Near-surface drilling at GoGold Resources' (TSX: GGD) Los Ricos North project in Jalisco state, Mexico, has hit high silver grades and returned wide intervals of mineralization. The company has released assays for 12 diamond drill holes completed around the El Favor target area, focused on the Salomon, Guitarrillas and Los Chivos veins.
Drill highlights include longer intercepts, such as 33.9 metres of 160 grams silver-equivalent per tonne (0.59 gram gold and 116.2 grams silver) from 1.8 metres; and 70.5 metres of 115 grams silver-equivalent (0.26 gram gold and 95.1 grams silver) starting at surface. Shorter, high-grade intervals include 2.3 metres of 2,245 grams silver-equivalent (7.36 grams gold and 1,693 grams silver) from 115 metres and 5.8 metres of 420 grams silver-equivalent (1.94 gram gold and 274.7 grams silver) starting at 62 metres.
"The El Favor target is demonstrating that not only does it have some high grades in the kilos, but also potentially bulk mineable zones approaching 100 metres in combined intercepts that are near surface," Brad Langille, GoGold's president and CEO, said in a release. "The convergence of three semi-parallel veins on the Favor deposit in the Hundido area (is) giving us widths and grades that could accelerate the growth of resource ounces. Our belief that Los Ricos North is a large mineralized system is strengthened with these results."
The three veins - Salomon, Guitarrillas and Los Chivos - appear to converge into a 100-metre wide zone at the western end of the El Favor zone, nearby the historic Hundido pit. The latest release notes that additional drillholes would be required to determine the strike and depth extent of the zone.
The Hundido pit lies approximately 800 metres to the east of the El Orito zone. In January, GoGold announced El Orito drill results that include intercepts such as 43 metres of 322.7 grams silver-equivalent and 63.4 metres of 171 grams silver-equivalent. Additional mapping, prospecting and sampling programs are ongoing in the area between these two zones.
GoGold's 2021 drilling budget is estimated at over 100,000 metres, which, according to the release, would make it one of the largest in Mexico.
The 220-sq.-km Los Ricos property is sub-divided into the North and South portions.
In July, GoGold tabled an initial resource for Los Ricos South, reporting 10 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 199 grams silver-equivalent and 3.3 million inferred tonnes at 190 grams silver-equivalent. A January 2021 preliminary economic assessment for Los Ricos South outlined an 11-year open pit and underground mine, producing an average of 8.7 million silver-equivalent oz. annually in years two through six. Based on an initial capital cost estimate of US$125 million, and all-in sustaining costs of US$11.35 per silver-equivalent oz., the after-tax net present value estimate comes in at US$295 million, using a 5% discount rate, US$21 per oz. silver and US$1,550 per oz. gold.