Jan 31 2011
Cortez Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CUT) has provided an update on its Petlacala Gold-Silver Project in Mexico.
Petlacala Project
Cortez Gold is pleased to release final drill core assay results from 14 diamond drill holes (2516m) from its 2010 Phase I drill program at Petlacala. The drill program at Petlacala targeted a low-sulphidation vein system comprised of the Astro, Karla-Guadalupe, Armazon, Ninfas, Madre and California veins (see news releases of April 12, August 11, Oct. 19 and Dec. 15, 2010).
Drill hole Pet-6 Gu intersected 1.04m of 16.67 g/t gold and 10 g/t silver within a 25.77m wide zone of 1.16 g/t gold and 3.42 g/t silver. Several other significant drill hole intersections have been encountered including the discovery of a new vein intercepted by drill hole Pet-7 Ni that assayed 3.46 g/t gold and 16.7 g/t silver over 1.65m.
At the Karla-Guadalupe vein, significant assay results were obtained in two holes. Drill holes Pet-5 Gu and Pet-6 Gu intersected two zones of low-grade gold-silver mineralization located close to the surface. Hole Pet-5 Gu intersected a 35.5m zone, starting at 39m, of 0.57 g/t gold and 55.5 g/t silver, including 2.83m of 2.53 g/t gold and 166.23 g/t silver, and a 15.59m zone of 0.49 g/t gold and 44.2 g/t silver, including 0.49m of 8.03 g/t gold and 430.5 g/t silver.
Hole Pet-6 Gu intersected, starting from 144.05m, a 25.77m zone of 1.16 g/t gold and 3.42 g/t silver including 1.04m of 16.67 g/t gold and 10 g/t silver, and a 15.37m zone of 0.3 g/t gold and 2.68 g/t silver.
These intersections indicate the possibility of bulk tonnage low-grade gold mineralization located close to the surface as well as the possible presence of a high-grade gold-silver vein system at depth.
At the Ninfas vein, drill hole Pet-7 Ni intersected, starting at a depth of 67.7m, a new vein (Ninfas West vein). The Ninfas West vein possesses all the characteristics of an epithermal low-sulphidation vein with abundant open spaces, bladed quartz textures, presence of amethyst, and several generations of silica. The drill intersection of the Ninfas West vein is 1.65m wide and returned 3.46 g/t gold and 16.7 g/t silver within a wide iron-oxidized altered zone. This new discovery demonstrates that at the Petlacala project there is the potential of discovering more veins through systematic surface exploration and drilling.
At the Astro vein system, drill hole Pet-9 As intersected 2.7m grading 2.12 g/t gold and 41.69 g/t silver.
Significant Drill Intersections from Phase I Drill Program at the Petlacala Project
The Company is currently analyzing drill hole data and waiting for assay results from surface soil samples collected at the end of 2010. The first objective of the 2011 Phase II drill program is to define the horizontal extension of the low-grade mineralization encountered by holes Pet-5 Gu and Pet-6 Gu. Additional objectives include following up on the higher grade drill intersections encountered in holes Pet-5 Gu, Pet-6 Gu, and Pet-7 Ni, and the search for new veins similar to the newly discovered Ninfas West vein.
Drill core samples were submitted to ACME preparation laboratory in Guadalajara, Mexico, and were shipped to Vancouver for analysis. The Company has implemented a quality assurance and quality control program (including insertion of standard and blank samples into the sample stream) to ensure that the sampling and analysis of all samples are conducted in accordance with industry best practices.
The Petlacala property covers approximately 3,200 hectares. It is located 220 kilometers southwest of Mexico City, 70 kilometers west of Gold Corp.'s Los Filos and El Bermejal gold deposit, and approximately 200km south of the El Oro – Tlalpujahua epithermal vein system, which is judged to be similar to Petlacala.
Exploration work on the Petlacala project is being conducted by Reyna Mining. On behalf of Cortez Gold, Piotr Lutynski, P.Eng., is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the Petlacala exploration program who supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release.