalies that may represent zones of alteration and mineralisation.

“This survey has now been completed and we’re evaluating the data.

“Meanwhile development studies on the Mesa de Plata silver deposit are continuing with metallurgy, mineral processing, mining and environmental studies underway.”

Azure explained the sulphide mineralisation in MDPD-016 is present in disseminated and semi-massive form over a length of 8.4m grading 0.92 per cent copper.