Tinka Resources’ (TSX.V:TK) wholly owned Colquipucro silver project in Peru recently generated a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource calculation that determined there were 5.7 million tonnes of ore available with an average grade of 111.4 grams per tonne of silver. That makes the total 20 million+ ounces of silver at over 3 ounces per metric tonne.
But this resource is derived from less than 10% of the entire mineralized area, and since then, surface sampling has determined that widespread mineralization suggests the likelihood of expanding that resource substantially with drilling.
The application for the Phase 2 diamond drill program has been lodged with the relevant Peruvian authorities and the company is waiting for approval.
Colquipucro’s geological package contains a phase called the Pucura limestone that is host to Cerro de Pasco 40 km to the southeast.
Cerro Pasco is currently owned by Volcan Compañia Minera who bought it from Centromin when that State owned company was privatized in the 1990s. The last full year's figures (2006) gave combined production from the underground and open pit mines at 3.34 million tons containing 58,300 tonnes of lead, 155,300 tonnes of zinc and 8.5 million ounces of silver. There are still 40 million tonnes in reserves and over 50 million tonnes in resources. Copper production ceased many years ago though the remains of the old smelter can be seen next to the railroad west of the Colquijirca property.
Also proximate to the Colquipucro Project is the 150 million ounce Uchuccahacua Silver Mine 25 kilometres away.
In 2007, Tinka completed a 15-hole 2,670 metre drill program in which all but one hole intercepted silver above the cut-off grade of 30 grams per tonne. Better interceptions include a 60 metre intercept that assayed 135 grams per tonne of silver, a 44 metre intercept of 95 grams per tonne silver starting from surface, and a 10 metre section that yielded 625 grams per tonne which is nearly 20 ounces per tonne.
The President of Tinka, Mr. Andrew Carter says; “We are very pleased with the continuing discovery at Colquipucro of surface mineralization that is geologically and structurally similar to Zone 1, which was drilled in 2007, and identifying further potential drill targets.“
The company has now completed soil sampling, trenching, sampling of underground workings, IP and drilling which has identified a zone of mineralization (silver, lead and zinc) that extends across an east-west strike of about 200m, a width of up to 500m north-south and to a depth ranging from 100m to 200m.
While 20 million ounces of silver is certainly a very impressive resource, the author of the report John Nebocat (P.Eng.), has determined that there is also a contiguous target with the potential of a further 2,000,000 tonnes of mineralization with a silver grade similar to that stated in the resource estimate. This equates to the possibilityof an additioal 7 million ounces of silver.But from Zone 2, the potential is for many tens of million of ounces of silver, if not hundreds of millions, as well as substantial tonnages of lead and zinc.
Real excitement is also being generated by larger zones (Ayawilca, Colquicocha and Chaucha) that have been identified at surface to the south, south-east and east of the drilled zone and surface mineralization has been identified over an area more than 4 times the size of Zone 1. Over 1,300 soil, channel and rock chip samples have been taken from a grid along 18.2 km of survey lines. The lines extend from Zone 1, which was recently tested with 15 diamond drill holes (see press releases dated August 28, October 2, December 12, 2007, August 20 and October 21 2008), southwards over a distance of up to 2 km and 1 km to the east. Results returned values ranging from trace to 549 grams per tonne silver, trace to 8.78% lead and trace to 18.5% zinc.
The Ayawilca anomaly is about 1,000m long, east-west, by up to 400m wide, north-south. Of great significance here is that the anomaly is underlain by the same sandstone that hosts the mineralization at Zone 1. The sandstone is also cut by numerous east-west faults and fractures, similar to the structural pattern seen at Zone 1. Two highly altered areas were found and sampled by the Company’s qualified person along such fault structure late in 2006 situated near the center of this large anomaly. A 4.0m wide rock sample from one outcrop yielded only slightly anomalous Silver but 0.14% Lead and 0.12% Zinc. A grab sample taken of a siliceous and ferruginous “clinker” sub-crop, located about 50m NE of this site, assayed 129.5 grams per tonne Silver, 0.21% Lead and 0.18% Zinc. The southern lines returned soil sample results ranging from trace to 59.9 g/t silver, trace to 0.18% lead, and trace to 2.7% zinc. Channel and rock chip samples ranged from 1 g/t to 549 g/t silver, trace to 0.57% lead and trace to 18.5% zinc.
At Colquicocha, nine channel samples ranging from 1 metre to 3 metres width, were collected from surface outcrops and old workings. Results returned values ranging from trace to 222 g/t silver, trace to 9.10% lead and trace to 8.0% zinc. Two contiguous samples from one underground working, taken perpendicular to the bedding in the sandstone, averaged 136 g/t silver, 5.86% lead and 4.82% zinc. About 300 metres SE from this working, a 3.0 metre wide sample taken from another working along a north-south trending, easterly dipping structure, assayed 146 g/t silver, 8.78% lead and 0.57% zinc.
At the Chaucha zone, highly anomalous Zn, Pb and Ag values in soil samples cover an area roughly 800m eastwest by up to 500m north-south. The anomalous zones are largely covered with overburden, but gossanous clinker and “manto-style” mineralization (iron and manganese oxides) has been observed nearby both in the Pucura limestone and the overlying Goyllarisquisga Sandstone. Of considerable interest are the anomalies that underly the northwestern part of the soil grid at Chaucha. These samples appear to be underlain by schists of
the Excelsior group, an older group of rocks that underly the Pucura limestone. Mineralization has not been identified in these rocks previously. Immediately north of and topographically below the westernmost soil lines occurs a zone of clinkery gossan outcroppings hosted by both the Pucura limestone and the Excelsior schists. This gossan zone has been traced over an area roughly 350m by 100m and appears to be following a major NW-SE trending fault structure. It has been suggested that this area might be the feeder zone to the mineralization found at Zone 1, higher in the section; anomalous levels of gold and slightly elevated copper values were obtained in the samples taken from the Excelsior Group. At present, the Chaucha zone remains open to the west and northwest, and further work is required to better define and assess the potential of this area.
A total of 35 rock samples have been taken from this new zone, and most of them returned highly anomalous to percent-grade values in zinc and moderately to strongly elevated levels in silver with one 8.4m sample returning 155 g/t silver and 4.0% zinc.
High grade silver was mined from a series of parallel fault structures during early colonial Spanish time, but more extensive underground workings were located on these zones in the 19th and 20th centuries. Underground and surface sampling done by Tinka demonstrated that the fractured sandstone between adjacent fault zones also contained lower grade silver mineralization, indicating that a potential bulk tonnage silver deposit may exist.
The Chimu Formation is known to host bulk tonnage gold deposits elsewhere in Peru, but this appears to be the only documented case of the Chimu hosting a bulk tonnage silver deposit.
Tinka is preparing to begin a phase 2 drill program that is intended to expand the resource and enhance management’s understanding of stratigraphic controls within the system.
Tinka is also working on two Australian projects that provide good diversification in terms of exploration potential.
GoldenMountain recently saw the completion of a 417 metre confirmation drill program that is expected to affirm a historic drill program that yielded the following results:
86.9 m @ 3.6 grams per tonne Gold from 37.9 m in GMDDH1
37.8 m @ 5.6 grams per tonne Gold from 168.5 m in GMDDH12
39.0 m @ 3.5 grams per tonne Gold from 16.0 m in GMRC72
45.0 m @ 3.0 grams per tonne Gold from 181.0 m in GMDDH21
88.0 m @ 1.5 grams per tonne Gold from 0.0 m in GMRC18
20.0 m @ 6.0 grams per tonne Gold from 75.0 m in T1
24.9 m @ 4.5 grams per tonne Gold from 102.2 m in GMDDH2
52.0 m @ 2.1 grams per tonne Gold from 44.0 m in GMRC41
40.0 m @ 2.6 grams per tonne Gold from 32.0 m in GMRC74
In January 1998, an historic resource was calculated for GoldenMountain, using an ordinary kriged block model based on two sets of structural domains. The reported historic resource using a 0.7 grams per tonne Gold lower cutoff was:
Measured 830,000 tonnes @ 1.5 grams per tonne Gold
Indicated 248,250 tonnes @ 1.6 grams per tonne Gold
Inferred 391,750 tonnes @ 1.8 grams per tonne Gold
Current trading levels value the company at less than $1.20 per ounce of silver in the 43-101 resource category on the Colquipucro alone. If you take into consideration the potential of the expanded zones, the lead and silver, and the Australian gold resources, the equivalent drops to mere pennies per ounce of silver equivalent in the ground for Tinka.
The extraordinarily bullish fundamentals of the silver market suggest, at current prices, that investing in silver could offer investors one of the single best long-term investments today. It is no secret that both gold and silver are recognized as a store of value. What is not so well known is that while gold has demonstrated a solid trend of price appreciation since 2001, more than doubling in price, the price of silver has recently outperformed that of gold.
Tinka is a great speculative buy, especially at current prices. Visit the company’s web site at
