Mar 30 2015
Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. ("Cornerstone" or "the Company") announces the following project update for the Cascabel copper-gold porphyry joint venture exploration project in northern Ecuador, in which the Company has a 15% interest financed through to completion of a feasibility study.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Assay results received from drill hole CSD-15-010 ("Hole 10") confirm high grade copper and gold mineralization extends to the northwest, returning 156m @ 0.63 % Cu, and 0.74 g/t Au (1.08 % CuEq) from 684m depth and remains open at depth.
- A higher grade interval of 80m @ 0.86% Cu and 1.19 g/t Au (1.56 % CuEq) commences from 760m depth and continues to the current limit of assay depth at 840m.
References to figures, photographs and tables related to the version of this release on the Company's website (www.cornerstoneresources.com) or visible in PDF format by clicking the link below:
http://www.cornerstoneresources.com/i/pdf/NR15-05Figures.pdf.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Assay results from 314m to 840m depth from Hole 10 were received as of March 24, 2015, as drilling of Hole 10 continued to intersect variably mineralized early diorite from 840m to current hole depth of 969.05m. On March 26, 2015 the hole was at a depth of 969.05m. Recent bad ground conditions in the drill hole resulted in slow penetration rates and the requirement to cement a lower section of the hole to prevent loss of drilling mud circulation. Drilling difficulties continue to be encountered in Hole 10 and drill penetration has temporarily stopped until the drill contractor is able to resolve the issue.
Hole 10 is being drilled at an azimuth of 260 degrees and an inclination of -85 degrees from the same drill pad as Hole 9. A location plan and cross-section is shown as Figures 1 and 2.
Significant quartz veining and alteration encountered in the upper portion of Hole 10, and assays from Hole 10, confirm northwest strike extension of the Upper High Grade Zone that produced high grade intersections in Hole 9. Results from Hole 10, to date, include:
- 394m @ 0.38 % Cu and 0.36 g/t Au (0.60 % CuEq) from 446m (open at depth), including
- 236m @ 0.51 % Cu and 0.54 g/t Au (0.84 % CuEq) from 604m (open at depth), including
- 156m @ 0.63 % Cu and 0.74 g/t Au (1.08 % CuEq) from 684m (open at depth), including
- 80m @ 0.86 % Cu and 1.19 g/t Au (1.56 % CuEq) from 760m (open at depth)
All reported intervals referred to in this news release are core lengths. At present the true thicknesses of Hole 10 intersections are uncertain due to the early stage of drilling and pending assay results in this part of the target area.
Drilling is expected to intersect the Lower High Grade Zone at around 1150m depth where the contact with the strongly mineralized early quartz diorite intrusion (QD10) is extrapolated to occur.
The target for the deeper part of Hole 10 below the current depth of drilling is the northwest extension of the high grade zone previously intersected in Hole 9 and northeast extension of the high grade zone intersected in Hole 7 which returned high grade results. (See table 1)
The copper and gold mineralization that is currently being targeted in Hole 10 lies at the southeastern margin and 300m from the centre of the large T1 target at North West Alpala. The results obtained from Hole 10 thus far represent the most northerly high grade intersections to date and gives Cornerstone increasing confidence in the T1 target.
Increasing reliability in drill hole targeting, resulting from the understanding of intrusion relationships and geometries at Alpala is proving an exciting development as the geometry of the porphyry system becomes progressively clearer.
Figure 2 shows a cross-section along the planned Hole 10 path, indicating interpreted geometry of mineralized zones on this section.
About Cascabel
SolGold Plc owns 85% of the equity of Exploraciones Novomining S.A. ("ENSA"), an Ecuadorean registered company that holds 100% of the Cascabel concession in northern Ecuador. Cornerstone owns the remaining 15% of ENSA, which also holds the rights to the La Encrucijada gold-silver project. SolGold is funding 100% of the exploration at Cascabel and is the operator of the project with Cornerstone Ecuador S.A. providing some exploration and administrative services. Cornerstone's 15% interest is financed through completion of a feasibility study.
Cascabel is located in north-western Ecuador in an under-explored northern section of the richly endowed Andean Copper Belt, 60 km northeast of the undeveloped inferred resource of 982 million tons at 0.89% Cu Junin copper project (0.4% Cu cutoff grade; Micon International Co. Ltd. Technical Report for Ascendant Exploration SA, August 20, 2004, pages 28 & 29). Mineralization identified at the Junin copper project is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Cascabel Property.
Qualified Person:
Yvan Crepeau, MBA, P.Geo., Cornerstone's Vice President, Exploration and a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for supervising the exploration program at the Cascabel project for Cornerstone and has reviewed and approved the information contained in this news release.
Logging, sampling and assaying
Holes referred to in this release were or are being drilled using HTW, NTW, NQ and BQ core sizes (respectively 7.1, 5.6, 4.8 and 3.7 cm diameter). Geotechnical measurements such as core recovery, fracturing, rock quality designations (RQD's); specific density and photographic logging are performed systematically prior to assaying. The core is logged, magnetic susceptibility measured and key alteration minerals identified using an on-site portable spectrometer. Core is then sawed in half at the core logging facility of Exploraciones Novomining S.A., the Ecuadorean company owned 85% by SolGold Plc and 15% by Cornerstone ("ENSA"), and half of the core is delivered by ENSA employees for preparation at Acme Analytical Laboratories (ACME) affiliate laboratory in Cuenca. Core samples are prepared crushing 1 kg to 80% passing 2 mm (10 mesh), splitting 250 g and pulverizing to 85% passing 0.075 mm (200 mesh) (ACME code R200-250). Prepared samples are then shipped to ACME in Vancouver, Canada where samples are assayed for a multi-element suite (ACME code 1E, 0.25g split, 4-acid digestion, ICP-ES finish). Over limit results for Ag (> 100 g/t), Cu, Pb and Zn (each one > 1%) are systematically re-assayed (ACME code 7 TD1 or 7 TD2, 4-acid digestion, ICP-ES finish). Gold is assayed using a 30 g split, Fire Assay (FA) and AA or ICP-ES finish (ACME code G601).
Quality assurance / Quality control (QA/QC)
The ACME affiliate preparation facility in Cuenca was audited by Cornerstone prior to the start of the drilling program and ACME is an ISO 9001:2008 qualified assayer that performs and makes available internal assaying controls. Duplicates, certified blanks and standards are systematically used (1 control sample every 15 samples) as part of Cornerstone's QA/QC program. Rejects, a 100 g pulp for each core sample and the remaining half-core are stored for future use and controls.
Other News
The Board of Directors has approved the granting of 50,000 stock options to a consultant effective March 26, 2015. These options have been priced at $0.10 and have an expiry date of March 26, 2020. As per the Company's approved Stock Option Plan, these options vest in three equal tranches over an eighteen month period from the date of issue.