Comet Resources has unearthed samples bearing visible, fine gold at its high-grade Santa Teresa project in Mexico. Detailed geological mapping and sampling throughout the historic mining area has also identified a raft of previously unrecognised structures that host gold-rich quartz veins and remain untested by drilling.
The company’s exploration program in Central America has continued to work up the Santa Teresa target in preparation for resource drilling, which will be aimed at delineating potentially open pitable resources in the near-surface environment.
It will look to chase the historic mine’s steeply dipping, gold-rich quartz stockworks to depth.
Comet’s expert geological consultant, Minera Cascabel has undertaken a comprehensive mapping program across the mine environs and its surrounds and its work is beginning to unravel the structural architecture hosting the high-grade gold mineralisation throughout the project area.
Whilst the mapping program will form the basis of ongoing geological modelling of the deposit, Minera Cascabel has also completed an evaluation of the diamond drill core from the 2008 exploration program, with 27 samples being cut from the core for both geochemical and petrographic analysis. These samples, along with surface sampling from the mapping program have now been dispatched to ALS Laboratory’s in Vancouver for analysis, with the results expected to assist in recognising the various geological units and alteration styles within the deposit.
The company’s project manager in Mexico, Interminco has also been busy setting up an exploration base in a nearby village, in addition to organising environmental surveying and land access agreements.
Comet Resources Managing Director, Matthew O’Kane said: “Interminco and Minera Cascabel have done a good job of arranging access to the Project site with the local stakeholders and have then wasted no time in completing the initial field survey, detailed geological mapping and a review of the historical drill core. I am looking forward to receiving the results from the samples sent for assay, and also the completion of the permitting process for drilling.”
Comet’s Santa Teresa project is located in the gold-rich El Alamo district of Baja California in Mexico, just south of the US-Mexico border and approximately 250 kilometres southeast of San Diego in California. The project is comprised of two mineral claims which cover over 200 hectares and take in the high-grade Santa Teresa gold deposit and its surrounding terrain.
Gold production in the El Alamo district dates back to the late 19th century but was curtailed by the Mexican Revolution in 1912, leaving a wealth of opportunities for modern exploration. Historical gold production in the region is estimated to be in the order of 100,000 and 200,000 ounces of gold from both shallow alluvial workings and the artisanal underground mine at Santa Teresa.
Exploration at Santa Teresa in more recent times has delivered a swag of high-grade intercepts from diamond drilling including 2 metres at 32.4 grams per tonne from 19m, 3.9m at 39.0 g/t from 121m and 1m at an incredible 958.4 g/t gold from 239m.
Comet recently remodelled and revised previous resource estimates, tabling a tidy inferred resource of 414,000 tonnes at a very healthy 8.94 g/t gold, utilising a 50 gram per tonne gold top cut. Interestingly, if the top cut is removed from the calculation, the overall tonnage remains the same but the grade skyrockets to an impressive 13.07 g/t gold. The dramatic escalation in grade is due to the free-gold component in the Santa Teresa ores, which has been observed as visible, fine gold in recent sampling.
Another key observation from Minera Cascabel’s recent work program has been the recognition of the presence of pyrrhotite, a highly magnetic iron sulphide, associated with the gold mineralisation at Santa Teresa. The presence of this mineral may provide a useful short-cut in delineating the location of economic concentrations of gold, with the company now looking to undertake a detailed ground magnetic survey over the existing resource area.
In the event the magnetic surveying proves to be successful and picks up the known gold mineralisation, the geophysical method will be used to fast-track exploration and will be able to rapidly pinpoint a range of targets through the mine area for drill testing.
The company is now proceeding with planning and permitting for resource drilling at Santa Teresa and is designing a program of diamond drilling based upon the historical exploration and recent modelling of the ore system. It is also examining the potential to open up the old mine workings and establish an exploration shaft to facilitate underground diamond drilling as its program advances in the coming months.
Comet is now set to kick off its development program at Santa Teresa, with sampling uncovering visible gold and approvals clearing the way for drilling in the coming months. Comet looks to be scraping away the cover and laying bare a near-term, high-grade gold development opportunity in northern Mexico.
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