SilverCrest Mines Inc. has announced that it has begun its Phase II drilling program at the La Joya property located in Durango State, Mexico.
This program will consist of approximately 80 core and reverse circulation drill holes and will utilize at least three drill rigs. The Company has also completed surface channel sampling in the Phase II proposed drill hole area along and adjacent to the Main Mineralized Trend with results showing surface intervals with grades up to 594 gpt Ag, 5.49 % Cu, and 0.25 gpt gold (1,079 gpt Ag equivalent).
"We are excited with the success we have had so far at the La Joya property and expect the Phase II program to test the extents of mineralization identified to date. Our aggressive and systematic approach to this drill program will focus on further testing of the continuity and grade of mineralization, potentially expanding the current target area and testing several additional targets. The surface sampling results in the Phase II area are excellent and show the potential to significantly expand the current Phase I drill-defined area", said N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng. and COO for SilverCrest.
The Phase II program is budgeted at $3.0 million and will include approximately 60 core holes (10,000 metres) and 20 RVC holes (5,000 metres) for a planned total of an estimated 15,000 metres. This phase of drilling is expected to be completed by mid-2012 with subsequent compilation and further resource reporting in the second half of 2012. One of the objectives of the program is to fully test the extent of the Main Mineralized Trend which is estimated to be 2.5 kilometres long and approximately 300 - 500 metres wide. Also, three separate target areas, El Coloradito, Esperanza and Santo Nino will be drilled to test additional mineralization previously identified by historic work.
Recently, the Company collected an additional 43 surface channel samples (SA11- 138 to 180) from exposed outcrops within the southern portion of the Main Mineralized Trend in preparation for Phase II drilling.
Weighted average grade of all 43 channel samples including those reported in the above table is 129.3 gpt Ag, 1.15 % Cu, 0.2 gpt Au, or 239.2 gpt Ag eq*. All 43 samples graded greater than 30 gpt Ag eq.* with the weighted Ag eq. excluding values of 0.39 % Pb, 0.58 % Zn, 0.013% Mo and 0.037% W (tungsten). Results of select samples graded up to 4.5% Pb over 1 metre, 5.5 % Zn over 1.5 metres, 0.16% Mo over 2 metres, and 0.31% W over 2 metres. All 43 channel samples collected are representative of surface exposures of disseminated bornite-tetrahedrite sulfide horizons, mantos and stockwork zones along approximate true thicknesses of mineralization. Some samples are continuous channels representing longer mineralized lengths, i.e., a road cut channel sample from SA11- 176 to 178 is 9 metres grading 13.6 gpt Ag, 0.48% Cu, 0.32 gpt Au or 73.1 gpt Ag eq.