Mining

Tesoro Resources hits visible gold in Chile, says find is game changing

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By Robin Bromby - 
Tesoro Resources ASX TSO Ternera visible gold

Tesoro Resources has identified visible gold within 61m of drill core during step out drilling at El Zorro.

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Tesoro Resources (ASX: TSO) says step out drilling at its El Zorro project in Chile has encountered a wide zone of sporadic visible gold, with that visible gold being noted over 61m of drill core.

The 61m zone was within a wider intercept of 117m of strong sheeted veining and sulphide mineralisation which the company says is typical of the gold-bearing zone at the Ternera prospect. This core came from hole ZDDH00051.

Meanwhile, another step-out hole (ZDD00042) has returned 15m at 0.68 grams per tonne gold including 1m at 5.64g/t.

Managing director Zeff Reeves said these two holes were “game changing” for Ternera and, overall, for El Zorro, especially the hole with the visible gold.

“It’s always encouraging to see visible gold in drill core and to have it observed over a 61m interval is particularly exciting,” he added.

“Together these holes more than double the existing drilled footprint at Ternera and further demonstrate the potential for Ternera to become a significant gold deposit,” he said.

The mineralised footprint has been extended by 300m.

Step out drilling was targeting a geophysical anomaly north and south of the Ternera zone.

The hole with the visible gold intersected mineralisation at 117m down hole. The hole was drilled to a total depth of 364.4m.

Latest hit follows 231m-long gold zone reported earlier

The El Zorro project is located 140km by road from the city of Copiapo in northern Chile.

Tesoro has been focusing on the coastal Cordillerra region in Chile, host to multiple large copper and gold mines.

Earlier this month, Tesoro described as “massive” a new drill intercept at El Zorro with the drill bit striking mineralisation 72m downhole — and then continuing for 231m.

The overall assay for that intersection at the Ternera prospect was an average grade of 0.83g/t gold over that 231m, but there were all of seven sections within that showing much higher grades.

That previous announcement came just a week after the company reported its drilling at Ternera was demonstrating the presence of wide gold zone with intercepts up to 176.5m in length.

Tesoro says additional holes will now further test the northern and southern extents of Ternera as well complete infill drilling for resource definition. Two diamond drill rigs are in operation 24 hours a day.

Assays remain outstanding for 17 holes.