AbraPlata Resource Corp.: Commences Drilling at Diablillos Silver-Gold Project
25.11.2019 | The Newswire
VANCOUVER, November 25, 2019 - AbraPlata Resource Corp. (TSXV:ABRA) (OTCPK:ABBRF) ("AbraPlata" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling at the Diablillos silver-gold project, located in Salta province, Argentina.Oculto Drill Program
A diamond drill program of up to 3,000 metres (approximately 7 or 8 holes) commenced on the Oculto deposit on November 23, 2019. One drill rig will be testing the continuity of gold mineralization associated with the steeply dipping silicified breccia structures mapped at surface (Figure 1) into the basement rocks. Drilling is designed to evaluate the potential for additional high grade gold mineralization beneath the current mineral resource (Table 1) and into the basement rocks. There is also potential for a porphyry copper-gold body beneath the Oculto high sulphidation system, which would have been the driver of mineralising fluids. Assay results will be issued as they are received and interpreted
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Rob Bruggeman, Interim CEO of the Company, stated "This is an exciting time for AbraPlata because this is the first time the Oculto deposit on the Diablillos property has been drilled since 2012. Oculto is already a very significant silver-gold resource, with more than US$35 million spent to date on exploration. However, because Oculto was historically evaluated as an open pit deposit, limited drilling has been done at depth. If drilling indicates the presence of additional high grade gold mineralization at depth, this further strengthens the potential that Oculto might be better suited to underground mining methods targeting high grade zones, which may require substantially less initial capex than an open pit mine."
Diablillos Property Overview
The 80 km2 Diablillos property is located in the Argentine Puna region - the southern extension of the Altiplano of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile - and was acquired from SSR Mining Inc. by the Company in 2016. There are several known mineral zones on the Diablillos property (Figure 2), with the Oculto zone being the most advanced with approximately 85,000 metres drilled in 306 RC and diamond drill holes. Oculto is a high-sulphidation epithermal silver-gold deposit derived from remnant hot springs activity following Tertiarty-age local magmatic and volcanic activity. Comparatively nearby examples of high-sulphidation epithermal deposits include: El Indio, Chile; Veladero, Argentina; and Pascua Lama, on the Chile-Argentine border.
Figure 1 - Oculto Plan Map with Lithology and Structures
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The Oculto deposit is strongly oxidized down to depths in the order of 300 to 400 metres below surface. Based on a 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment prepared by RPA Inc. of Toronto, Canada, the mineral resource estimate for the Oculto deposit is as outlined in Table 1. This resource estimate is based on the assumption that open pit mining will be used at Oculto.
Table 1 - 2018 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Oculto Deposit, Diablillos Project
| Category | Tonnage (000 t) | Ag (g/t) | Au (g/t) | Contained Ag (000 oz Ag) | Contained Au (000 oz Au) |
| Indicated | 26,900 | 93.0 | 0.85 | 80,300 | 732 |
| Inferred | 1,000 | 46.8 | 0.89 | 1,505 | 29 |
Effective August 31, 2017. Full details of the Mineral Resources are available in a Company news release dated March 2, 2018, and available on www.SEDAR.com.
Principal controls to alteration and mineralization are predominantly structural with some influence imparted by lithology. A high grade zone of silver measuring approximately 20 metres thick occurs at a depth of between 100 and 120 metres below surface and is believed to be a supergene enrichment zone. A broadly horizontal zone of higher-grade gold mineralization occurs at or near the contact of the Tertiary volcanic rocks and the Ordovician basement assemblage. This zone is approximately 30 metres thick and, in places, correlates well with the "regolith" breccia that occupies this contact. This contact zone is one of the key targets for the upcoming drill program, as well as breccias that extend into the basement.
Figure 2 - Diablillos Property Geology
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Qualified Person
All scientific and technical information in this news release has been approved by Willem Fuchter, PhD PGeo, Director of AbraPlata Resource Corp. and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About AbraPlata
AbraPlata is focused on exploring and advancing its flagship Diablillos silver-gold property, located in mining-friendly Salta province, Argentina. Diablillos has an Indicated Mineral Resource containing 80.9M oz silver and 732k oz gold. AbraPlata also owns the highly prospective Cerro Amarillo property with its cluster of five mineralized Cu-(Mo-Au) porphyry intrusions located in a mining camp hosting the behemoth El Teniente, Los Bronces, and Los Pelambres porphyry Cu-Mo deposits. As well, AbraPlata is exploring Aguas Perdidas, its wholly owned Patagonia-style epithermal Au-Ag property. AbraPlata is based in Vancouver, Canada, and is listed on the TSX-V under the symbol "ABRA"
ON BEHALF OF AbraPlata Resource Corp.
Robert Bruggeman
Interim CEO
For further information concerning this news release, please contact:
AbraPlata Resource Corp.
Rob Bruggeman
Tel: +1.416.884.3556
Email: rob@abraplata.com
For further information about AbraPlata, please visit the Company's website at www.abraplata.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
