Titan Minerals is targeting resource growth with drill campaigns totalling 4900m at its Cerro Verde and Papayal prospects that form part of the company’s fully-owned Dynasty gold project in Ecuador.
Drilling at Cerro Verde, which officially kicked off this week, is designed to focus on extensions to the epithermal vein footprint following extensive reconnaissance mapping and surface geochemical sampling. The Papayal campaign will begin later this month following the construction of access tracks and drill platforms, with Titan eyeing a resource upgrade for the greater Dynasty operation early next year.
A total of 17 holes for 2250m are planned for Cerro Verde, while a second diamond rig will be utilised for the Papayal program for a further 24 holes across 2650m.
Significant rock-chip values from newly-identified epithermal veins at the Cerro Verde prospect include 14.95 grams per tonne gold and 40.4g/t silver, 13.65g/t gold and 136g/t silver and 11.35g/t gold and 14.75g/t silver.
Rock-chip samples collected from Papayal also returned some impressive figures including one grading 43.1g/t gold and 1500g/t silver. A second sample from the prospect returned 26g/t gold and 155g/t silver, while a third recorded 22.7g/t gold and 689g/t silver.
We are excited to have commenced resource drilling at the Cerro Verde prospect, Dynasty Gold Project. Drilling is designed to test the expanded epithermal footprint and is considered a key step in the Company’s strategy to grow the Mineral Resource base of 3.12Moz gold, 22Moz silver, and demonstrate the ultimate scale of the epithermal gold system. Titan Minerals chief executive officer Melanie Leighton
In July, Titan unveiled a maiden mineral resource at Dynasty of 43.54 million tonnes at 2.23g/t gold and 15.7g/t silver for a sizeable 3.12 million gold ounces and 21.98 million ounces of silver, with nearly 40 per cent already in the higher confidence “indicated” status. Dynasty also contains a high-grade component of 17.3 million tonnes grading 3.77g/t gold and 24g/t silver for a contained 2.09 million gold ounces and 13.33 million ounces of silver.
The majority of the indicated category is housed within the company’s Cerro Verde prospect, which has a resource of 28.8 million tonnes grading 2.08g/t gold and 13g/t silver for 1.92 million gold ounces and 12.04 million ounces of silver. The latest figure is a significant increase to the previous foreign resource estimate of 1.1 million gold ounces at the target.
Other prospects adding to the total resource include Iguana with 10.9 million tonnes grading 2.02g/t gold and 13.68g/t silver for 710,000 gold ounces and 4.81 million ounces of silver, while the Papayal target hosts 2.9 million tonnes at a solid 3.8g/t gold and 39.31g/t silver for 360,000 gold ounces and 3.71 million ounces of silver.
The Trapichello prospect has a relatively low tonnage of 900,000 tonnes, but contains impressive grades of 4.54g/t gold and 50.85g/t silver for 130,000 gold ounces and 1.43 million ounces of silver.
Titan has also entered into an equity conversion deed of agreement with Kluane Drilling subsidiary Kluan Drilling Ecuador to settle drilling invoices worth US$175,000 (AU$276,000) through the issue of new shares.
Management believes the deal is an endorsement of the strong relationship with Kluan Drilling and its united view of the untapped potential of Titan’s Ecuador projects.
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