Dia Bras expands El Gallo deposit on its Bolivar property
TSX Venture Exchange – DIB
Bolsa de Valores de Lima – DIB
TORONTO, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Dia Bras Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:DIB) (BVL: DIB) (“Dia Bras” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its drilling
programme for resource expansion at the El Gallo mine of the Bolivar
project has expanded the boundaries of the current resource. In
addition, drilling at El Salto has shown that the Upper and Lower
Skarns extend to this area, which is 600 m east of the current mining
area.
Press Release Highlights:
-- El Gallo step-out drilling expands the El Gallo resource 100 m
to the northeast.
o Hole 394 intersects 24.24 m (true width) of 1.56% copper and
30.6 g/t Silver in Upper Skarn.
o Six other holes intersect good grades of copper and silver in
both Upper and Lower Skarns.
-- El Salto drilling intersects El Gallo-type mineralization 600 m
east of El Gallo
o Possible major expansion of El Gallo deposit through El Salto
to La Montura
o Three drill holes intersect good grades of copper, zinc and
silver in Upper and Lower Skarns
-- Both El Gallo and El Salto deposits are open for hundreds of
meters in several directions, which indicates major potential
to expand these deposits
-- Complete NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate May 2012
Daniel Tellechea, President and CEO of Dia Bras, commented: “These results represent a potentially-major expansion of the resources
of the Bolivar property. We know that the Upper and Lower Skarns
extend for a distance of over 3,000 m, and our drilling is
demonstrating that potentially-mineable zones of mineralization extend
for hundreds of meters along strike and down dip. We have only just
begun to discover the full potential of this extensively-mineralized
area.”
——————————
Recent Drilling Results
El Gallo Area: This area (Figure 1: Location Map of the Bolivar Mine Area) hosts thick manto-type
mineralization in both the Upper and Lower Skarns, which are
occasionally connected by chimneys that frequently are higher-grade in
zinc than in copper. Drilling during 2012 has expanded the boundaries
of the known resource blocks (Figure 2: Map of the El Gallo Area), with assay results shown in the table below:
_____________________________________________________________________
| | | | Est. | | | | | | |
|Hole| From-To (m) |Interval| True |Cu% |Zn %|Au g/t|Ag g/t|Fe %|Skarn|
|ID1 | | (m) |Width | | | | | | |
| | | | (m) | | | | | | |
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|379 |112.40-122.10| 9.70 | 7.78 |1.03|0.04| 0.02 | 25.3 |11.7|Upper|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|380 |107.25-113.60| 6.35 | 5.30 |2.10|0.02| 0.10 | 49.6 |14.5|Upper|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|383 |174.55-183.25| 8.70 | 7.90 |1.16|0.02| 0.36 | 13.5 |25.5|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|390 |166.55-171.30| 4.75 | 4.57 |1.74|0.05| 0.03 | 23.1 |15.5|Upper|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|and |225.95-239.20| 13.25 |13.00 |2.15|0.06| 0.18 | 31.7 |18.3|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|394 |86.55-115.65 | 29.10 |24.24 |1.56|0.20| 0.11 | 30.6 |30.5|Upper|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|395 |205.55-210.85| 5.30 | 5.00 |0.99|0.13| 0.40 | 19.1 |22.4|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|and |216.70-218.30| 1.60 | 1.30 |3.80|0.05| 4.73 | 18.0 |20.2|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|397 | 42.25-47.10 | 4.85 | 4.85 |0.70|4.26| 0.03 | 17.4 |38.1|Upper|
|____|_____________|________|______|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
Note 1: all holes have prefix DB12B
El Salto Area: This area hosts mineralization in both the Upper and Lower Skarns and
lies between El Gallo to the west, and La Montura to the southeast -
all areas of significant copper, zinc, silver and iron mineralization.
This area was drilled to explore for mineralization in the vicinity of
a NE-trending fault , which the Company’s geologists inferred to be an
important feeder of mineralizing fluids that created the deposits at
Gallo and Montura. Fault intersections and trends are known to be
important controls on mineralization in the Bolivar area.
Drill results include the following:
____________________________________________________________________
| | | |Est. | | | | | | |
|Hole| From-To |Interval|True |Cu% |Zn %|Au g/t|Ag g/t|Fe %|Skarn|
| ID | (m) | (m) |Width| | | | | | |
| | | | (m) | | | | | | |
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|3731|108.00-111.30| 3.30 |3.05 |0.84|0.07| 0.01 | 7.5 |5.0 |Upper|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|and |120.53-129.55| 2.80 |2.75 |0.80|0.03| 0.16 | 60.1 |14.4|Upper|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|and |341.50-348.70| 7.20 |6.73 |1.01|0.09| 0.45 | 13.0 |27.8|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|3781|351.65-360.05| 8.40 |8.30 |1.71|0.20| 0.18 | 37.4 |21.5|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|and |366.95-374.30| 7.35 |7.27 |1.01|0.03| 0.88 | 12.3 |15.0|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|3892| 93.45-96.35 | 2.90 |2.90 |0.19|8.41| 0.01 | 12.0 |3.0 |Upper|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
|and |290.15-304.50| 14.35 |13.83|1.20|0.14| 0.41 | 23.2 |33.0|Lower|
|____|_____________|________|_____|____|____|______|______|____|_____|
Note 1: prefix DB11B
Note 2: prefix DB12B
San Francisco Area: This area has been mined for over 18 months and has contributed high
grade zinc and copper ore to both the Malpaso mill and the new Piedras
Verde mill.
Drilling has commenced to expand mineralization in the Mina de Fierro
and San Francisco areas (See Figure 2: Map of the El Gallo Area). These deposits are on the southeast side of
the fault that controlled the Breccia Linda mineralization (high grade
copper and zinc in the Upper Skarn). This area is considered to have
major potential to discover large deposits in both the Upper and Lower
Skarns.
Significance of Drill Results
Drilling in the El Gallo and El Salto areas over the past few months has
demonstrated that both the Upper and Lower Skarns are strongly
mineralized over an extensive area. Mineralization in both skarns is
open along strike and down dip, and the carbonate host rocks for the
skarn mineralization are known to occur over an area of at least 3,000
x 1,000 m.
The potential to define mineable mineralization in the Bolivar area has
been greatly expanded by these results. The Company intends to
continue drilling these areas in order to increase significantly the
mineable resources of the property.
During 2012, Dia Bras will also drill other targets identified by its
exploration activities, such as:
-- Los Americanos: Copper-zinc-silver mineralized manto that
extends more than 300 m along strike
-- Increible: High-grade copper bodies at zone of intersection of
Upper/Lower Skarns with the breccia pipe
-- Nathalie Fault: High-grade copper-zinc mantos in Upper and
Lower Skarns
Bolivar District Overview
Dia Bras’ Bolivar property consists of 21 concessions covering
approximately 21,620 hectares and is located in the historic Piedras
Verde district in southwestern Chihuahua, which is within the Sierra
Madre Precious Metals Belt of northwestern Mexico. Historic mining,
prospecting and exploration for polymetallic Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au deposits in
the Belt have been carried out since the Spanish Colonial days.
At Bolivar, small historic mines, long abandoned and accessed only by
foot paths, are scattered along the 5-km extension of the
copper-stained cliffs that expose the mineralized skarns. From 1980 to
2000, some 300,000 tonnes of mineralized material were mined from
mantos and chimneys while the Bolivar Mine (Alta Ley) was under the
control of a private family. This included 195,000 tonnes from the
Fernandez trend, 90,000 tonnes from the Rosario Trend and 15,000 tonnes
from the Pozo de Agua area. Detailed production records for this
period are not available, but are reported to be in the order of 50
tonnes per day, with the mined rock hand-sorted to an average grade of
5-6% Cu and 25-30% Zn.
Mineralization at Bolivar comprises chimney-manto skarn deposits in two
general horizons, the Upper (US) and Lower Skarns (LS), and a breccia
pipe (Increible). The US contains Cu-Zn-(Au-Ag) mineralization while
the LS contains Cu-Ag-Fe-(Zn-Au). The Upper and Lower Skarns are often
connected by mineralized chimneys.
The Company commenced pilot-mining at the Bolivar Mine in February 2005,
and through September 2011 processed 681,305 tonnes of mineralized rock
at an average grade of 1.65% Cu and 8.47% Zn. During this period, the
rock was shipped by road and rail to the Company’s Malpaso Mill.
In October 2011, Dia Bras commissioned its new, 1000 tpd Piedras Verde
mill located on 5 km from the El Gallo mine. Mill throughput has been
increased from 300 tpd at the Malpaso mill to 1,000 tpd at the new
mill.
NI 43-101 Report
The Company has commissioned a NI 43-101 compliant resource calculation
for the Bolivar property and the required property visit was made by a
representative of Gustavson Associates, Lakewood, Colorado, during
mid-March. The final report is expected during late April-early May.
Method of Analysis
Samples were prepared at the ALS Chemex lab facility in Chihuahua,
Mexico, and analyzed by ICP and AA methods at their facilities in
Vancouver, Canada. Diamond drill samples sent for analysis consisted of
half NQ-size and BQ-size diamond core split on site, prepared by the
ALS Chemex sample preparation laboratory in Chihuahua, Mexico, and
assayed for Au by 50 g fire assay with AA finish, and for Ag by AA on
50 g split sample at the ALS Chemex North Vancouver Laboratory. Assays
for Pb, Zn and Cu are analyzed by Induction Coupled Plasma (ICP) at ALS
Chemex.
Quality Control
The quality assurance-quality control (QA-QC) of Dia Bras has been
described in detail in both RPA’s NI 43-101 reports of December 2006 at
Cusi and October 2005 for Bolivar.
The technical content of this news release has been approved by Thomas
L. Robyn, Ph.D., CPG, RPG, a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.
About Dia Bras
Dia Bras Exploration is a Canadian exploration & mining company focused
on precious and base metals in Chihuahua State, other areas of northern
Mexico, and most recently at its Yauricocha
silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold mine in Peru. The Company is accelerating
exploration at the Yauricocha property as well as pursuing the
development and exploration of its most advanced Mexican assets – the
Bolivar Property (copper zinc silver) and the Cusi Property (silver)
and is exploring in Mexico several precious metal targets such as La
Sidra gold project at the Bolivar Property, the Las Coloradas silver
project at Melchor Ocampo (Zacatecas State), the Bacerac silver project
(Sonora State), and the La Verde gold project at the Batopilas Property
(Chihuahua State). Dia Bras is also exploring base metal projects in
Mexico such as the Corralitos intrusion-hosted molybdenum deposit
(Chihuahua State).
The Company’s shares trade on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and TSX
Venture Exchange under the symbol “DIB”.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news
release.
Forward-looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news
release without limitation regarding new projects, acquisitions, future
plans and objectives are forward-looking statements which involve risks
and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements.
SOURCE Dia Bras Exploration Inc.
Image with caption: “Map 1: Location Map of the Bolivar mine area (CNW Group/Dia Bras Exploration Inc.)”. Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120404_C3150_PHOTO_EN_11940.jpg
Image with caption: “Map 2: Map of the El Gallo Area (CNW Group/Dia Bras Exploration Inc.)”. Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120404_C3150_PHOTO_EN_11937.jpg
