Jan 19 2013
Camino Minerals Corporation ("Camino" or the "Company") is pleased to announce significant drill results from the El Secreto Gold, Silver and Copper Project ("El Secreto" or the "Project") located in Sinaloa State, Mexico. Drilling confirmed the presence of gold and silver mineralization and suggests that high-grade stockwork zones and ore shoots may exist at depth.
The 1,921.5 metre reverse circulation drill program was directed to a number of northeast-trending epithermal veins in two target areas, the Carrizal Area and the El Secreto Zone. Hole SE-12-001, located in the Carrizal Area, returned 84 metres of 0.33 g/t Au and 6.5 g/t Ag, including 30 metres of 0.58 g/t Au and 11.1 g/t Ag. Hole SE-12-003, located approximately 1.5 km southwest of hole SE-12-001 and also located in the Carrizal Area, returned 19.5 metres of 0.34 g/t Au and 21.5 g/t Ag. Hole SE-12-003 is interpreted to be a different vein from the one intercepted in hole SE-12-001. Drilling at the El Secreto Zone targeted three major sub east-west structures, with six of the seven holes intersecting anomalous gold values.
Sharing the same mineralized system, a distance of six kilometres separates the El Secreto Zone and the Carrizal Area. Similar mineralization and alteration (silicification, arsenopyrite and scorodite) can be observed at both target areas. This large system is over 9 kilometres in length, sub east-west trending, and up to 4 kilometres wide, north to south. This is comparable in size to the San Dimas District, located 40 kilometres northeast.
In addition to the geological-mineralogical footprint of the system, the anomalous gold and silver mineralized horizons intersected are highly anomalous in arsenic and antimony. In a paper written by Erme Enriquez, 1995, titled Trace Element Zonation and Temperature Controls of the Tayoltita Ag-Au Hydrothermal System, San Dimas District, Durango, Mexico, high arsenic and antimony values are found above the "Favourable Zone", which hosts all of the deposits at San Dimas. The Company believes that this mineralization is situated high in a mineral system and that high-grade stockwork zones and ore shoots, similar to the mineralization at San Dimas, may exist at depth. Camino plans to diamond drill test these targets in the near future.
"This was the first ever drill program to be carried out at El Secreto and resulted in the discovery of five mineralized vein systems," said Gordon Davis, Camino's Chairman and CEO. "The footprint of the system and the trace element signature is very encouraging. In addition to a diamond drill program, to test for high-grade stockwork zones and ore shoots at depth, we are planning additional ground work to follow up on extensive soil geochemical anomalies and mineral occurrences to identify other targets."
El Secreto is situated along the western edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental in a structural setting similar to Primero Mining Corporation's San Dimas Mine, located 40 kilometres to the northeast. San Dimas produced 102,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2011. Primero recently announced plans (see Primero's news release dated October 15, 2012) to increase mine throughput from the current 1,925 tonnes per day to 2,500 tonnes per day by the end of the first quarter of 2014. This expansion will allow for an average production target of 160,000 gold equivalent ounces per year over the next five years. The San Dimas district, which has been mined since 1757, contains a series of epithermal gold-silver veins. Historical production from the San Dimas district is estimated at 11 million ounces of gold and 582 million ounces of silver.
About the El Secreto Gold, Silver and Copper Project
Recently consolidated by Arcelia Gold Corp. ("Arcelia"), a private BC company, through staking and the acquisition of privately held claims, El Secreto consists of three mineral concessions encompassing over 12,000 hectares (49 square miles). The Project is located approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Mazatlan, Sinaloa State, and is accessible by paved and gravel roads. The geology and mineralization obtained to date suggests that El Secreto is highly prospective for the discovery of epithermal gold-silver vein systems. The Project has never been subject to modern exploration techniques or drilling. Camino has an option to earn up to an 80-per-cent interest in El Secreto from Arcelia.