RESOURCEStocks: You’ve just put out a new announcement on sampling at Uchpanga which mentions that you’re awaiting assays. Can you give any clearer indication of when you’re expecting to post some results?
Ross Brown: It’s always difficult to predict when assay results will be ready. But the short answer is, fairly shortly. We’ll combine the assay results with the results of the wall rock mapping to put into context the new information.
RESOURCEStocks: We talked back in May about drill permitting. Given the time that’s since passed, can you just provide an update on when you expect to be in a position to start drilling?
Ross Brown: A lot has happened since May. An application for a DIA – in Spanish, Declaricion Impact Ambiental, or Environmental Impact Assessment – was prepared and submitted in August this year. We applied for 14,000m of drilling on 20 drill platforms, so it’s an ambitious DIA application. The Ministry of Energy and Mines has issued its observations – essentially a list of queries concerning the application – which we have already responded to. We have also been granted an archaeological clearance certificate. Essentially, the DIA permit has moved into the approval phase. How much longer will the DIA take? MEM’s own regulations stipulate approval should not take more than circa 30 days. I would think the DIA could be granted in November, maybe early December.
RESOURCEStocks: You mentioned then the amount of work that needed to be done, ahead of drilling, that was going to keep you busy in the interim. The focus being drill-target generation and prioritisation. What have been the standout results of the work to date?
Ross Brown: The standout result for us has been the sheer number of discoveries we’ve been making. Starting early in the year with six known veins and one known manto at Humaspunco and one dyke at Uchpanga, we now have more than 60 veins, mantos, breccias and dykes across three prospects. Mineralisation identified in reconnaissance sampling has been consistently high, and higher than previously recorded.
RESOURCEStocks: What sorts of grades are you seeing?
Ross Brown: At Humaspunco, the rock chip sampling averages are circa 10% zinc, 200g/t silver and 11% lead. At Uchpanga, we’ve confirmed strong gold, hitherto unknown there, at circa 3g/t gold and we confirmed bonanza silver, at circa 1,000g/t silver.
RESOURCEStocks: How has it changed your understanding of the targets?
"“We’ve stopped counting after 60 targets were identified”
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Ross Brown: From the get-go we believed that the mineralisation at Humaspunco was ‘replacement style’ associated with intrusive activity. This hasn’t changed. The change in understanding has simply been that we have far more targets than we imagined.
As for Uchpanga, we were also hopeful that the mineralisation there would be hydrothermal style. This has also proven to be correct and by this, definitely added as a target.
Old mine working located at intersection between upper Zn-Ag-Pb manto horizon and Zn-Ag-Pb vein
RESOURCEStocks: What is replacement style mineralisation?
Ross Brown: Replacement style mineralisation occurs when metal-bearing fluids enter into a rock, causing chemical and physical reactions. The reactions lead to metals such as zinc, silver and lead being concentrated along specific stratigraphic horizons, creating mantos, along fractures, creating veins, and/or within pipes, creating ‘chimneys’. The source of the heat and some/all of the metals is from an underlying intrusive rock. The closer you get to the intrusive rock the more gold you get.
RESOURCEStocks: How many high-grade zinc-silver-lead targets would you say you have now?
Ross Brown: Countless, if considering individual occurrences. We’ve stopped counting after 60 targets were identified. Collectively, we have two large drill targets. One is Humaspunco, which is about 1,200m-by-800m in size. The other is Uchpanga, which is about 750m long.
RESOURCEStocks: How much access do you have to the old underground workings at Uchpanga, and how important is that?
Ross Brown: Access to the mining faces of the old mines at Uchpanga is very limited. Luckily, mine access is not overly important as we’ll be drilling at Uchpanga soon in any case. We do have enough information from the limited access we do have, to know that we’ll be drilling in the right direction and that we’ll looking at a steeply south dipping system at least 3m, maybe 5m, thick.
RESOURCEStocks: What is the significance of the sub-surface expression of the structure zone (at Rita Maria) evident at surface, in gossanous material/mineralisation?
Ross Brown: The sub-surface expression of the sulphide-bearing structure zone essentially ties together the gossan, which occurs at the surface, the dyke and stockwork, which occur at depth. The three mineralised components – gossan, stockwork and dyke – are part of the same system. Knowing that the 750m-long gossan has a mineralised sub-surface counterpart gives us a lot more confidence ahead of drilling.
RESOURCEStocks: You’ve just announced a placement to raise funds for further exploration at Riqueza. What are the priorities from here, and the schedule?
Ross Brown: The priorities are simple: drill targeting and drilling, and to be properly funded well into the drilling campaign. We would certainly look to begin resource building in 2017 and if results are positive, be in a position to announce a possible maiden resource sometime within the next 12 months.
