In addition to a small artisanal shaft developed on a thin quartz vein in the southeast of the property, previous exploration work includes two phases of drilling and extensive surface sampling by other explorers. In 1996 Compañía Minera Fernanda SA de CV completed 15 reverse circulation holes for a total of 1018m and in 2008 Norma Mines SA de CV drilled 10 diamond drill holes for a total of 1133m. Both drill programs tested the La Lamosa area. Although records for the RC drilling are incomplete, references to the results indicate continuous and consistent gold and silver intercepts from beneath the alteration zone at the ridge. Diamond drilling conducted later by Norma mines also confirmed the presence of broad anomalous grades. Gold occurs in oxide, mixed oxide/, and sulphide reported in previous drilling with pyrite being the primary sulphide mineral along with minor amounts of enargite. Selected drill mineralized intercepts are shown in Table 1 below:
Table 1 – Summary of the 2008 diamond drill hole program as reported by Norma Mines S.A. de C.V.
| Hole ID# | From (m) | To (m) | Interval (m) | True Width | Au (ppm) |
Ag (ppm) |
Prospect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08MER001 | 0 | 144 | 144 | * | 0.49 | 12.4 | La Lamosa |
| incl | 0 | 32 | 32 | 0.86 | 8.2 | ||
| incl | 51 | 144 | 93 | 0.44 | 16.0 | ||
| 08MER002 | 0 | 113 | 113 | * | 0.37 | 11.6 | La Lamosa |
| incl | 26 | 27 | 1 | 3.32 | 28.6 | ||
| incl | 110 | 113 | 3 | 1.17 | 20.2 | ||
| 08MER003 | 0 | 57 | 57 | 25* | 1.15 | 13.5 | La Lamosa |
| incl | 11 | 24 | 13 | 1.22 | 20.5 | ||
| incl | 34 | 35 | 1 | 16.02 | 53.6 | ||
| incl | 35 | 36 | 1 | 7.67 | 42.8 | ||
| incl | 41 | 42 | 1 | 4.52 | 21.0 | ||
| 08MER004 | 60 | 61.5 | 1.5 | * | 0.05 | 121.5 | La Lamosa |
| 08MER005 | 25.5 | 28.5 | 3 | * | 0.01 | 84.7 | La Lamosa |
| 08MER006 | no significant intervals | La Lamosa | |||||
Note: True width of mineralization is difficult to estimate