Minera IRL (LON:MIRL, TSX:IRL) now has a “compelling target” for the upcoming first round of drilling at the Pan de Azucar gold project in Argentina.
The company said that new high-resolution heliborne magnetic-radiometric data supports the recently mapped Pan de Azucar quartz vein structure with bonanza surface gold assays of up to 54 g/t from rock chip sampling. The survey has defined a strong northeast trending magnetic low anomaly associated with the outcropping vein structure.
Surface rock chip sampling at Pan de Azucar has returned numerous elevated gold values of up to 54 g/t (grammes per tonne).
“Pan de Azucar represents a high quality gold exploration project.
“We now have a compelling target for the first round of drilling which is scheduled to commence in mid-October,” said executive chairman Courtney Chamberlain.
The commencement of the first round of drilling is slated for mid-October.
Pan de Azucar is a low-sulphidation epithermal vein system that outcrops over a strike length of about 1.3 km (kilometres).
The main quartz-lode structure, up to 3 meters wide, is surrounded by a gold-silver anomalous stockwork halo up to 35 meters thick.
Pan de Azucar is one of three known epithermal vein exploration projects, with a total outcrop exceeding 9 kilometers in length, located within Minera IRL's larger Chispas package of leases in the Santa Cruz province.
Minera IRL Patagonia holds exploration licenses cover 2,700 sq km (square kilometers) of prospective ground in the Deseado Massif which includes its Don Nicolas project, currently undergoing a feasibility study, and the recently announced Escondido discovery.
The discovery at Escondido, which was announced last week, was referred to as a “substantial near surface gold and silver mineralisation”.
The day before the find was reported, Collins Stewart stated that shares in Minera IRL were due re-rating as development projects move towards feasibility, seeing strong upside potential to the current price level.
The financial advisor’s NPV (net present value) valuation of Minera IRL’s projects is an unrisked US$217 million or £1.61 per share. Applying its standard matrix of NPV multiples, to risk adjust the company’s development projects, puts the group valuation of US$125 million.
Shares in the company were up 3.8% on the news in morning trade.