Drilling Update, Mogollon Silver-Gold Project, New Mexico

 

VANCOUVER, BC - Columbus Silver Corporation reported that three drill holes have been completed to date at its 100% controlled Mogollon silver-gold project, Catron County, New Mexico.

The current drilling campaign which commenced in mid-January consists of approximately 7,500-8,000 ft (2,286-2,438 m) in up to 14 diamond core holes and will test the east-west trending Anna E and Independence-Ida May veins.

A series of unprecedented snowstorms over the past month has resulted in large scale power outages and road closures in Catron County, New Mexico; as a consequence of the adverse weather, drilling at Mogollon has been slower than anticipated. The three holes completed to date were drilled at the Anna E vein and were drilled to a dept of 515 ft, 505 ft and 332 ft, respectively. The core has been split and sent to Skyline Labs in Tucson, Arizona for assaying. One drill hole, testing for possible extensions of the Consolidated deposit is in progress and the balance of the program will be drilled on the higher elevation Independence-Ida May veins as the weather improves.

The Mogollon Project covers an extensive, silver-gold bearing epithermal vein field with reported historic production, largely from the Little Fanney and Last Chance mines during the period 1905 to 1925, and the Consolidated Mine from 1937 to 1942, of 15,700,000 ounces silver and 327,000 ounces gold from approximately 1.7 million tons (1.5 million tonnes) of ore.

There are two sets of veins at Mogollon, a north-south set represented by the Queen vein developed in the Consolidated Mine, and an east-west set represented by the productive Little Fanney and Last Chance veins. The highly prospective east-west veins have near-surface characteristics similar to the historically productive Little Fanney and Last Chance veins at Mogollon but have only been explored by shallow workings.