Titan Minerals Limited (ASX: TTM) reports that the latest assay results for the Iguana Prospect support the interpreted widths and extent of the Iguana vein corridor at its Dynasty Gold Project in southern Ecuador.
Managing Director, Laurie Marsland, said the results have confirmed that Iguana hosts approximately 375,000 ounces of the existing 2.1Moz gold foreign resource estimation for the Dynasty Gold Project.
Drilling at Dynasty is progressing well and despite some delays, is moving ahead across each of the prospects. Importantly, we are pleased to see assay results for Iguana confirm the grade, previous interpreted widths and extent of the Iguana vein corridor,” Mr Marsland said.
“Modelling work in support of the planned JORC compliant update to the resource estimate for Dynasty is well advanced. The team is looking forward to drilling activity progressing onto our priority target, the Cerro Verde Prospect area. Re-sampling at Cerro Verde has demonstrated the potential for a significant increase in the volume of material that will define the JORC resource at Dynasty.”
The Iguana Prospect is a 2.5km long structural corridor hosting multiple gold silver veins that trend northeast from the highly prospective Cerro Verde Prospect area. Historical drill and trench results cover just over 1km of strike on the Iguana vein corridor.
The current drill programme focuses on complementing historical drilling by generating the first oriented core at the Dynasty Gold Project. Results define structural controls for modelling the vein array and vein geometries.
While collecting the geological data required for modelling, drilling has provided several intersections on step-outs to previous drilling that demonstrates the potential to further extend the mineralised corridor. Better intercepts in the historical drilling at the Iguana Prospect include:
- 6.75m @ 4.14g/t gold and 43g/ silver from 81.4m;
- 3.8m @ 9.55g/t gold and 23g/t silver from 76.8m;
- 8.5m @ 13.9g/t gold and 55g/t silver from 97.3m; and
- 4.82m @ 7.59g/t gold and 22g/t silver from 111.18m
Mr Marsland said the Iguana Prospect is not a priority target for larger bulk tonnage potential, as is the case outlined in drill results from the Cerro Verde Prospect, where mineralised halos surrounding veins are delivering three to five times wider mineralised zones.
To define key structural controls for the high-grade shoots, and extensions of mineralisation both along strike and at depth, within context of the larger Dynasty Gold Project, the high-grade nature of the veining at the Iguana Prospect merits further investigation.
Extension drilling has identified additional veining within the Iguana vein corridor, anticipated to be vein splays and increasing complexity of the vein array, as mineralisation progresses to the northeast. Oriented core potentially provides a structural framework to incorporate additional ancillary veins into geology modelling work.
In addition to drilling within the Iguana Prospect area, sampling of drill core from drilling carried out over Cerro Verde during 2019 and 2020, was completed in December. Final assays are expected in the coming weeks. At the Papayal Prospect, maiden drilling of outcropping high grade quartz vein zones continues, while logging and sampling of drill core is ongoing.
Trench sampling and mapping are ongoing at the Iguana and Papayal Prospects concurrent with drilling at Papayal. Structural analyses of oriented diamond core is in progress and 3D modelling for both Iguana and Papayal Prospects is well advanced.
Further scope of work for the Iguana Prospect area will be defined following the current drilling campaign and completion of modelling and resource estimate updates.
Mr Marsland said updated modelling will further inform drilling priorities for resource growth across the Dynasty Gold Project.
