Mila Target
Mila Gold Discovery
First pass exploratory drilling at the Mila Gold Discovery, Motagua Norte in H1 2024
In February 2024, Volcanic Gold Mines and joint-venture partner Radius Gold Mines announced the commencement of a first pass drilling campaign on the Mila Gold Discovery located within the Motagua Norte Project, Guatemala.1
The Mila prospect is a 250 m by 550 m area of quartz boulder float with abundant visible gold and bonanza grade assays discovered by Company geologists at the western end of the 25 km long Motagua Norte gold belt in Central Guatemala.
The Mila discovery presents an unusual challenge for exploration but an exceptional opportunity. The abundant gold-mineralized quartz boulders are not in place but represent a concentration of locally transported colluvium and/or deflationary float from an unknown source. The quartz boulders are large, many well over 1 m diameter, and appear angular suggesting that they have not been transported far. The source is high-grade; of approximately 420 rock chip samples collected at surface across the area over one hundred returned assays exceeding 10 g/t gold, including twenty-one of over 100 g/t gold and a maximum of 692 g/t gold. In addition to the obvious quartz vein mineralization, gold has also been observed hosted within sericite altered and micro-veined schist with samples returning assay results of up to 94 g/t gold, indicating potential for significant wall rock mineralization.
The gold-bearing quartz float at Mila covers a thin serpentinite package and underlying schistose metasedimentary rocks which have been cut by a series of east-west trending structures hosting significant vein zones. The principal structures, such as the Veta Madre Fault and the Veta Padre structure, are located to the south and uphill from the field of gold-bearing boulders. A strong zone of stockwork veining separates these two larger structures.
A first pass exploratory drilling program of 13 diamond core drill holes for 1751 m has been completed, drilling in several different directions to try and locate the source of the broad area of bonanza grade gold bearing quartz boulder float. The initial drill holes failed to intersect in situ gold bearing quartz veins or stockwork zones, assay results are pending for the latter drillholes. The geological model and exploration strategy will be reviewed once all assay results have been returned.
Quartz boulders well over 1 m in diameter returned rock chip assays of up to 116 g/t gold is being tested in the first few drill holes.
Sericite altered schist with quartz stockwork veinlets returned assay results of up to 118 g/t gold.
About the Motagua Norte project
The Motagua Norte project is a gold system hosted by schists of the Motagua suture zone, an east-west striking belt of metamorphic rocks that outcrops at the line of collision between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates.
Volcanic Gold Mines has an option agreement with Radius Gold Inc. to earn a 60% interest in the Cirilo I exploration licence and other licences under applications and negotiation within the Motagua Norte project, as well as the Holly Project where the joint venture has established a high grade epithermal gold resource 60km north of the Cerro Blanco Gold Deposit (see news release September 18, 2023).
Technical Information
Luc English PhD, who is a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London, is the Company’s Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Dr English has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this website.
Map of the Cirilo 1 exploration licence showing the location and gold grade of 513 rock chip samples collected during initial prospecting at Mila.
- See News Release: Volcanic Gold Mines commences drilling at the Mila Gold Discovery, Guatemala, February 15, 2024.
- See Volcanic Gold Mines news release: Radius Gold provides update on drilling at Motagua Norte property, Guatemala, April 25, 2024
- See Volcanic Gold Mines news release: Volcanic Gold provides update on drilling at Motagua Norte property, and recent developments in Guatemala, May 22, 2024.