SolGold plc: Alpala High Grade Expansion
TSX: SOLG
www.solgold.com.au
Mr. Nicholas Mather reports:
Cascabel Exploration Update; Cascabel Drilling Effort Focussing on Alpala High Grade Expansion
Bishopsgate, London (FSCwire) - The Board of SolGold (LSE and TSX code: SOLG) is pleased to provide an update from the Company's Cascabel Project in Northern Ecuador, where drilling is currently focussed on targeting high grade extensions to the Alpala resource.
HIGHLIGHTS:
12 rigs now onsite and operational at Alpala.An additional 13,384m of drilling completed since release of Alpala Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate cut off (published on 3 January 2018 Refer Table 1 and Table B in Notes to Editors attached). Over 120,000m of drilling scheduled for the next 12 months.Alpala drill hole targeting high grade extensions to the current Alpala resource.Hole 33 high-grade mineralisation extension: 824m @ 0.80% CuEq, incl. 576m @ 0.93% CuEq.Drilling cost reduced to $530/m from $1,100p/m."Rig to Resource" integrated data capture protocol to expedite revised mineral resource calculations.Aguinaga modelling nearing completion and drilling expected to commence in the March quarter.Study Manager selection and recruitment underway for Preliminary Economic Assessment.Commenting on the progress, SolGold CEO and Managing Director Nick Mather said:
"The maiden resource is just the tip of the iceberg at Alpala. We are looking to substantially increase it, and focussing on high grade expansion. The bornite rich areas at Alpala South are yet to be comprehensively tested, and I'm confident we will find a deep, rich root at Alpala.
We plan to drill at least 120,000m in 2018, so it is pleasing to see that the new track-mounted rigs are already performing beyond expectations, delivering up to 60 metres/day each. Furthermore, the average cost for drilling has declined markedly from $1,100/metre to $530/metre".
Figure 1: Drill hole location plan, showing copper-percent equivalent results to date and the traces of existing and planned drill holes. The Mineral Resource Estimate Grade shell at >1%CuEq is shown in magenta (TOP). NW-SE longitudinal-section (BOTTOM LEFT), and NE-SW cross-section (BOTTOM RIGHT) through the Alpala Deposit show Inferred block outlines (blue) and "open" areas marked for drill testing in the coming year.