The El Tecomate gold-silver district is located 80 kilometres east of Mazatlan in Durango State, Mexico. The El Tecomate project consists of three mineral concessions covering 10,495 hectares.
To date three discrete zones containing seven mineralized structures have been identified, with individual structures ranging from 500 meters to 1,500 meters in length and 5 to 60 metres in width. The low- to intermediate-sulfidation epithermal system can be traced for 4 kilometres along the northwest trending structural corridor and occurs over a vertical relief of at least 400 meters. The epithermal-type mineralization consists of quartz vein-breccia filled structures surrounded by broader zones of quartz stockwork. Preliminary channel sampling across individual structures commonly returned widths of 20 to 40 metres averaging +1 g/t gold.
The mineralized system is hosted within upper Tertiary fragmental rhyolitic rocks and is localized by a set of northwest trending structures along the margin of a 10 kilometre diameter volcanic caldera. The epithermal vein breccias and stockwork mineralization are associated with broader zones of silicification and argillization. The silicification is characterized by chalcedonic silica infill and replacement of the host volcanic. Adularia is also present.
Exploration at El Tecomate has consisted of stream sediment sampling, soil sampling, geological mapping, rock chip and channel sampling. Sampling results indicate that several bulk tonnage structures are mineralized with typical average grades of +1 g/t gold (equivalent).
Main Tecomate Zone
The Main Tecomate Zone is the most explored zone to date. Four separate sub-parallel northwest trending and steeply dipping structures have been identified and sampled, Los Hundidos, Don Lupe, Los Filos and Las Pilas.
Los Hundidos Structure: The Los Hundidos, is a multi-vein and stockwork system hosted in argillized rhyolitic rocks with a strike length of over 500 meters. Four channel sample lines across the structure, spaced 100 meters apart, returned intercepts of 28 meters of 1.55 g/t gold and 0.96 g/t silver; 53 meters of 1.30 g/t gold and 1.57 g/t silver; 44 meters of 0.90 g/t gold and 1.80 g/t silver; and 19 meters of 1.55 g/t gold and 4.66 g/t silver.
Don Lupe Structure: The Don Lupe structure is 100 metres to the northeast of Los Hundidos. The structure has a strike length of over 1.2 kilometres and a width varying between 5 and 50 meters. Mineralization consists of narrow quartz-adularia veins and stockwork veining. Grab samples returned grades as high as 24 g/t gold. A channel sampling across the zone returned an interval of 51 meters averaging 1.0 g/t gold and 5 g/t silver.
Los Filos and Las Pilas Structures: The Los Filos and Las Pilas structures outcrop over a 1 kilometre strike length. Initial channel sampling across the Las Pilas structure returned an interval of 55 meters averaging 25 g/t silver.
Southern Tecomate Zone
The Southern Tecomate Zone comprises two southwest trending parallel zones spaced 300 metres apart.
Southeastern Structure: The southeastern structure has been defined over 1.3 kilometers in length, varies from 5 to 40 meters in width, and at least 200 meters in vertical extension. Three channel samples located 450 meters apart include 30 meters of 0.57 g/t gold and 23.63 g/t silver; 12 meters of 0.56 g/t gold and 8.7 g/t silver; and 3 meters of 0.99 g/t gold and 39.4 g/t silver.
Southwestern Structure: Preliminary channel samples taken in a different subparallel structure located 300 meters apart of the southeastern structure returned 21 meters of 5.1 g/t gold and 4.1 g/t silver and 10 meters of 8.2 g/t gold and 4 g/t silver.
West Zone
The West Zone comprises a one square kilometre stream sediment anomaly located 150 meters west-northwest of Los Hundidos. Stream sediment values ranged from 0.18 g/t to 3.83 g/t gold and 0.5 g/t to 10 g/t silver. A 750 meters long by 350 meters wide soil survey over two NS trending ridges delineated an area with soil values in the range of 0.19 g/t to 1.45 g/t gold and 0.5 g/t to 3.8 g/t silver. Rock chip samples taken in this area returned values of up to 2.62 g/t gold, 16.1 g/t silver with 1.7% lead and 2.03% zinc.
Districts Prospects
The Lluvia de Oro prospect located 1.5 kilometres northwest of Tecomate hosts several sub-parallel zones of strong silicification associated with strongly developed quartz stockwork veining. A channel sample across one of these zones returned 10 meters of 0.72 g/t gold, 8.3 g/t silver, 0.14% lead and 0.76% zinc. La Cobriza, located 500 meter west-southwest of Lluvia de Oro, consists of a 25 meter wide, 1.2 kilometre long NW-trending argillic alteration zone containing quartz-stockwork-breccia mineralization. A channel sample across this zone returned 21 meters of 31 g/t silver, 0.6% copper and 1.42% zinc. The Tatemales prospect located 6 kilometers to the west of El Tecomate is a 1 kilometer long quartz structure ranging between 3 to 20 meters in width. Preliminary sampling returned 15 meters of 1.1 g/t gold, 33.3 g/t silver, 0.3% lead and 0.55% zinc.
The next phase of the exploration will consist of detailed mapping, ground geophysics and closer spaced systematic channel sampling of the mineralized structures. In addition, at higher elevations, the mineralized structures are interpreted as the upper-level barren part of the epithermal system suggesting that they are underlain by similar grade mineralization to that exposed at lower elevations. The upper-level continuations of these structures will be mapped, sampled and covered by ground geophysics to help define deeper drill targets.
