2009-07-31 08:12:04 -
London, July , 31, 2009
Mariana Resources Limited
AIM and PLUS code: MARL
31 July 2009
Drill Targets at Dos Calandrias (Tongoril) gold-silver project in
Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
Highlights:
* Seven drill targets identified to date, scout drilling planned as
soon as permitting and limited trenching completed.
* Soil geochemistry has defined two gold anomalies: 850 m by 150 m
wide (Calandria Sur) and 550 m by 100 m wide (Calandria Norte).
* The anomalies coincide with hydrothermally altered rhyolite lava
domes and surrounding breccias.
* New mineralized zones discovered with high grade gold and silver
vein/ breccias at Calandria Norte (six zones) and Calandria Sur (six
zones)
* Reconnaissance rock chip sampling at Calandria Sur returned 0.5 m @
4.5 g/t Au and 405 g/t Ag and 0.8 m @ 5.7 g/t Au and 241 g/t Ag.
Dos Calandrias Lag Sampling Results
First phase coarse-fraction (lag) soil sampling (327 samples) has
outlined two main gold anomalies at Calandria Sur (850 m by 150 m)
and Calandria Norte (550 m by 100 m). At Calandria Sur, samples were
collected every 50m on E-W lines spaced 50 m apart over an area 800
by 600m. At Calandria Norte, samples were collected every 25 m along
SE-NW lines spaced 50 m apart over an area 600m by 300m.
Assays ranged up to 717 ppb gold with 8% of the samples anomalous (Au
> 73 ppb). Soil gold anomalies coincide with known silicified rocks
and may also indicate mineralized zones concealed by thin colluvium.
Follow Up Results
Follow up of the lag sampling has discovered prospective NW and SE
trending breccia zones in float and sub-outcrop in the southernmost
part of the property with high gold and silver values in rock chips.
At Calandria Sur, sulphide-rich breccias are surrounded by larger
areas of low sulfide quartz stockwork/breccia zones. Rock chips
from the Deseada breccia zone assay up to 5.7 g/t Au and 241 g/t Ag,
and up to 4.5 g/t Au and 405 g/t Ag from the El Abra breccia zone
located 200 m NW of Deseada. The low sulphide breccias returned up to
0.8 g/t Au and 36 g/t Ag and 1.2 g/t Au and 62 g/t Ag at Deseada and
Cristal (750m NW of Deseada) respectively (Figure 2).
The Calandria Norte lava dome and surrounding pyroclastics strike NE
for more than 700 m and are cut by gold-bearing veins assaying up to
0.7m @ 20.2 g/t Au, 25 g/t Ag (see news release on 2 March 2009).
Proposed Drill Testing
Scout drilling (1500m) is planned once permitting is completed (see
Figure 2 for preliminary drill target location). In the meantime, a
short trenching program is scheduled to further define targets in
covered areas. It is anticipated that the drilling will commence no
later than October this year.
Background
The Dos Calandrias Project is located within Mariana Resources
Limited's 100% owned Tongoril tenement in the central part of the
Deseado Massif of Santa Cruz Province (Figure 1). Dos Calandrias
features a rhyolite lava dome complex and underlying pyroclastic
rocks. Gold and silver vein type mineralization related to NW and NE
regional structures and assaying up to 21.7 g/t Au & 62 g/t Ag was
identified last year during reconnaissance.
Commenting today, Managing Director of Mariana Resources Ltd, John
Sutcliffe said
"The recently discovered breccia zones at Dos Calandrias show
potential for high-grade vein and bulk tonnage mineralization in this
exciting rhyolite dome setting in the Deseado Massif. A limited
amount of trenching will be carried out shortly and reconnaissance
drilling is planned as soon as the environmental permit is granted".
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
John Sutcliffe
Managing Director
For more information:
Mariana Resources Limited
John Horsburgh (Chairman) +61 2 9437 4588
John Sutcliffe +59 32 298 6464
RFC Corporate Finance Limited (Nomad)
Rob Adamson +61 2 9250 0041
Will Souter +61 2 9250 0050
FinnCap (Broker)
Joe Lunn (Analyst) +44 20 7600 1658
Matthew Robinson +44 20 7600 1658
Or visit website at www.marianaresources.com
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The exploration programme is being directed by the Argentina
Exploration Manager, Dr Gustavo Rodriguez under supervision of
Managing Director Mr John Sutcliffe. Exploration information in this
announcement has been compiled by John Sutcliffe who is a Fellow of
the Geological Society of London, a Chartered Engineer and a Member
of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Sutcliffe has
sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralization and
types of gold deposit under consideration and to the activity that he
is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the
JORC Code.
Lag Sampling Technique
The sampling procedure involves collecting 1 kg of material coarser
than a Tyler mesh #9 (2.05mm) and sieving fragments coarser than
Tyler mesh #4 (typically ~ 7 mm) from 5-20cm below the surface in
order to reduce the influence of wind blown sand. The sampled
material is submitted to the lab, where it is dried and processed
prior to analysis. Note that the lag soil grids extend over a
moderate north and south-dipping slope at Calandria Sur and Norte
respectively, and results may be reflect soil transport to some
extent.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
All technical information for the Company's Argentina projects is
obtained and reported under a quality assurance and quality control
(QA/QC) program. All samples are collected under the supervision of
the Company geologists and dispatched via commercial transport to ALS
Chemex laboratories in Mendoza, Argentina, and assayed in Santiago de
Chile. ALS Chemex's quality system complies with the requirements for
the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999.
Samples returning greater than 10 g/t gold and/or greater than 100
g/t silver are assayed using gravimetric analyses.
Systematic assaying of sample duplicates and commercially prepared
standards and blanks is performed for analytical reliability.
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