Mining

Tesoro Resources discovers new mineralised zone at El Zorro gold project

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Tesoro Resources ASX TSO Ternera gold mineralisation extended El Zorro Chile

Mineralisation at Ternera remains open in all directions.

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Perth-based explorer Tesoro Resources (ASX: TSO) has confirmed a new discovery at the El Zorro gold project in Chile, after trench sampling at the Ternera East target unveiled widespread mineralisation at surface.

Assay results from 549 surface trench channel samples delineated the new zone, which is approximately 850m long and 300m wide, outcropping at surface and open in all directions.

Best recorded samples so far are 3m at 8.33 grams per tonne gold, 12m at 0.95g/t gold and 3m at 2.31g/t gold.

Another 290 samples are still awaiting assays.

Favourable host rock

The new zone is associated with occurrences of the favourable host rock, the El Zorro tonalite (EZT), comprising quartz veining and quartz breccias.

It is believed to exhibit similar geological features to the adjacent Ternera gold deposit, where Tesoro continues to drill, with the strongest results near north-south fault zones.

Tesoro managing director Zeff Reeves said the new discovery is a significant development for the El Zorro project.

“Through methodical exploration work, our in-country team has done a tremendous job identifying Ternera East as a high-priority target which has culminated in a more than doubling of the surface gold footprint at Ternera,” he said.

“We are encouraged by the discovery of extensive outcrops of mineralised El Zorro tonalite, which appear to be continuous to the Toro Blanco prospect in the north.”

Mr Reeves said follow-up drilling at Ternera East will commence in the coming weeks.

Channel samples

A total of 839 controlled samples were collected from 143 excavated trenches at Ternera East, targeting outcropping EZT and favourable fault zones known to control the gold mineralisation at El Zorro.

Trenches were excavated continuously across strike of mapped structures to an average depth of 0.5m and bedrock was continuously sampled along the trench walls with sample widths of up to 3m.

Multiple anomalous gold zones have been identified as coincident with numerous EZT intrusions and are interpreted to be associated with possible extensions of the EZT bodies from the main Ternera deposit, extending east.

Mr Reeves said the abundance of mineralised EZT intrusions indicates the potential for larger EZT bodies to be present at depth.