Tesoro Resources Limited (ASX: TSO) received positive surface assay results for controlled outcrop channel sampling conducted at the El Zorro Gold Project in Chile.
Managing Director, Zeff Reeves, said the results further enhance El Zorro’s potential to host a large-scale gold deposit, with known mineralised zones expanded and new zones identified which have never been drill tested.
In late 2019 a detailed mapping and channel sampling programme was undertaken over the Coquetas prospect at El Zorro, to gain a better understanding of the controls and distribution of gold mineralisation there.
A total of 1,057 continuous rock chip channel samples were collected from outcropping rock. The results indicate a large, widespread gold bearing system with confirmed surface gold mineralisation at Coquetas occurring over a total strike length of 785m and remains open.
“These results further enhance El Zorro’s potential to host a significant gold deposit. With the benefit of having excellent exposures of fresh rock, the Tesoro team has been able to collect detailed channel samples from across the Coquetas Prospect which have returned some excellent results,” Mr Reeves said.
“The results further support the company’s geological model, with several of the already identified mineralised zones being significantly increased in size and additional previously unknown areas of gold mineralisation having been identified.
“We now have significant surface gold mineralisation occurring over 785m of strike, of which we have only drill tested approximately 350m. This provides considerable scope to increase the scale of the prospect.”
The 2019 sampling campaign collected 1,057 samples from 77 channels. Samples were continuously collected along a marked channel and handheld GPS centre point was recorded for each sample. A nominal 2kg of material was collected for each sample, which was sent to ALS Laboratories in Santiago, Chile for gold analysis.
Tesoro is currently undertaking an initial 10-hole drill campaign at El Zorro with drill assay results imminent. To date the Company has completed nine holes for 2,232 metres.
The results of the detailed channel sampling campaign have provided additional information to assist future drill planning and delineation of a gold resource at Coquetas.
Mr Reeves said the company will assess all drill data in conjunction with the surface mapping and sampling data and consider further exploration drilling at Coquetas, dependent upon results.
