Whinnen hits healthy intersections in Chile

/in /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Recent drilling carried out by South American-focused copper-gold explorer Whinnen Resources mineralisation at the Nany-Varas project in northern Chile has intersected broad zones of gold, copper and base metal.

The company is nearing completion of its maiden diamond drilling program on the Nany-Varas project, having completed a total of 18 holes for 2,437 metres completed to date.

 

Whinnen project locations, Atacama Desert, Chile. Source: Company announcement

 

Encouraging assays of gold-copper and base metal mineralisation returned from drilling at Nany-Varas include:

–    28.25 metres at 1.82 grams per tonne gold, 17.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.36 per cent copper from 120 metyres, including 1.10 metres at 43.1 grams per tonne gold, 74.7 grams per tonne silver, 0.53 per cent copper from 131.60 metres;

–    22.15m at 1.48g/t gold, 3.4 g/t silver, 0.02 per cent copper from 159.50m, including 1.25m at 7.4g/t gold, 6.6 g/t silver, 0.01 per cent copper from 179.15m; and

–    11.66m at 0.13g/t gold, 12 g/t silver, 0.19 per cent copper, 1.30 per cent lead, 1.85 per cent zinc from 59.64m.

“These latest drilling results from the Nany Project are very encouraging,” Whinnen Resources managing director Tony Greenaway said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Recent drilling has intersected wide zones of base metal and gold mineralisation with some very high grade internal zones. Indications are the mineralisation is changing with depth.”

“However, it is still early days for this project, and we intend to wait for all of the outstanding assay results to come back from the laboratory to complete a full review of what we have found here before we embark on a more detailed, systematic and measured exploration campaign at Nany in 2012.”

The project is located approximately 40 kilometres south along strike from the PanAust – Codelco JV Inca de Oro copper-gold project (Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 259 million tonnes grading 0.46 per cent copper and 0.13 grams per tonne gold), within the world-renowned Inca de Oro mining district in Northern Chile’s Atacama region.

The Inca de Oro area has been extensively mined for copper and gold and is currently the focus of significant exploration activity targeting copper and vein gold mineralisation.

Whinnen identified the geological target at Nany-Varas via mapping and surface rock sampling and claims it is a large auriferous, low-sulphidation vein system hosted in a dominantly andesitic volcanic and sedimentary sequence.

The company said that drilling it has carried out has confirmed that the vein system extends over a strike length of 800m and to a depth of more than 300m below surface.