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TORONTO, July 23, 2013 /CNW/ - Ecuador Gold & Copper Corp. (TSX-V: EGX), (the "Company" or "EGX") is pleased to report that it has completed an updated mineral
resource estimate for the Company's Condor Project in the Zamora Gold
and Copper Belt, Southeast Ecuador.
Highlights:
-
A 39% increase in Indicated gold resources to 82.7 million tonnes of
0.76 g/t Au (2.0 million ounces Gold)
-
A 240% increase in Inferred gold resources to 241.2 million tonnes of
0.56 g/t Au (4.4 million ounces Gold)
-
The large increase in inferred gold resource is mainly due to continued
expansion of the Santa Barbara South Zone where assay results up to
drill hole DSB-25 were incorporated into this updated resource for a
total of 221.3 million tonnes of 0.57 g/t Au and 0.09% Cu (4.0 million
ounces of gold). Further drill results have since been released by the
Company for drill holes DSB-26 and DSB-27 (see Company News Release
dated June 13, 2013 for a summary of all EGX drilling to date at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com). Drilling continues with eight more holes completed and drill holes
DSB-36 and DSB-37 currently under way on the Santa Barbara Au-Cu
porphyry deposit. Further results will be released as they become
available. The Company is planning to release another updated resource
calculation at Santa Barbara by the end of October, 2013.
-
A maiden inferred copper resource has been calculated at the El Hito
Cu-Mo porphyry deposit 5km east of Santa Barbara of 161 million tonnes
of 0.31% Cu (1.1 billion pounds of copper).
The new resource estimates were calculated by Phil Jones of Al Maynard
and Associates in Perth, Australia and incorporate drill results from
just over 10,000 meters of new drilling since August 2012 by EGX and
all assays up to the end of May 2013. The Company's updated resource
table is presented below with new estimates at the Soledad epithermal
deposit, the Santa Barbara Au-Cu porphyry and the El Hito Cu-Mo
porphyry deposits shown in bold with an asterisk (*). Al Maynard and
Associates were also responsible for the previous resource estimates
calculated in the Company's NI 43-101 Technical Report dated June 14,
2012 available at www.sedar.com. A new NI 43-101 Technical Report with full details will be filed on www.sedar.com within 45 days of the date of this News Release. Location maps and
plans with simplified geology, collar locations and drill hole traces
are available for reference on the Company's web site at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com.
Glenn Laing, President and CEO of Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.
comments:
"The updated resource estimate at Condor represents a substantial
increase in the Company's resource base. We estimate that our cost of
discovery of new ounces on this well-endowed 8,300 hectare concession
to be on the order of $2.00 per ounce to date. We are extremely
encouraged by the results from our initial 13,000m Phase I drill
program and further new results at Santa Barbara as previously
announced in drill holes DSB-26 and DSB-27 indicate continued expansion
to the north and east of the mineralized South Zone as we continue to
step out from areas of known mineralization to increase resources. The
Company has completed 15,400m of new drilling on the concession between
August 2012 and the end of June 2013. EGX boasts close to 2 million
ounces of indicated gold resource in our epithermal gold deposits at
Los Cuyes and Soledad in the north and 4 million ounces of inferred
resources at Santa Barbara in the south and we've added almost 500,000
tonnes of copper (1.1 billion pounds) at El Hito to our resource
inventory."
Table 1: CONDOR GOLD AND COPPER PROJECT
RESOURCE BREAKDOWN MAY 31, 2013
|
|
|
|
Tonnes
(000 t)
|
Grade
Au
(g/t)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
Cu
(%)
|
Au
(000 oz)
|
Ag
(000 oz)
|
Cu
( lbs)
|
GOLD RESOURCE
Indicated:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Los Cuyes
|
|
46,848
|
0.82
|
6.19
|
|
1,235
|
9,323
|
|
|
Soledad
|
*
|
34,900
|
0.63
|
7.21
|
|
707
|
8,090
|
|
|
Enma
|
|
1,005
|
2.88
|
32.83
|
|
93
|
1,061
|
|
|
Total Indicated GOLD
|
|
82,753
|
0.76
|
6.94
|
|
2,035
|
18,474
|
|
GOLD RESOURCE
Inferred:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Soledad
|
*
|
20,000
|
0.50
|
6.93
|
|
322
|
4,456
|
|
|
Santa Barbara South Zone
|
*
|
216,300
|
0.56
|
|
0.09
|
3,894
|
|
|
|
Santa Barbara North Zone
|
|
5,000
|
0.90
|
|
|
145
|
|
|
|
Total Inferred GOLD
|
|
241,300
|
0.56
|
0.57
|
|
4,361
|
4,456
|
|
COPPER RESOURCE
Inferred:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
El Hito
|
*
|
161,000
|
|
|
0.31
|
|
|
1.1 billion
|
|
Total Inferred COPPER
|
|
161,000
|
|
|
0.31
|
|
|
1.1 billion
|
Notes:
|
1)
|
|
The mineral resource estimate has been completed in accordance with
provisions of Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument
43-101 (NI 43-101). Mr. Phil Jones is an independent Qualified Person
as defined by NI 43-101 and its companion policy 43-101CP.
|
|
2)
|
|
The definitions of Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources reported
here are as defined in the CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and
Mineral Reserves adopted by the CIM Council, as amended.
|
|
3)
|
|
Inferred Resource estimates have a great amount of uncertainty as to
their existence and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be
assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever
be upgraded to a higher category. Under NI 43-101, estimates of
Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or
pre-feasibility studies except for a preliminary economic assessment or
scoping study.
|
|
4)
|
|
Sums may not add up due to rounding as all quantities are rounded to the
appropriate number of significant figures.
|
|
5)
|
|
Tonnage and grades are in metric units. Contained gold and silver
ounces are reported as troy ounces, contained copper as imperial
pounds.
|
|
6)
|
|
Gold resources have been calculated using a 0.25 g/t Au cutoff grade and
copper resources at El Hito were calculated using a 0.2% Cu cutoff
grade. Inverse distance squared (ID2) algorithms using wide search
ellipses and confined to geological wireframe controls were used in all
estimates except at Soledad where inverse distance cubed (ID3) was
used. Block size estimated is 10 x 10 x 5m at El Hito and Santa
Barbara, while 10 x 10 x 10m blocks were estimated at Soledad.
|
|
7)
|
|
Maximum search distances used to calculate Indicated resources at
Soledad are 50m while Inferred resources were calculated using maximum
distances of 100m from the block being estimated at Soledad, Santa
Barbara and El Hito.
|
|
8)
|
|
Los Cuyes, Enma and Santa Barbara North Zone resources were previously
reported in the Company's 43-101 Technical Report dated June 14, 2012
that is available for viewing at www.sedar.com.
|
|
9)
|
|
The new calculations of Indicated and Inferred Resource shown above are
based on results from 36 diamond drill holes (11,883m) at Soledad, 25
diamond drill holes at Santa Barbara (11,261m) and 9 diamond drill
holes at El Hito (4,687m).
|
Quality Assurance
The Company has implemented a quality assurance and quality control
program to ensure that the transport, sampling and analysis of all
samples are conducted in accordance with the best possible practices.
The QA/QC program has been described for each previous release of drill
hole results on the project (see recent News Releases at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com). In preparation for the resource estimate, the company recently hired
independent consultants to review the QA/QC program. Further details
will be released in the NI 43-101 Technical Report that will be posted
at www.sedar.com within 45 days of the date of this news release.
Qualified Person
Mit Tilkov, P.Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Ecuador Gold and
Copper Corp. is a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument
43-101, supervised the project field work, and is responsible for the
preparation of the technical information in this News Release.
Phil Jones, BAppSc (Geol), MAIG, MAusIMM, of Al Maynard and Associates
prepared the mineral resource estimate. He is an independent Qualified
Person, as required by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and
approved the contents of this news release.
Cautionary Note
The Company has not completed a preliminary economic assessment or
feasibility study of the Condor Gold Project under National Instrument
43-101, and there is no assurance that the exploration and subsequent
development operations of the Condor Gold Project will be economically
or technically viable.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE: Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.
