Apogee intersects high grade silver mineralization at Pulacayo project, Bolivia
Includes 30m @ 244g/t silver, 4.16% lead+zinc; 10m @ 355g/t silver, 5.32% lead+zinc
Apogee Minerals Ltd. has again intersected wide zones of very high grade silver, lead and zinc mineralization within the Tajo Vein in underground drilling at its Pulacayo Project in Bolivia.
Significant results from four underground drill holes include:
PUDU-001 7m @ 623.71 g/t silver, 4.95% lead, 4.59 % zinc
Including 3m @ 1443.33 g/t silver, 11.21% lead, 8.74% zinc
30m @ 244.70 g/t silver, 1.70% lead, 2.46% zinc
Including 2m @ 1331.5 g/t silver, 2.49% lead, 6.29% zinc
PUDU-002 19m @ 321.326 g/t silver, 0.44% lead, 0.73 % zinc
Including 4m @ 784.5 g/t silver, 0.91% lead, 0.96% zinc
PUDU-003 17m @ 219.0 g/t silver, 0.36% lead, 0.91 % zinc
PUDU-004 10m @ 355.2 g/t silver, 1.63% lead, 3.69% zinc
Including 2m @ 1407.5 g/t silver, 7.12% lead, 15.18% zinc
Apogee Vice President Exploration, Doug Currie stated: "These very high grade silver intersections within the Tajo Vein confirm historical drill results and demonstrate the potential to define zones of significant silver, lead and zinc mineralization substantially wider than the narrow high grade lode structures historically mined underground at Pulacayo from the 1890's to the late 1950's."
Apogee has completed a total of 1056m of surface drilling (5 drillholes, PUD-028 – PUD032) and 766m of underground drilling (4 drillholes, PUDU-001 to PUDU-004) at Pulacayo.
Results of the five surface holes, released earlier, designed to twin and infill between drillholes completed by joint venture partner Apex Silver Mines Limited in 2002 also confirmed historical drill results and have outlined potential for the definition of an open pitable resource within the upper oxidized portion of the Tajo Vein system. High grade silver and zinc intersections were reported within broader zones of rich silver, lead and zinc mineralization (See Table 1, Press Release June 22, 2006). Some of the better results from these earlier holes include:
PUD-028 13m @ 153.31g/t Ag, 1.74% Pb, 1.54% Zn
Including 2m @ 386g/t Ag, 3.90% Pb, 3.08% Zn, and
2m @ 560g/t Ag, 5.88% Pb, 1.82% Zn
27m @ 53.24g/t Ag, 0.38% Pb, 1.42% Zn
Including 1m @ 569g/t Ag, 1.85% Pb, 4.36% Zn, and
1m @ 428g/t Ag, 0.96% Pb, 3.15% Zn
PUD-032 42m @ 33.98g/t Ag, 0.48% Pb, 2.88% Zn
Including 10m @ 114.5g/t Ag, 1.07% Pb, 7.42% Zn
Apogee President and CEO John Carlesso commented: "These very significant results, particularly when combined with the outstanding results we have received from drilling at the nearby Paca project, continue to give us considerable confidence in the future Pulacayo. Our efforts will now be focused on follow-up and infill drilling of the large mineralized system to outline a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource at the earliest opportunity."
The current program, which commenced in December upon signature of the formal agreement, has consisted of a comprehensive program of geological mapping, surface and underground sampling and diamond drilling to confirm historical work and results of historical exploration by Apex Silver (See Apogee Press Releases, September 12, 2005 and January 19, 2006).
The recent drill program was designed to confirm historical drill results and to verify earlier interpretations. Several holes were "identical twins" of historical holes (eg PUD-029 vs PUD-022; PUD-028 vs PUD-023 and -024; PUDU-003 vs PUD-005); other holes were designed to intersect the interpreted mineralized lodes between historical drillholes (eg PUD-028 vs PUD-024 & PUD-020; PUDU-004 vs PUD-005 & PUD-004) (Figures 1, 2). Results indicate that Apogee's intersections duplicate prior intersections where holes are close together and substantiate previous intersection grades where Apogee's drillholes cut interpreted mineralized zones between historical holes.
Additionally, geological mapping and surface chip and channel sampling at Pulacayo has located several interesting altered and geochemically anomalous zones which require follow-up trenching and possibly drilling. The surface exposure of the Pacamayo Zone, adjacent to the Pulacayo Mine, which is currently being mined underground by cooperative miners (Apogee grab sample of miners' "ore": 3300g/t Silver, 5.88% Lead, 3.59% Zinc) is highly altered and follow-up drilling is planned.
Silver-zinc-lead mineralization at Pulacayo is related to a high level epithermal system hosted in an east-west vein structure, the Tajo Vein, which cuts a series of Tertiary dacite to andesite porphyritic intrusive rocks and andesite flows which intrude Tertiary sandstones and conglomerates. The structure consists of a number of veins, veinlets and stockwork. The structure has been traced along strike for 2500 metres and to a vertical depth of 1000 metres and remains open. The width of the structure varies from 0.50 metre to 50 metres. Mineralization consists of silica, opal, barite, pyrite, ruby silver, argentite, galena and sphalerite.
History of Pulacayo-Paca Silver Mines
The Pulacayo-Paca project is located 460 km south of La Paz in the historic Potosi Department of Southwestern Bolivia, near the city of Uyuni in the middle of the San Cristobal-Potosi Silver Belt, a wide, well-mineralized string of silver deposits that extends from the southwest to the northeast and includes the three largest silver deposits in Bolivian history (Potosi, San Cristobal, and Pulacayo).
Discovered in 1883, the Pulacayo Silver Mine is the second largest silver mine in Bolivia after Cerro Rico de Potosi and one of the most important in Latin America, having produced over 600 million ounces of silver, 180,000 tonnes of zinc, and 180,000 tonnes of lead from 1883 to 1959 (ref. Sergeomin – Bulletin No 30, 2002). Production has been mainly from the non-outcropping Tajo vein system which was exploited to a depth of 1000 meters and averaged 30 ounces per tonne of silver over a strike length of 2500 meters. Revenue from the mine funded the first railway line to Bolivia, which connected the mine to the port of Antofagasta, Chile in 1888. Today the project is located 20 km by gravel road from the city of Uyuni which is connected by highway and railway to the sea port Antofagasta. The site contains all necessary services; power, water and an experienced labour force from the surrounding village of Pulacayo.
In 2002, exploration work by Apex Silver discovered several additional zones of silver-zinc-lead mineralization within the vein system at the Pulacayo Mine that are both broad and high-grade. Apogee, operator of the Joint Venture, has the right to earn up to 60% interest in the Project (see Press Release September 12, 2005).
Building a premier emerging silver producer
Apogee Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol APE. The company is focused on advanced Silver-Zinc projects in South America that demonstrate the potential to receive capital investment and be rapidly developed to production. Currently all of its projects are located in the historic silver producing regions of central and southwest Bolivia.
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