Exploration activities during 2017 at Cerro Moro, gold and silver project in construction phase located in Santa Cruz province and managed by Yamana Gold, have focused on Mineral Resource discovery as part of a four-year program to add at least an additional one million new gold equivalent ounces to the Mineral Resource inventory that will significantly extend the operational mine life. The 2017 $8 million dollar budget includes funding for a 35,000 metre infill and exploration program to test down dip extensions to known mineral shoots with the objective of upgrading Inferred Mineral Resources to Indicated Mineral Resource status and to ultimately add new Mineral Reserves.
Drilling to infill and extend targets within the known Escondida-Zoe vein system have yielded encouraging results, with results such as 1.4 metres of 44.73 g/t gold and 2,267 g/t silver and 2.5 metres of 21.58 g/t gold and 821 g/t silver, both intersected hole MD2263.
Surface 1:5000 scale mapping and sampling identified several mineralized quartz veins that occur as splays or are parallel to the Escondida vein system. Targets that have been drill tested this year include Veronica (Martina) CTB2, Barbara South, Esperanza Splays and the Gabriela-Moro Gap structures. Drill programs to test modest sized targets employ initial 60 metre hole spacing along strike to establish continuity, such as that used at Esperanza Splays. However, at Veronica, geologists employed 240 metre initial spacing which was followed by 120 metre spaced holes that has allowed geologists to outline a 1,500 metre mineralized structure that links the Esperanza and Escondida northwest mineral systems. Follow up drilling indicates mineralization is continuous and remains open along strike and importantly down dip.
