Aldebaran Intercepts 14.9 m of 19.08 g/t Au in
Discovery of New High-grade Gold
Zone at
the Altar Copper-Gold Project, San Juan,
Argentina
February 24, 2022
(Vancouver, BC) - InvestorsHub NewsWire
-- Aldebaran
Resources Inc. ("Aldebaran" or the
"Company")
(TSXV: ALDE)
(OTCQX:
ADBRF)
is pleased to
report the discovery of a new high-grade gold zone at the Altar
copper gold project located in San Juan, Argentina. The Company
made the discovery in hole QDM-22-45 (assays partially reported in
Tables 1 and 2), which is targeting the North extension of the
Radio Porphyry copper-gold target and was drilled beneath the
current resource for the QDM Gold deposit (See Table 3). QDM-22-45
is still in progress.
Highlights
-
A significant
high-grade gold discovery has been made beneath the existing QDM
Gold deposit
-
QDM-22-45
returned 14.9 m of 19.08 g/t Au, 12.28 g/t Ag, and 0.23%
Cu
-
Including 9.45 m
of 27.84 g/t Au, 18.46 g/t Ag, and 0.24%
Cu
-
Including 1.65 m
of 98.7 g/t Au, 19.40 g/t Ag, and 0.27%
Cu
-
The high-grade
gold interval is surrounded by a much wider envelope of highly
altered and anomalous gold mineralization, typical of the
mineralization making up the QDM Gold
deposit
-
Follow-up
drilling will be required to test the extent of this new
discovery
Dr. Kevin B. Heather, Chief Geological Officer of
Aldebaran, commented as follows:
"This is by far the
highest-grade, gold-dominated intercept we have encountered at the
Altar project to date. The epithermal style of this mineralization
and associated alteration, along with its spatial relationship to
the QDM Gold deposit, suggests that it may be a high-grade
"feeder-structure" to the larger, lower-grade, disseminated QDM
Gold style mineralization currently reported in the resource.
Clearly this intercept, which is made up of multiple multi-gram
assay intervals, warrants additional follow-up drilling to
determine its potential size and geometry, and opens up the
possibility of finding additional higher-grade feeder
structures."
John Black, Chief Executive Officer of Aldebaran,
commented as follows:
"We normally don't report
partial results from a drill hole, however due to the high-grades
associated with this interval we felt it appropriate to do so. We
know that the Altar project has the potential to host high-grade
copper and copper-gold mineralization, however this is the first
time we've observed this type of high-grade gold mineralization.
More drilling is required to better understand the controls on this
new gold zone. This adds an exciting new aspect to the Altar and
QDM/Radio
story."
Discussion of
Results:
Drill Hole QDM-22-45
is currently being drilled at an
azimuth of 133 degrees and dip of -70 degrees. The hole was
designed to explore for the northern extension of known porphyry
mineralization at the Radio Porphyry target. Currently the Company
has received assays for the first 457 metres of hole QDM-22-45. The
top 240 m of the hole intersected an intrusion breccia consisting
of dacite porphyry matrix with andesite fragments. At approximately
240 m depth the hole intersected the contact between this dacite
intrusion breccia, and the andesite wall rocks. Immediately after
the contact, a hydrothermal breccia containing up to 10% sulphides
(primarily pyrite) and fine chalcedonic quartz hosts the high-grade
gold mineralization (Photo 1). The hydrothermal breccia is bounded
downhole by a dacite porphyry dyke which is also well mineralized.
Andesite host rocks continue down to the 457 m mark. From 330 m to
358 m a broad fault zone was intersected. Beneath this fault, an
abrupt change is observed with alteration and veining increasing in
intensity as the hole gets deeper and copper values increasing.
There are no reportable copper intervals in the first 457 m of the
hole, which was expected, as the Radio Porphyry target in this area
is known to be
deeper.
Table 1 below provides more detail on the mineralized
intercepts encountered in the first 457 m of drill hole QDM-22-45.
The location of the reported drill hole is indicated in Figure 1
and Figure 2. Figure 3 displays a cross section of
QDM-22-45.
Table 1 – 2022 Altar Drill Hole
Results
|
Au (g/t)
Cut-off
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Interval
(m)
|
Au
(g/t)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
Cu
(%)
|
Mo
(ppm)
|
As
(ppm)
|
AuEq
(g/t)
|
QDM-22-045
|
0.3
|
|
197.00
|
240.10
|
43.10
|
0.39
|
0.60
|
0.07
|
2
|
137
|
0.50
|
1.0
|
|
240.10
|
255.00
|
14.90
|
19.08
|
12.28
|
0.23
|
6
|
363
|
19.57
|
5.0
|
incl.
|
241.20
|
250.65
|
9.45
|
27.84
|
18.46
|
0.24
|
6
|
338
|
28.43
|
25.0
|
incl.
|
249.00
|
250.65
|
1.65
|
98.70
|
19.40
|
0.27
|
15
|
453
|
99.36
|
0.3
|
|
255.00
|
297.40
|
42.40
|
0.56
|
0.42
|
0.08
|
1
|
124
|
0.69
|
The grades are uncut. AuEq values were calculated
using copper, gold, silver and molybdenum. Metal prices utilized
for the calculations are Cu = US$3.00/lb, Au = US$1,400/oz, Ag =
US$18/oz, and Mo = US$10/lb. No adjustments were made for recovery
as the project is an early-stage exploration project and
metallurgical data to allow for estimation of recoveries is not yet
available. True width cannot be determined at this time due to
limited drilling. The formulas utilized to calculate equivalent
values is AuEq g/t = Au g/t + Ag g/t / 77.7778 + Cu % * 1.4694
+ Mo ppm / 2041.7092.
|
Table 2 - Detailed Assay
Results for the High-grade Gold Intercept in
Hole
QDM-22-045
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Length
(m)
|
Au
(g/t)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
Cu
(%)
|
Mo
(ppm)
|
240.10
|
241.20
|
1.10
|
2.11
|
1.50
|
0.31
|
4
|
241.20
|
243.00
|
1.80
|
13.50
|
17.90
|
0.16
|
6
|
243.00
|
245.00
|
2.00
|
11.10
|
8.80
|
0.38
|
6
|
245.00
|
247.00
|
2.00
|
6.97
|
9.10
|
0.15
|
4
|
247.00
|
249.00
|
2.00
|
19.90
|
37.20
|
0.22
|
8
|
249.00
|
250.65
|
1.65
|
98.70
|
19.40
|
0.27
|
15
|
250.65
|
251.65
|
1.00
|
1.39
|
0.70
|
0.10
|
2
|
251.65
|
253.00
|
1.35
|
11.40
|
3.60
|
0.44
|
2
|
253.00
|
255.00
|
2.00
|
1.04
|
0.70
|
0.07
|
2
|
QDM Gold
Deposit
The QDM gold
deposit is primarily a gold-silver deposit with minor associated
copper. It consists of dominantly sulphide mineralization with
minor oxide (~10%) mineralization. The resource estimate for QDM
Gold is constrained using a conceptual open pit (the northern
margin of the conceptual pit is seen in Figure 3). Mineralization
at QDM Gold is primarily hosted in a dacite intrusion. The majority
of drilling completed at the QDM gold deposit was done by
Stillwater Mining in 2012 with relatively shallow
holes.
Table 3 - QDM Gold - Open Pit Mineral
Resource
|
|
|
Average
Grade
|
Contained
Metal
|
Category
|
Tonnes
(Mt)
|
Au
(g/t)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
Cu
(%)
|
As
(ppm)
|
Au
(M
Oz)
|
Ag
(M
Oz)
|
Cu
(M
lbs)
|
Measured
|
15.8
|
0.81
|
3.59
|
0.06
|
168
|
0.41
|
1.83
|
21
|
Indicated
|
4.2
|
0.68
|
3.74
|
0.06
|
164
|
0.09
|
0.50
|
5
|
Total
M&I
|
20.0
|
0.78
|
3.62
|
0.06
|
167
|
0.50
|
2.33
|
26
|
Inferred
|
1.2
|
0.58
|
5.34
|
0.03
|
153
|
0.02
|
0.21
|
1
|
QDM Gold utilizes
a 0.33 AuEq (US$13.17 NSR/t) cut-off grade for sulphide
mineralization and a 0.7 AuEq (US$13.17 NSR/t) cut-off grade for
oxide mineralization.
|
Results Webinar,
March 3 at 11:00 am
ET
Join Aldebaran on
Thursday March 3, 11:00 am ET for a live 6ix summit to review the
promising initial drill results from Altar's 2022 drill campaign.
The summit will include a presentation from Chief Geological
Officer, Dr. Kevin B. Heather and CEO, John Black, will join for a
live Q&A. Register for the webinar here: https://my.6ix.com/j8uDby9O.
Project
Update
The Company is
currently drilling with four drill rigs on the Altar project. Three
are currently at the QDM/Radio area, while the other is at Altar
Central (See Figure 1). The Company recently completed QDM-21-44
(total depth of 1,440.70 m) in the QDM/Radio area, and samples have
now been sent to the assay lab with results for the complete hole
anticipated by the end of March. QDM-21-44 encountered multiple
challenges while in progress, and deviated significantly from its
original trajectory, ultimately missing the intended target.
QDM-22-45, QDM-22-46, QDM-22-47 and ALD-22-220 are respectively
932.50 m, 997.90 m, 172.05 m, and 299.80 m deep at the time of this
release. None of the active holes (other than QDM-22-45) are
testing the newly discovered gold zone. The Company is evaluating
options to follow up on the new discovery and test the extents of
mineralization.
Qualified
Person
The scientific and
technical data contained in this news release has been reviewed and
approved by Dr. Kevin B. Heather, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc, Ph.D,
FAusIMM, FGS, Chief Geological Officer and director of Aldebaran,
who serves as the qualified person (QP) under the definitions of
National Instrument 43-101.
For further
information, please consult our
website at www.aldebaranresources.com
or
contact:
Laura
Brangwin
Investor Relations
Manager
Phone: +1 646
583-1404
Email: laura.brangwin@aldebaranresources.com
About Aldebaran Resources
Inc.
Aldebaran is a mineral exploration company that
was spun out of Regulus Resources Inc. in 2018 and has the same
core management team. Aldebaran acquired the Rio Grande copper-gold
project located in Salta Province, Argentina from Regulus along
with several other early-stage projects in Argentina. Aldebaran
also has the right to earn up to an 80% interest in the Altar
copper-gold project in San Juan Province, Argentina from Sibanye
Stillwater Limited. The Altar project hosts multiple porphyry
copper-gold deposits with potential for additional discoveries.
Altar forms part of a cluster of world-class porphyry copper
deposits which includes Los Pelambres (Antofagasta Minerals), El
Pachón (Glencore), and Los Azules (McEwen Copper). In March 2021
the Company announced an updated mineral resource estimate for
Altar, prepared by Independent Mining Consultants Inc. and based on
the drilling completed up to and including 2020. Aldebaran's
primary focus is the Altar project with a view to discovering new
zones with higher-grade
mineralization.
Sampling and Analytical
Procedures
Altar follows
systematic and rigorous sampling and analytical protocols which
meet and exceed industry standards. These protocols are summarized
below and are available on the Aldebaran website at
www.aldebaranresources.com.
All drill holes
are diamond core holes with PQ, HQ or NQ core diameters. Drill core
is collected at the drill site where recovery and RQD (Rock Quality
Designation) measurements are taken before the core is boxed and
transported to the Altar camp facilities, a short distance away,
where the whole core is photographed under more optimum lighting
conditions and geological quick log is produced. The whole-core is
then marked and sampled into geological
defined, systematic 1- to 2-metre sample intervals, unless the
geologist determines the presence of an important geological
contact, which should not be crossed. The whole-core is then
cut-in-half with a diamond saw blade, with half the sample retained
in the core box for future reference and the other half placed into
a pre-labelled plastic bag, sealed with a two plastic security zip
ties, and labeled with a unique sample number. The bagged samples
are then placed into larger plastic sacks and those sacks are
sealed with another plastic security zip tie and labelled for
shipment. The sacks are then placed onto wooden pallets and wrapped
in plastic shrink-wrap and stored in a secure area pending shipment
to a certified ALS laboratory sample preparation facility located
in Mendoza, Argentina, where the samples are dried, crushed, and
pulverized. The resulting sample pulps are sent by batch to the ALS
laboratory in Lima for geochemical assay analysis, including a 30g
fire assay with an atomic absorption (AA) finish analysis for gold
and a full multi-acid digestion (4-acid) with ICP-AES analysis for
other elements. Samples with results that exceed maximum detection
values for gold are re-analyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric
finish and other elements of interest are re-analyzed using precise
ore-grade ICP analytical techniques. Aldebaran independently
inserts certified control standards (Super Certified Reference
Materials (SCRM's), coarse field blanks, and duplicates into the
sample stream to monitor data quality. These standards are inserted
"blindly" to the laboratory in the sample sequence prior to
departure from the Aldebaran
facilities.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements regarding Aldebaran, including
management's assessment of future-plans and operations, may
constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities
laws and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, most of which are beyond Aldebaran's control. Often,
but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be
identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does
not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or
"believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements
that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would",
"might" or "will" be taken, occur or be
achieved.
Specifically, and without limitation, all statements
included in this press release that address activities, events or
developments that Aldebaran expects or anticipates will or may
occur in the future, including the proposed exploration and
development of the Altar project described herein, and management's
assessment of future plans and operations and statements with
respect to the completion of the anticipated exploration and
development programs, may constitute forward-looking statements
under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond
Aldebaran's control. These risks may cause actual financial and
operating results, performance, levels of activity and achievements
to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such
forward-looking statements. Although Aldebaran believes that the
expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will
prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in
this press release are made as of the date hereof and Aldebaran
does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by
applicable securities law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Figure 1 – Plan map showing drill collar
locations.
Figure 2 – QDM/Radio plan map with section line
location.
Figure 3 - QDM-22-45 Cross Section - Oblique
Northeast
View.
Photo 1 - A selection of representative samples
showing the style of mineralization and alteration associated with
the 14.9 m high-grade gold intercept report in drill hole
QDM-22-45.
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