Fortuna provides exploration overview

Paul Weedon, Senior Vice President of Exploration, commented: “With 12 drill rigs turning across the portfolio, the steady pace of exploration across all our major properties continues to deliver very encouraging results.”

“These include highlights such as 16.5 g/t gold (Au) over 6.3 m from drill hole SGRC1366 from the growing Sunbird Prospect at Séguéla, and the 0.6 g/t Au and 0.18% copper (Cu) over an estimated true width of 68 m from surface intersected in drill hole ARD046 adjacent to the Arizaro Project, through to one of the deepest holes drilled at Caylloma, drill hole ANIM087921, returning 93 g/t silver (Ag), 4.83% lead (Pb) and 7.81% zinc (Zn) over an estimated true width of 20.48 m from nearly 900 m below surface and where it remains open.”

Séguéla gold Project, Côte d'Ivoire

Sunbird Prospect assay highlights include:

• SGRD1365: 9.4 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 7 m from 197 m.
• SGRD1366: 17.5 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 6.3 m from 205 m.
• SGRD1367: 14.8 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 1.4 m from 214 m and 52.2 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 1.4 m from 242 m.
• SGRD1368: 3.4 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 3.5 m from 269 m.
• SGRD1370: 8 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 8.4 m from 241 m.
• SGRD1376: 6.5 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 10.5 m from 143 m.

Exploration drilling at the Séguéla Gold Project continues to advance the Sunbird Prospect with a recently completed 13-hole, 3059-m programme testing the continuity and tenor of mineralisation at depth and along strike to the south. Drilling at depth was designed to test projections of previous high-grade results a further 100 – 150 m down plunge in the central zone and help refine the understanding of the structural controls.

Drilling to the south extended drill defined mineralisation a further 50 m, helping refine the structural controls, with this area remaining open along strike and down-plunge. The geometry and style of mineralisation is consistent with that seen at the Koula and Ancien deposits, located 1.5 km and 5 km to the north and south respectively, both of which are hosted in similar structural settings within the same lithology package.

Geological logging of the drill core identified numerous intervals containing five to greater than 20 visible gold specks of up to 2-mm dia., with the characteristics of the mineralisation consistent with previous drilling at Sunbird. Three of the six holes for which assays are pending also recorded between 5 – 10 visible gold specks in the mineralised intervals.

The mineralisation remains open at depth and further drilling is planned in 2022 to further define the extent of the mineralisation.

Arizaro gold Project, Lindero Mine, Argentina

Central Zone assay highlights include:

ARD45: 0.47 g/t Au and 0.16% Cu over an estimated true width of 73 m from 44 m downhole.
• ARD46: 0.61 g/t Au and 0.18% Cu over an estimated true width of 68 m from surface; ended inmineralisation at 200 m downhole.

The Arizaro Project is located within the Lindero mining concession, 3.2 km southeast of the Lindero Mine. Previous exploration and drilling identified near surface porphyry-style gold-copper mineralisation hosted in magnetite and biotite-rich breccia zones and in associated stockwork veins with two dominant structural trends.

A 1178 m, six hole drilling programme testing a reinterpretation of key mineralising features across the Central and SW Targets, located approximately 200 m and 350 m, respectively, to the west south-west of the main Arizaro mineralisation was completed in August. Two holes testing the Central Target successfully intersected extensive zones of biotite-rich brecciation and north-east trending sheeted quartz veining with associated pyrite and visible copper mineralisation. Subsequent logging of drill hole ARD46 showed it was drilled oblique to the interpreted dominant quartz vein orientation with the hole ending in mineralisation at 200 m downhole for a true width of 68 m.

Additional drilling and surface trenching is planned during December to further define the extent of the mineralisation.

San Jose Mine, Mexico

Assay highlights include:

• SJOM1053 (VMZ): 290 g/t Ag and 2 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 1.5 m.
• SJOM1088 (Magdalena): 245 g/t Ag and 1.41 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 4.6 m.
• SJOM1091 (Magdalena): 506 g/t Ag and 2.61 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 1.7 m.
• SJOM1103 (San Ignacio): 209 g/t Ag and 1.47 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 1.1 m.
• SJOM1105 (Magdalena): 302 g/t Ag and 0.77 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 1.8 m including 1010 g/t Ag over 0.5 m.

Step-out exploration drilling from underground platforms ahead of production at San Jose has continued to define continuity of key mineralised structures, with 25 064 m drilled in 59 holes since March 2021, targeting the Bonanza Hanging wall (Bhw), Trinidad Norte and Victoria mineralised zone (VMZ) structures. In addition to the underground drilling, testing of two target zones to the north and south of the mine was successful in identifying additional mineralised structures with drilling continuing.

Development of underground drill platforms and associated infrastructure also continued with the establishment of the first drill stations which will enable testing of the projected northern strike extensions of the Trinidad system, including the untested down-dip projection of a surface silicified outcrop.

Yaramoko Mine, Burkina Faso

Assay highlights include:

• YRM-20-RC-109-036: 3 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 7.7 m (Min Zone 2).
• YRM-20-RC-109-038: 11.2 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 2.8 m (Min Zone 2).
• YRM-21-RC-109-053: 3.4 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 6.3 m (Min Zone 1).
• YRM-21-RC-109-056: 4.2 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 4.9 m (Min Zone 1).
• YRM-21-RC-109-058: 14.7 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 4.9 m (Min Zone 1).
• YRM-21-RC-109-062: 3.8 g/t Au over an estimated true width of 4.9 m (Min Zone 1).

Exploration drilling at Yaramoko has continued to advance the 109 Zone near surface prospect, located approximately 1.5 km north-west of the Yaramoko mill, with 108 RC holes completed during the period April to October for a total of 8201 m. Drilling has targeted a 1-km-long zone of sheared mafic volcanics and associated quartz veining situated within the Yaramoko Shear Zone, which hosts the 55 Zone and Bagassi South Mines, with three discrete zones of mineralisation identified.

Caylloma Mine, Peru

Animas NE vein assay highlights include:

• ANIM086321: 60 g/t Ag, 5.51% Pb and 6.22% Zn over an estimated true width of 7.2 m.
• ANIM084321: 51 g/t Ag, 2.94% Pb and 5.23% Zn over an estimated true width of 5.8 m.
• ANIM084721: 106 g/t Ag, 2.34% Pb and 3.13% Zn over an estimated true width of 11.8 m.
• ANIM085521: 159 g/t Ag, 2.92% Pb and 1.44% Zn over an estimated true width of 6.1 m.
• ANIM087321: 76 g/t Ag, 4.35% Pb and 7.45% Zn over an estimated true width of 11.3 m.
• ANIM087921: 93 g/t Ag, 4.83% Pb and 7.81% Zn over an estimated true width of 20.5 m.

Exploration drilling at Caylloma continued throughout 2021 totalling 10 121 m in 26 diamond drill holes, testing the depth continuity of the greater than 3-km-long Animas NE silver-polymetallic vein system, and the strike potential further to the north-east beyond the intersection of the Nancy vein.

Further to previously reported successful step-out drilling results at the Animas NE vein. drilling continues to intersect mineralised shoots up to 200 m beyond the current resource boundary, extending known mineralisation more than 900 m below surface along the 3 km long Animas NE vein, where it remains open at depth and along strike. Drilling has primarily focused on extending Ore Shoots 3 and 4 at depth, as well as testing for strike extension beyond the Nancy vein intersection and further north-east into the sediments of the basement Yura Group.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/28122021/fortuna-provides-exploration-overview/