Phase 1 Drilling Completed At Los Osos Project
VANCOUVER - Salazar Resources Ltd. has completed Phase 1 drilling at its wholly-owned Los Osos project in El Oro, Ecuador, and to report the results from the final three holes drilled. In total, six holes were completed, comprising 3,785 meters ("m"), during the Phase 1 program.
Fredy E. Salazar, CEO and President, said, "Salazar Resources successfully encountered abundant sulphide mineralization in holes five and six prior to completing Phase 1 drilling at Los Osos. While we review all the data from Los Osos to decide our next steps, the rigs are being redeployed across Salazar's portfolio of assets; exploration crews are busy exploring at Los Santos and preparing for drilling at Ruminahui, in line with our strategy to rapidly conduct exploration and make Ecuador's next commercial copper-gold discovery. With newly inaugurated President Lasso intent on attracting investment into businesses in Ecuador, and a strong metal price environment, the Company is well-placed to deliver results from its portfolio of projects during 2021."
Holes OSO-04, OSO-05 and OSO-06 were designed to be angled holes 500-600 m long, or longer if still intersecting abundant sulphide mineralization at depth. Hole OSO-04 did not intersect significant amounts of sulphide and was stopped at a down hole depth of 430 m. Hole OSO-05 intersected abundant sulphide mineralization throughout its length and was eventually finished at a depth of 864 m. Although the hole was visually similar to OSO-03 and encouraged the continuation of the hole to its final depth, the results were lower grade than encountered in OSO-03.
Hole OSO-06 was collared from the same pad as OSO-01, but oriented to the west, rather than to the southeast. Whereas OSO-01 encountered an enriched zone from surface to the southeast, OSO-06 only entered elevated mineralization at a downhole depth of 87 m to the west. Throughout the length of the hole, the sulphide content was estimated to be lower than in holes OSO-01, OSO-03, and OSO-05 and a decision to end the hole at 516 m was taken.
All three holes were collared in metamorphic host rock before entering a suite of hydrothermal breccias, porphyritic andesites, dikes, and diorites. Sulphides were present throughout hole OSO-05 and OSO-06, in particular, predominantly pyrrhotite and pyrite with lesser chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. The rocks are silicified and exhibit moderate phyllic alteration, with gold, copper, silver and trace molybdenum present in core.