Columbus Gold has begun the phase II drill program at its Guild project in Nevada. Sniper Resources, a joint venture partner of Columbus Gold, earns 51% interest primarily by starting phased yearly exploration expenses of US$2 million in total by 2012 October.
Sniper has scheduled to drill four to six reverse circulation (RC) holes in this program and it is anticipated that the depth of the hole should be below 500 ft for a minimum of three drill locations out of four.
Columbus Gold is focusing on the Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Guild, where more than 180 ft strike length of gold value is present in a silicified outcrop within the Ordovician limestone. The jasperoid ledge that is formed along a north-trending formation is expanding to the south under the thin layers of the post-ore volcanic rocks.
The company has found several untested targets at Guild through geochemical mapping and sampling campaigns, and has completed a gravity survey and CSAMT for numerous line miles to discover the main overlaid formations. The company’s main target is an ore-controlling formation that expands for 1 mi below the near surface post-ore enclosing between the key gold showing at the Guild and a jasperoid in the southern region. The formation is additionally inferred for the intersection of the Mississippian Webb formation located in the block’s southern end. Furthermore, the initial reconnaissance has discovered hydrothermal alteration with an outline of barite veining and silicification in the Webb.
The plan of the present drill program is to examine the expansion of mineralized gold obtained during the 2011 phase I program. Columbus Gold has intercepted leach-grade gold intervals that commences at the surface in the holes GI-11, GI-16 and GI-17 during phase I drilling. It has intersected 0.024 opt gold over 20-25 ft and 0.008 opt gold over 0-50 ft in the hole GI-11, 0.038 opt gold over 10-15 ft and 0.011 opt over 0-40 ft in the drill hole GI-16 and 0.016 opt gold over 0-5 ft, 0.009 opt gold over 0-15 ft in the hole GI-17.