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TORONTO, Feb. 5, 2014 /CNW/ - Ecuador Gold & Copper Corp. (TSX-V: EGX),
(the "Company" or "EGX") is pleased to announce results from exploration drilling at the North
Zone of the Santa Barbara Au-Cu porphyry deposit located within the
Company's 8,300 hectare Condor Gold and Copper Project in the Zamora
Gold and Copper Belt, Southeast Ecuador. Assay results from drill holes
DSB-39 to DSB-43 have now been received that include: 110 meters of
0.42 g/t gold and 0.09% copper starting at 158 meters in drill hole
DSB-41; 89 meters of 0.69 g/t gold and 0.22% copper from surface in
drill hole DSB-42 and 36 meters of 0.42 g/t gold and 0.13% copper
starting at 190 meters in DSB-43. Drill holes DSB-39 and DSB-40 failed
to intersect any appreciable gold or copper values. The previously
announced results of drill hole DSB 38 (see Company's News Release
dated January 8, 2014) returned 294 meters of 0.53 g/t gold and 0.14%
copper starting at surface and a further 28 meters of 0.61 g/t gold and
0.21% copper between 408 meters and 436 meters.
The Santa Barbara North Zone target remains open to the north, south and
at depth.
Drill holes DSB-38 to DSB-43 are exploration holes drilled in the Santa
Barbara North Zone, about 1,000 meters northeast of the Santa Barbara
South deposit where resources now stand at 236.1 million tonnes at 0.57
g/t gold and 0.1% copper (4.33 million ounces gold and 520.0 million
lbs. copper) in the Indicated category and 102 million tonnes at 0.50
g/t gold and 0.1% copper (1.6 million ounces gold and 225 million lbs.
copper) in the Inferred category. For details of previously reported
resources at the Condor Gold and Copper Project, see the Company's
technical report (the "Technical Report") prepared pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 Standards for
Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") dated effective October 16, 2013, signed November 28, 2013, and filed
on SEDAR at www.sedar.com on November 29, 2013, and the Company's news releases dated October 16,
2013 announcing the increased resources at Santa Barbara South Zone
available for viewing at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com. Results of the recent 3,000 meter drill program at Santa Barbara
North Zone are tabulated in Table 1 below.
Santa Barbara North Zone
Previous drilling at the Santa Barbara North Zone target defined a small
Inferred resource of 5 million tonnes of 0.9 g/t Au (145,000 ounces)
reported in the November 29, 2013 43-101 Technical Report. The
objective of the current drill program is an expanded Santa Barbara
North Zone resource targeting the volcanic rocks further to the south
and north, similar in composition to the basaltic andesites that hosted
the best mineralization at the Santa Barbara South Zone. The Company's
geologists in Ecuador have been mapping and exploring in the Santa
Barbara North Zone area and have defined north-northwest trending drill
targets to the north and south of the known Inferred resource. Drill
holes DSB-39 and DSB-40 failed to intersect mineralization to the east
and south, but DSB-42, drilled from the northwest encountered potassic
alteration, abundant B-veins and renewed gold and copper at depth
indicating potential to expand mineralization to the south of the
current Inferred resource and to the west of the ground tested by
DSB-39 and DSB-40.
Drill holes DSB-38, DSB-41 and DSB-43 all encountered gold and copper
mineralization hosted in basaltic andesites similar to those
encountered at the Santa Barbara South Zone. There is a broad halo of
copper mineralization around the best gold zones at Santa Barbara
South. Each of the drill holes mentioned here encountered at least 400
meters and up to 500m of copper averaging around 0.1% that indicates
potential to encounter a significant gold zone below the current
drilling and to the north. Further drilling is warranted as the North
Zone mineralization has now been expanded and remains open to the
north, south and at depth. Results from this recent drilling will be
incorporated into a new resource calculation that will be prepared for
Santa Barbara as previously announced in the Company's News Release of
January 16, 2014. Assays from one last deep drill hole at Santa
Barbara South Zone (DSB-44 to 883 meters) are awaited before
recalculating the new resource model for incorporation into the mine
planning for the Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA"), which is now expected to be completed by the end of March, 2014.
Table 1: Summary of EGX drill results at Santa Barbara North (length
weighted average assays, uncapped)
Drill Hole
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Interval
(m)
|
Au (g/t)
|
Cu (%)
|
AuEq (g/t)
|
DSB-38
|
0.00
|
294.00
|
294.00
|
0.53
|
0.14
|
0.72
|
including
|
94.00
|
294.00
|
200.00
|
0.60
|
0.17
|
0.82
|
Including
|
256.00
|
294.00
|
38.00
|
0.79*
|
0.18
|
1.00*
|
and
|
408.00
|
438.00
|
30.00
|
0.61
|
0.21
|
0.89
|
DSB-39
|
0.0
|
500.17
|
500.17
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
DSB-40
|
0.0
|
500.02
|
500.02
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
DSB-41
|
158.00
|
268.00
|
110.00
|
0.42
|
0.09
|
0.54
|
DSB-42
|
1.00
|
90.00
|
89.00
|
0.69
|
0.22
|
0.99
|
DSB-43
|
190.00
|
226.00
|
36.00
|
0.42
|
0.13
|
0.59
|
-
g/t = grams per metric tonne.
-
Gold equivalent grade (AuEq) is calculated assuming 90% recovery of
copper with a $3.00/lb. long term price of copper and $1,400 long term
price for gold.
-
The true width of down hole interval lengths are estimated to be
approximately 25% to 50%.
-
* Previously released interval 256.00 to 294.00 (38m) in DSB-38 has been
corrected. Gold grade was initially reported as 0.94 g/t in the
Company's news release dated January 9, 2014. Subsequent review
revealed the true average to be 0.79 g/t Au.
Existing Resources
The Condor Gold and Copper Project contains an Indicated mineral
resource of 6.365 million ounces gold (within 318.9 Mt grading 0.62 g/t
gold). Additional Inferred mineral resources contain 2.06 million
ounces gold (within 127.0 Mt grading 0.52 g/t gold). In addition the El
Hito Cu-Mo porphyry deposit hosts an Inferred copper resource of 161
million tonnes grading 0.31% copper (1.1 billion pounds of Cu). For
more information, please see the Company's resource table at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com or its current Technical Report which is available under the Company's
profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
These resources were calculated and updated by Al Maynard and Associates
Pty Ltd. of Perth, Australia as of October 16, 2013 and are described
in the current Technical Report filed on SEDAR on November 29, 2013.
Recent updates to the Santa Barbara resources reflected in the
Technical Report were also announced in the Company's October 16, 2013
news release.
Qualified Person
Mit Tilkov, P.Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Ecuador Gold and
Copper Corp. is a qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, supervised
the project field work, and is responsible for the preparation of the
technical information in this news release.
Cautionary Note
The Company has not completed a preliminary economic assessment or
feasibility study of the Condor Gold and Copper Project under NI
43-101, and there is no assurance that the exploration and subsequent
development operations of the Condor Gold and Copper 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.
Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in
the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may
constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws.
SOURCE Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.