Possible mine-life extension vindicates Argonaut drilling south of current El Castillo ops

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Argonaut Gold has returned positive results from a recent 18 530 m reverse circulation campaign to test 146 targets south of the current El Castillo mine, in Mexico.

The combined results of the north and south target areas show potential to extend the current El Castillo openpit limits and extend the mine life.

"Drilling results in both the North and South target areas, along with the known wedges of economic mineralisation that were unavailable to us prior to the Fresnillo concession purchase, by reason of mineral concession boundary alone, indicate strong potential to expand the current pit limits and extend mine life,” commented president and CEO Pete Dougherty.

“The positive drill results lend solid support for our acquisition of the Fresnillo concession and our vision of creating a meaningful, flagship asset at the El Castillo mining complex, which will include the El Castillo and San Agustin deposits,” he added.

The ‘south target’ drilling programme evaluated the economic potential of the recently acquired Fresnillo concession, where mineralisation is known to extend along a recognised mineral trend that projects beyond the company's previous concession limits. 

The programme increased the resolution of previous wide-spaced drilling by Fresnillo to 35 m spacing, and known occurrences of mineralised exposures projected south from the El Castillo pit limits, which is consistent with the current modelling practices at El Castillo, the company advised.

As with the north target, mineralisation south of the El Castillo pit showed overall better-than-expected continuity, locally higher-than-average gold grades and strong oxidation. 

Based on the success of the drilling campaign on the Fresnillo concession to date, Argonaut plans to start work on a 6 000 m, Phase 2 drilling programme in areas where mineralisation remains open for potential expansion. The company expects to make public an updated National Instrument 43-101-compliant technical report for the El Castillo mining complex during the first quarter of 2018, and will incorporate all drill results from the north and south target areas into an updated mineral reserve and resource estimate.