As the first of five outcropping and grassroot targets generated by Collective Mining (TSXV:CNL) at its Guayables project in Colombia, Donut has been the first to yield discoveries from the drill program.  Collective Mining has announced that a significant discovery has been made at the Donut target. 

This is the first drill hole at a grassroot target at the project, and it already has a new brand discovery. The company is aiming to increase its drill program from 7,500 metres to 10,000 and speed up plans to begin drilling the Olympus target. Collective will aim to begin drilling at the Olympus target in November 2021 instead of Q1 2022.

Currently, there is one diamond drill rig testing Donut. To accelerate the program, a second rig is expected to arrive at the target shortly and begin drilling the Box target before the end of the month. 

Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman of Collective Mining, commented in a press release, “As a result of our team’s diligence and geological modelling prowess, we have accomplished the exceedingly arduous task of making a brand-new discovery on the very first drill hole into a grassroot target at the Guayabales project. We look forward to announcing additional drill hole assay results in the near term. As a result of this early success, we are increasing our initial drill program from 7,500 to 10,000 metres and are also accelerating our plans to drill the Olympus target to November 2021 from Q1, 2022.”

Highlights (Table 1 and Figures 1 to 4)

• Broad and continuous gold (“Au”) and silver (“Ag”) mineralization has been intersected from surface in the first two diamond drill holes at the Donut target as follows:
  
  • 104 metres at 1.3 g/t gold equivalent from surface including 18 metres at 4.7 g/t gold equivalent from 16 metre depth (DOC-2);
    
  • 106 metres at 0.5 g/t gold equivalent from surface (DOC-1).
    
• Donut is located at the NW end of a SW trending zone hosting clusters of mineralized breccia bodies which can be traced along strike to the SW for 550 metres and remain open for further expansion.
  
• Drilling continues at Donut with holes DOC-3 through DOC-5 now complete and DOC-6 currently underway.
  
• DOC-3 and DOC-4 were drilled to the southwest and deeper within the mineralized system. Preliminary logging of both holes highlights continuity of the mineralized breccia and polymetallic vein system overprint with longer intercepts of mineralized breccia than was intersected in DOC-1 and DOC-2.
  
• DOC-05, which was drilled to the southeast, intersected a narrower interval of mineralized breccia before passing through a fault. Upon exiting the fault at approximately 80 metres down-hole, porphyry style alteration was encountered until the end of the hole at 327 metres.
  
• Assay results for DOC-3 to DOC-5 are anticipated in the near term and will be reported shortly thereafter.
  
• Due to the positive start to the drilling program, the Company is expanding its maiden drill program from 7,500 to 10,000 metres.

Table 1: Initial Diamond Drilling Results at the Donut Target

• 
  Gold equivalent calculated based on a long-term 65:1 silver to gold ratio average and metallurgical recovery rate assumption of 95% for gold and 90% for silver based on similar projects globally. Readers should be cautioned that the Company has not yet performed any independent metallurgical test work on the deposit and as a result, recovery rates could ultimately be superior or inferior to the estimates used in the calculation.
  

Geological Details of the Donut Target

Underground mapping of artisanal workings covering a 100 metre x 100 metre area has exposed mineralized and oxidized porphyritic diorite in contact with hydrothermal breccia. The porphyry and the breccia display evidence of stockwork and sheeted, quartz-sulphide veinlets as well as later overprinting polymetallic veins. A total of one hundred and seventy-six two-metre channel samples were taken underground and returned an average of 2.1 g/t gold and 21.2 g/t silver (based on applying a statistical top-cut to three high-grade samples). Collective’s initial drilling has been focused on drill testing this mineralization at depth and in an array of different directions.

Review of the diamond drill core highlights a hydrothermal breccia with a sulphide matrix and hosting clasts of mineralized porphyry containing A and B veins and disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite, and molybdenum. Breccia mineralization is associated with strong phyllic alteration (principally illite-sericite with some chlorite and epidote) whereas the diorite bodies intersected in the cores show potassic alteration (Biotite and K feldspar). The overprinting polymetallic veinlets contain quartz and pyrite associated with high grade gold values, sphalerite and occasional galena. Borehole DOC-5, drilled to the southeast, intersected mineralized breccia in a faulted contact with a potassic altered, porphyry body hosting disseminated chalcopyrite and molybdenum plus A and B porphyry veinlets.

In summary, mineralization at Donut is polyphase related to porphyry, hydrothermal breccia, and later polymetallic veining. At least three mineralization events are seen in the drill core. The presence of porphyry clasts and the mineralized porphyry intrusive intersected in DOC-5 highlight the potential for a large, mineralized porphyry body in the near vicinity.

Figure 1: Plan View of the Guayabales Project and the Donut Target is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f9ee816f-ca94-4b43-8c82-fc466f2f7985

Figure 2: Plan View of the Donut Target Area (Gold Values (g/t)) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fb6daab3-fe64-40c2-9398-ec694f5d114b

Figure 3: Cross Section of Donut Drilling is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1915efc3-8c65-47ba-ab07-63ef2de59cde

Figure 4: Core Photos (i) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0678467b-d64e-47a2-b32d-84d790c0e6be

Figure 4: Core Photos (ii) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3196635a-7415-45c8-ab0e-88f06f5449bf

Figure 4: Core Photos (iii) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/26acf326-8613-4e81-9302-a210c364b1c7

Figure 4: Core Photos (iv) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e9f5f859-4b4f-4ba1-96d8-8c5694482b5d

Source: Collective Mining

The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.