Mariana Resources completes drilling at Calandria Sur target at Las Calandrias

Mariana Resources (AIM: MARL) has completed a further 14 diamond drill holes at the Calandria Sur target at its wholly owned Las Calandrias Project in the Santa Cruz Province of Southern Argentina, bringing the total number of holes to 28 and 3,200m drilled. Assay results are expected from late April to late May.

In total the 5,600 hectare Las Calandrias project consists of four key target areas: Calandria Sur, Calandria Norte, El Nido Este and El Nido Norte.

The current phase of drilling at Calandria Sur has now been completed. Together with the seven 2009 drill holes, the drilling covers an area of approximately 700 metres NW-SE by 120 metres to 220 metres NE-SW.

The last 12 holes have been testing the core of the rhyolite dome with the first 14 holes mostly along the eastern and northern dome margins.  Mariana said that most holes intersected broad zones of brecciation, silicification and arcasite/pyrite stockworks from 14m to 80m down-hole. 

Samples from 16 holes have been submitted to the assay laboratory so far.

Across the whole Las Calandrias Project area, an additional eight holes are proposed for priority targets at Calandria Norte, El Nido Este and El Nido Norte, as part of the current programme.

Earlier this month, in an operational update, Mariana said that at El Nido Norte detailed mapping, lag sampling and limited trenching is in progress and this new target will be tested as part of the current drill programme.

At El Nido Norte, ongoing exploration has identified a north-east trending 50x80m veined area, abundant visible gold and silver mineralization was noted in a narrow mineralized structure within this zone, Mariana stated. Surface channel samples returned bonanza gold and silver assays including 0.4m at 62 grams per tonne (gpt) gold and 332gpt silver, 0.5m at 106 gpt gold & 510 gpt silver and 0.7m at 75.4 gpt gold & 2,490gpt silver.

“The recent bonanza gold and silver assays in follow up channel sampling at the El Nido Norte prospect are very exciting and present new drill targets" Mariana MD John Sutcliffe recently stated.

This latest drilling program follows extensive exploration activity in the area, after the Calandria Sur discovery in late 2009. Recent exploration consisted of detailed mapping, rock chip geochemistry and an Induced Polarization Survey (IP). Las Calandrias, which was formerly the Dos Calandrias project, was subsequently extended to include the Calandria Sur and Calandria Norte mineralised rhyolite dome complexes to south-east and the recently discovered El Nido dome complex located to the west.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/6520/mariana-resources-completes-drilling-at-calandria-sur-target-at-las-calandrias-6520.html