Capstone Mining has reported the assay results for twelve new holes from the Wildfire and Copper Keel horizons at the Minto Mine.
Drilling results appear to be defining a thicker, shallower zone of copper mineralization (Wildfire) while, at the same time, extending deeper Copper Keel mineralization south and east, under the Wildfire zone.
While moderate in grade, the company believes that Wildfire may be amenable to open pit mining, while the narrower Copper Keel mineralization may have potential for extraction by underground mining methods given its proximity to the proposed Area 2 underground mining area.
Additional drill roads over the Wildfire – Copper Keel area are now being constructed in order to facilitate the systematic evaluation of the Wildfire discovery and the underlying Copper Keel horizons, which have now been traced beneath the relatively shallow Wildfire mineralization.
The two mineralized trends are stacked on top of each other, with the best grades at Copper Keel trending NNW-SSE, while those at Wildfire trend NNE-SSW.
To date in 2010, Capstone has drilled 63 holes in the Copper Keel – Wildfire – Airstrip corridor and prior to 2010, 40 holes were completed in this area.
A key objective for late 2010 is the production of a geological model and grade block model that ties all of the areas known mineralized areas south of the Minto Main pit together on multiple levels.
The company said that this will not only facilitate estimation of mineral resources, but assist future exploration as mineralized trends are defined and gaps in drilling within certain mineralized horizons are identified.