Luca Mining Corp. [TSXV: LUCA; OTCQX: LUCMF; FSE: Z68] reported new high-grade results from its ongoing Phase 2, 5,000-metre underground drill program and the first surface drilling at the Santiago Deposit of the Tahuehueto Gold-Silver Mine in Durango, Mexico.
Highlights – Santiago Deposit: 14.0 metres grading 6.68 g/t gold and 6.0 metres grading 9.0 g/t gold, the first drilling at Santiago since 2008.
High-grade intercepts up to 23.1 g/t AuEq over 1.9 metres within a broader 5.8-metre zone grading 9.0 g/t AuEq.
Underground drilling continues to hit the Creston and Perdido veins in every hole, confirming continuity and expansion potential.
New breccia-style zones returned 27.1 g/t AuEq over 0.4 metres and 13.1 g/t AuEq over 1.2 metres north of current workings.
The first two holes at Santiago have exceeded expectations, returning higher grades than those in the current resource model. Located one kilometre from current mine workings, Santiago has never been mined and is open along strike. Six holes have now been completed (1,656 m of a 2,500 m program).
“The Santiago Deposit is a gold-rich part of the Tahuehueto system that has never been mined,” stated Paul D. Gray, VP Exploration. “These are the first drill results from Santiago in more than 16 years, and they clearly demonstrate the potential for new, high-grade resources. Importantly, Santiago trends onto ground we recently acquired, giving us immediate upside in untested areas.”
All 27 underground holes drilled to date (6,200 m) have intersected the Creston and Perdido veins, extending known mineralization north of existing workings. Several new breccia zones were discovered, confirming strong continuity of these productive structures and supporting near-mine resource growth.
Both surface and underground drilling are advancing. At Santiago, step-out drilling is targeting strike extensions to the east and west. Underground, Phase 2 drilling continues to focus on adding mineable resources into the near- and medium-term mine plan.
The Tahuehueto property comprises a large, epithermal gold-silver vein system comprising 11 km of strike length of known veins and other mineralized structures. These drill campaigns represent the first substantive exploration drilling on the property in over 12 years.
Mineralization remains open along strike and at depth for most of the modeled Mineral Resource areas. The objective of the current campaigns will be a combination of in-fill and step-out drilling to demonstrate the vertical and horizontal extent of mineralization as well as to target thick, high-grade mineralized breccia zones known to exist within the epithermal vein system. Recent mining in Level 23 encountered higher grade mineralization averaging 3.30 g/t Au over vein widths up to 20 metres, with values up to 65.04 g/t Au, in breccia zones branching off the main Creston vein.
In addition to the four veins that comprise the Mineral Resource, there are at least 14 additional prospective veins documented within the concession area that have potential to host additional epithermal Au-Ag(-Cu-Zn-Pb) mineralization. In some cases, these prospective targets may represent extensions of the currently defined Mineral Resource. The company estimates that there are more than 11 km of prospective vein structures (measured along strike), compared to the 4.5 km of mineralized veins that support the current Mineral Resource model.
Luca Mining has two 100%-owned producing mines within the Sierra Madre mineralized belt, Mexico, which hosts numerous producing and historical mines along its trend. The company produces gold, copper, zinc, silver and lead from these mines that each have considerable development and resource upside.
The Campo Morado polymetallic VMS mine is an underground operation located in Guerrero State. It produces copper-zinc-lead concentrates with precious metals credits. It is currently undergoing an optimization program which is already generating significant improvements in recoveries, grades, efficiencies, and cashflows.
The Tahuehueto Mine is a large property of over 75 km2 in Durango State. The project hosts epithermal gold and silver vein-style mineralization. Tahuehueto is a newly constructed underground mining operation producing primarily gold and silver. The company has successfully commissioned its mill and is now in commercial production.
Luca declared commercial production at Campo Morado prior to completing a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Luca has completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) mining study on the Campo Morado mine that provides a conceptual life of mine plan and a preliminary economic analysis based on the previously identified mineral resources.
