Mining

E2 Metals reports positive results from exploration at Conserrat gold-silver project

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By Imelda Cotton - 
E2 Metals ASX E2M exploration Conserrat gold silver project Santa Cruz province Argentina Malvina

A new vein has been discovered at the Malvina target within E2 Metals’ Argentina project.

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Melbourne-based E2 Metals (ASX: E2M) has reported continued positive results from exploration activities at its Conserrat gold-silver project in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province.

Highlights of recent work include the discovery of a new vein at the Malvina target, located just south of the established Emilia prospect on a separate trend.

The vein was defined by mapping and surface sampling of epithermal veins where rock chips generated results of up to 9.8 grams per tonne gold and 1,760g/t silver.

The Malvina vein partially outcrops over 150m of strike within ‘windows’ of younger tertiary basalt.

It can be traced in gradient array induced polarisation (GAIP) images as a prominent chargeability lineament which extends for over 1km of strike.

Four scout holes for a total 791m were completed at Malvina during E2’s current drill program, with two intersecting banded epithermal veins of several metres in width found to contain abundant black sulphide typical of silver mineralisation.

An additional hole to test beneath the peak rock chip anomaly was postponed due to bad weather and road conditions brought on by the Argentinian winter.

Conserrat campaign

The Malvina holes were part of E2’s recently-completed campaign at Conserrat, which saw 84 holes drilled for a total 12,415m since January.

It included seven infill holes at Emilia for 819m, where earlier scout drilling intersected 9.5m at 375g/t silver and 0.4g/t gold (6g/t gold equivalent) from 49m.

Follow-up holes were drilled on three sections spaced 50m apart to better understand structural and lithological controls to mineralisation.

The program also included three scout holes each at the Florencia Norte, Silvia and Veta Blanca West prospects for a total 1,393m, as well as the four at Malvina.

Drilling at the first three was designed to test priority soil anomalies with 150m spaced sections, and all holes intersected silicified structures, breccias and veins.

Mia infill drilling

In April, E2 announced the results for a five-hole 738m infill drill program at the Mia prospect, designed to better understand the distribution of gold and silver within the Lara vein.

One of the holes intersected a banded colloform-crustiform epithermal vein from 67m with visible gold within the vein selvage, returning 1.5g/t gold in preliminary fire assays.

E2 said the result indicated the gold content could be “under-reported or highly variable” – a common issue for deposit styles where gold is present as coarse particles.

The interval was submitted to the laboratories of ALS in the Argentinian city of Mendoza for screen fire analysis, which pulverised a larger volume sample and screened it to separate coarse gold particles from fine material.

The results confirmed the presence of coarse gold at Mia which has been under-reported by standard fire assay methods.

Mineralised intervals for a further 18 Mia holes have been submitted for re-analysis with the view that screen fire analysis will supersede historical fire assay results.

The work will incorporate pending drill holes from Emilia and Malvina, and select mineralised holes from the Florencia and Ro prospects which sit either side of Florencia Norte.

Metallurgical testwork

E2 has commissioned preliminary metallurgical testwork on select Mia drill holes to understand the leachability characteristics of oxide, transitional and sulphide-bearing gold and silver mineralisation from the recent drill program.

The work will be carried out by SGS Minerals Services in Chile and will include bottle roll tests to determine the dissolution of precious metals and other deleterious elements; bond work index tests on composite samples; and a mineralogical examination of all head samples.

Coarse rejects will be utilised for the tests, along with mineralised drill hole intercepts from Mia representing a range of precious metal grades and ratios, and varied degrees of oxidation.