Azure Minerals Limited (ASX: AZS) (“Azure” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that excellent results from rock chip sampling has further enhanced the potential of the recently announced high grade silver discovery at its Alacrán Project in Mexico.

The high grade results indicate that the vuggy silica unit which hosts the silver mineralisation at Mesa de Plata (see Figure 1) may extend for at least an additional 200m to 250m to the north, giving a possible strike length of more than 900 metres and a total surface area of approximately 160,000m2 (see Figure 2).

Azure’s Managing Director, Tony Rovira said the strike length extensions had enlarged the prospective area of the original discovery (refer ASX release 16/9/15) and provided an abundance of drill targets.

“There is clearly a significant body of silver mineralisation here, and we will move quickly to determine the size, scale and economic value of this discovery,” he said.

Azure has submitted an application for environmental approval for sufficient drill sites to enable a close-spaced drill program to be undertaken covering Mesa de Plata. Approval of this application is expected within 4-6 weeks and the next phase of RC drilling will commence as soon as practicable.

Meanwhile, Azure is continuing to carry out surface exploration, identifying new areas prospective for silver mineralisation. The Company’s geologists are currently undertaking an extensive program of mapping and sampling to the east and north of Mesa de Plata where there is outcropping vuggy silica similar to that discovered at Mesa de Plata.

 RESULTS 

Azure’s very successful maiden drilling program discovered large thicknesses of near-surface silver mineralisation at Mesa de Plata. Subsequent follow-up mapping and outcrop sampling have significantly extended the mineralised zone further to the north (see Figure 2).

In this northern area, three samples returned silver assays greater than 100g/t Ag, up to a maximum of 489g/t Ag in the northernmost sample. This indicates that the high grade mineralisation extends for at least a further 200-250m to the north of drill hole LM-09, which returned 39m @ 347g/t Ag from surface, including 9m @ 1,235g/t Ag from 3.0m depth.

Azure has collected a total of 52 rock chip and channel samples from the outcropping flat-lying layer of vuggy silica rock that caps the Mesa de Plata ridge. The most recent program of 28 samples returned anomalous to very high grade silver assays, with a maximum value of 489g/t Ag (see Table 1).

The four drill holes recently completed by Azure confirm that the silver anomalism occurring at surface is representative of a body of silver mineralisation with similar to higher grades that extends to significant depths (up to 70m below surface).

Drilling indicates the depth of the lower contact of the vuggy silica host rock is at a reasonably consistent elevation, mostly between 1,530m to 1,550mASL (metres above sea level). Using this elevation as the base of mineralisation, the vuggy silica unit extends over an area of approximately 160,000m2 with a thickness ranging up to 70m.

TABLE 1: SILVER ASSAY RESULTS FROM OUTCROP SAMPLING

ALACRÁN BACKGROUND

Alacrán is located in northern Mexico approximately 50km south of the USA border. The property covers 54km2 of highly prospective exploration ground in the middle of the Laramide Copper Province. This is one of North America’s most prolific copper-producing districts, extending from northern Mexico into the southern United States.

Alacrán lies in close proximity to several large copper mines, including being 15km from the world class, giant Cananea Copper Mine operated by Grupo Mexico. This is one of Mexico’s premier mining districts, with world class production of copper together with significant amounts of gold, silver and molybdenum.

There is excellent access to and within the property, via a sealed highway from Hermosillo, capital of the state of Sonora, and existing mine roads and ranch tracks. The nearby town of Cananea is a mining-friendly jurisdiction with experienced exploration and mining services, as well as physical infrastructure including roads, railway, airport, electrical power and water.

Commercial and artisanal mining occurred within the project area in the early 20th century, ending in 1913 due to the Mexican Revolution. Since that time, Alacrán has seen only limited exploration and its potential for hosting large porphyry copper deposits and smaller high grade precious and base metal deposits remains largely untested by modern exploration techniques.

The Anaconda Copper Mining Company explored the property intermittently from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. Data relating to this work is held in the Anaconda Geological Documents Collection, part of the American Heritage Centre in the University of Wyoming. Azure has visited the library and retrieved copies of numerous technical reports and maps.

Between the 1960’s and the early 1980’s, the Consejo de Recursos Minerales (Mexican Geological Survey) carried out occasional exploration programs, including drilling 6 holes at the Cerro Alacrán prospect in 1970 and undertaking geophysical surveys over the Palo Seco and La Morita prospects in 1981.

Grupo Mexico S.A.B.de C.V. (“Grupo Mexico”) then acquired the project and drilled 26 holes at Cerro Alacrán in the 1990’s. This drilling, which was restricted to an area of approximately 50 hectares, outlined a large body of near-surface, copper oxide and chalcocite (copper sulphide) mineralisation. The size, grade and the extent of this mineralised body is yet to be defined as a mineral resource to JORC standards.

Minera Teck S.A. de C.V. (“Teck”), a Mexican subsidiary of Canadian company Teck Resources Limited, acquired the property from Grupo Mexico in 2013 and undertook data compilation and limited surface exploration.

Azure Minerals acquired the rights to the project in December 2014 through its fully owned Mexican subsidiary Minera Piedra Azul S.A. de C.V.

Azure has signed an Agreement with Teck to acquire 100% of the property, subject to an underlying back-in right retained by Teck and a 2% NSR retained by Grupo Mexico. Teck is Canada’s largest diversified resource company. Grupo Mexico is Mexico’s largest and one of the world’s largest copper producers.

-ENDS-

Information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by Mr Tony Rovira, who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Rovira is a full-time employee and Managing Director of Azure Minerals Limited. Mr Rovira has sufficient experience which is relevant to the styles of mineralisation and types of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves”. Mr Rovira consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Information in this report that relates to previously reported Exploration Results has been crossedreferenced in this report to the date that it was reported to ASX. Azure Minerals Limited confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects information included in the relevant market announcement.

Original Article: http://www.azureminerals.com.au/azs//assets/2015/09/1477453.pdf