SOMA GOLD EXTENDS VENUS VEIN WITH DRILLING INTERSECTS OF 13.9 g/t Au OVER 7.55m, INCLUDING 48.6 g/t Au OVER 1.45m AND 24.7 g/t Au OVER 1.3m, AT THE CORDERO MINE, EL BAGRE, ANTIOQUIA, COLOMBIA
Highlights include the following drill intercepts:
- BAZUDDH-24-018: 5.2m at 16.1g/t Au, including 0.8m at 94.3g/t Au
- RVDDH-23-005: 3.3m at 28.3g/t Au, including 0.5m at 6.3g/t Au
- RVICDDH-24-018: 1m at 12.5g/t Au
- RVICDDH-24-021: 1m at 11.2g/t Au, including 0.4m at 27.6g/t Au
- RVICDDH-24-024: 7.55m at 13.9g/t Au, including 1.3m at 24.7g/t Au and 1.45m at 48.6g/t Au
- VICDDH-23-006: 3.5m at 10.7g/t Au, including 1m at 21.3g/t Au, 0.85m at 10.7g/t Au, and 0.65m at 9.0g/t Au
The Cordero Deposit is hosted in the El Carmen Stock, comprised of coarse-grained tonalite, diorite, and gabbroic phases. The quartz veins are laminated fault-fill veins within a sinistral brittle-ductile shear zone. They are interpreted as conjugate shears in a steeply-dipping, north-striking regional shear zone. The controlling shear zone also hosts the Los Mangos Deposit, located 2.8 kilometres to the north. The quartz veins within the Cordero Deposit form a series of en echelon segments that consistently step to the right along strike. The veins have been repeatedly reactivated and exhibit three distinct phases of development: early barren quartz veins, sphalerite + galena + pyrite + gold mineralization controlled by microfractures, and brittle fracturing along the vein margins filled with quartz, pyrite, tellurides, and gold. Gold mineralization is associated with the latter two phases of vein development. The final stage of brittle fracturing and micro-breccia is commonly associated with 'bonanza' gold grades. The veins are subsequently crosscut by aphanitic mafic dykes and numerous brittle faults. The brittle faults are generally dextral and offset the quartz veins from <1.0m to 10's of metres. The late brittle faults commonly dismember the mineralized veins into short strike-length segments, the continuity of which is difficult to discern from drill data. The Cordero Deposit is informally divided into five main zones: Athenas, Cordero, Venus,
Table 1 presents the composited assay results from ten drill holes at the Venus Gap. Assays in the drilling range from below detection to a maximum grade of 94.3g/t Au. The drilling currently covers approximately 140m of strike length between the northern limit of the Venus Vein and the Victoria Ramp area. The highlight of the drill program is the presence of wider zones of mineralized stockwork in the footwall of the principal gold-bearing quartz veins and in enclaves of wall rock between anastomosing veins segments. RIVICDDH-24-024 intersected the widest interval of gold mineralization in the Venus Gap with a total width of 7.55m and an average grade of 13.9g/t gold. The high-grade gold is concentrated in two principal quartz veins that bound an interval of lower-grade, thin stockwork veins (Plate 1). The stockwork intervals are typically moderate to low-grade material but locally exhibit 'bonanza' grade gold assays. The underground geology team is currently assessing these stockwork zones to assess the continuity of grade and the viability of including these zones as ore when they're encountered in the mine.
Figures 3 and 4 present the geological interpretation of the Venus Gap zone, cross-cutting dykes, and late brittle faults. The younger dykes and faults dismember the quartz vein into upper and lower segments separated by approximately 35m of normal displacement along the faulted contact of a sub-vertical mafic dyke. The location of high-grade composite assays in Table 1 is highlighted by representative spheres and labels in the section.
A long section of the drill intercepts is presented in Figure 5. The high-grade intercepts delineate two segments of the vein system that are separated by a cross-cutting mafic dyke swarm. The vein segments are located proximal to existing mine workings in the Victoria Ramp and
In addition to supporting mining operations at
The Otú fault system ("Otú Fault") has a strike length of over 100 km, from Aris's Segovia-Remedios mines (TSX:ARIS) in the south to Nechi in the north (where it is buried by younger sedimentary overlap sequences). Soma's property holdings now cover more than 56km of this strike length. High-grade gold mineralization occurs along the entire strike length of the Otú Fault. The high-grade gold occurs in brittle-ductile to brittle quartz veins that form during later stages of deformation along the Otú Fault. Across the district, the quartz veins display orientation patterns that suggest the veins form in conjugate faults associated with brittle faulting on the Otú Fault. Notable mines along the Otú fault trend include Segovia-Remedios, La Aurora,
Table 1: Composited Au assays from
Hole ID |
From (m) |
To (m) |
Composited Au |
Composited |
BAZUDDH-24-018 |
52.45 |
57.65 |
16.1 |
5.20 |
includes |
52.45 |
53.25 |
94.3 |
0.80 |
includes |
55.30 |
55.65 |
4.8 |
0.35 |
RVDDH-23-005 |
29.90 |
33.20 |
28.3 |
3.30 |
includes |
32.70 |
33.20 |
6.3 |
0.50 |
RVICDDH-24-018 |
71.60 |
73.10 |
6.6 |
1.50 |
includes |
71.60 |
72.60 |
8.8 |
1.00 |
and |
134.00 |
135.00 |
12.5 |
1.00 |
and |
138.40 |
140.80 |
5.4 |
2.40 |
includes |
139.40 |
140.10 |
8.5 |
1.40 |
and |
144.55 |
145.55 |
2.7 |
1.00 |
RVICDDH-24-019 |
121.50 |
123.00 |
4.7 |
1.50 |
includes |
121.50 |
122.00 |
8.6 |
0.50 |
and |
134.50 |
135.50 |
1.4 |
1.00 |
RVICDDH-24-020 |
111.00 |
112.50 |
4.7 |
1.50 |
includes |
111.65 |
112.50 |
8.0 |
0.85 |
RVICDDH-24-021 |
46.00 |
47.00 |
3.3 |
1.00 |
and |
76.50 |
77.50 |
13.7 |
1.00 |
includes |
77.10 |
77.50 |
34.3 |
0.40 |
and |
81.50 |
82.50 |
11.2 |
1.00 |
includes |
82.10 |
82.50 |
27.6 |
0.40 |
and |
128.20 |
132.70 |
9.3 |
4.50 |
includes |
128.80 |
129.40 |
8.3 |
0.60 |
includes |
130.95 |
131.80 |
27.8 |
0.85 |
RVICDDH-24-022 |
86.10 |
87.60 |
2.1 |
1.50 |
includes |
86.10 |
86.60 |
5.6 |
0.50 |
RVICDDH-24-023 |
45.90 |
46.90 |
6.7 |
1.00 |
includes |
46.40 |
46.90 |
13.5 |
0.50 |
and |
151.00 |
157.75 |
3.6 |
6.75 |
includes |
152.05 |
152.60 |
7.9 |
0.55 |
includes |
155.75 |
157.75 |
5.9 |
2.00 |
and |
159.95 |
161.70 |
2.7 |
1.75 |
RVICDDH-24-024 |
71.60 |
74.60 |
8.9 |
3.00 |
includes |
71.60 |
72.45 |
10 |
0.85 |
includes |
74.20 |
74.60 |
45.1 |
0.40 |
and |
140.40 |
147.95 |
13.9 |
7.55 |
includes |
140.40 |
141.70 |
24.7 |
1.30 |
includes |
146.50 |
147.95 |
48.6 |
1.45 |
and |
151.50 |
153.30 |
4.5 |
1.80 |
includes |
152.30 |
153.30 |
6.4 |
1.00 |
VICDDH-23-006 |
100.10 |
101.80 |
4.1 |
1.70 |
and |
151.15 |
154.65 |
10.7 |
3.50 |
includes |
151.15 |
151.80 |
9.0 |
0.65 |
includes |
151.80 |
152.80 |
21.3 |
1.00 |
includes |
152.80 |
153.65 |
10.7 |
0.85 |
and |
158.40 |
161.20 |
1.7 |
2.80 |
Note: Intervals are composited to a 1m minimum stope width for conventional mining. The drill holes |
QA/QC Statement
Soma follows a comprehensive QA/QC program to ensure the reliability of assay data collected from its exploration programs. All samples are sawn or split in half, with one half being returned to the core box for storage. The second half-core is placed in a labelled plastic bag with a tag, document, and sealed for shipment. Batches of samples are shipped to Actlabs Colombia SAS (Actlabs) in
Pulps of each sample are prepared in
A comprehensive QA/QC program has been implemented to monitor the reliability of assay data collected during exploration programs. The program includes the regular insertion of certified blanks, duplicates, and certified OREAS standards. Assays of the QA/QC samples are automatically compared to the certified value and standard deviations in the database.
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