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Centenario Gold Corp Completes First Phase Exploration Program At Los Reyes Project in Chihuahua, Mexico
Centenario Gold Corp. has completed the first phase exploration program on the Los Reyes Project, a highly prospective copper and gold asset located near the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. This first phase of exploration consisted of mapping and sampling of old mine dumps and underground workings found along the intrusive-limestone contact zone where Cu-rich skarn zones are encountered. Most of the old mining tunnels were built by ASARCO in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Old government records state that approximately 200,000 tons of Cu-Zn-Ag material was mined out of Los Reyes during that period. The Los Reyes Project is located 225 km south of Chihuahua City, along Highway 49, a main artery connecting the city of Chihuahua to the major cities of Torreon and Monterrey further south. The projects El Rey mineral claim, where most of the old mine workings are located, sits just off Highway 49, some 14 km south of the mid-size town of Jimenez and can be easily accessed driving up a secondary dirt road for a few kilometers. The Los Reyes property is composed of two mineral claims: El Rey, 36.0 hectares, and El Rey 2, 9.3 hectares, located approximately 1.8 km apart. Each claim covers a segment of the intrusive-sediment contact where mineralization occurs. The El Rey mineral claim to the east, where the present exploration work is being done, contains the most important old mine workings found in the district. Penoles, a major Mexican mining company, controls all of the surrounding ground around the perimeter of the granodiorite intrusive. This first phase exploration program was designed to review and field-check the existing geological and exploration data (IMMSA 1992, and Valterra Resources Corporation 2019) and to complete an initial rock sampling program across shallow mining pits and segments of the old underground mine workings found on the El Rey mineral claim. Until now, no modern, systematic sampling was ever done across the underground portion of the Los Reyes Project. The first phase exploration field work included: Geological and mineralogical reconnaissance work, including alteration mapping, covering the central portion of the claim towards the south. Collection of a total of 58 rock samples: 7 taken from surface rock outcrops near the central area, 11 from old waste dumps and shallow pits near the Tuesda shaft, 12 rock chip samples taken underground at the Tuesda mine, 28 rock chip samples taken underground at the Jibosa mine. The collection of the surface and underground rock samples at Los Reyes was supervised by a senior professional geologist. The rock samples taken both on surface and underground consisted of rock chips, < 5cm in diameter, collected across rock outcrops with the help of a chisel and hammer. Samples weighted between 1.5 kg and 2.0 kg. The length of the rock outcrop sample cuts varied from 0.3m to 3.0m. Each sample’s chips were then transferred to a cotton cloth bag, labelled and tied with a string. At the end of each day, the samples were transferred to larger corn bags, labelled, sealed with a zip-tie and stored at the hotel in the town of ‘Jimenez’. After 10 days, when the initial exploration program was completed, the supervising geologist transported the samples to the sample preparation lab of ALS Chemex in the city of Chihuahua. Each corn bag, containing 10 to 12 samples, was labelled and photographed before being transferred to the Laboratory’s pick-up service agent. The rock samples are being analyzed by ALS Chemex of Mexico. Sample preparation included high-temperature drying, crushing and pulverizing. Samples were then geochemically analyzed using the standard Fire Assay method for Au and the acid digestion (HF-HNO3-HClO4) for 34 other elements. At El Rey, the Cu-rich skarn mineralization occures sporadically for more than 800 meters along the north south trending granodiorite - limestone contact. On surface the altered zone ranges up to 120 meters in width. The contact’s dip varies between vertical and 75 degrees to the East. The alteration shows a typical skarn zoning pattern, varying gradually outwards to the east, away from the intrusive granodiorite: skarn - marble - recrystallization in the limestone unit, and lastly, hornfels with some thin garnet bands in the overlying unit. The Cu-rich mineralization occurs as chalcopyrite, bornite, malachite, azurite and chalcocite within irregular, semi tabular, lenses or bodies, that can be up to 60 meters wide. Some of the zones previously mined by Asarco were reported to exceed 125 meters in length. The mineralized zone identified and sampled below the Tuesda shaft, although irregular in shape, showed a thickness of up to 20 m. At Jibosa on the other hand, where the mineralization is better defined, the thickness of the mineralized body did not exceed 15 m. Higher sulfide content is presumed to persist further north of the Tuesda Shaft. In several old mine dumps found at El Rey, fragments of magnetite and skarn with magnetite and specularite were found, suggesting the existence of Cu-Au skarn-type mineralization associated with the system. Results from the 58 rock samples taken during this initial phase of exploration work and sent to ALS Chemex Laboratories are expected to be received by mid June. Once the geochemical assay results are in, the Company will release the pertinent information as promptly as possible. The rock sample assays will supply the Company with valuable geochemical information that will help the company in better understanding the controls, distribution and extension of mineralization. The completion of this first phase exploration program will lead to the next phase of exploration, the drilling program, which is planned to begin in July. The proposed 1500 meters drill program is specifically designed to test the strike or down-dip extensions (>50 meters below surface) of the Cu-rich skarn zones that were identified by the underground sampling and mapping work. The two most important drill target areas are close to the Jibosa and Tuesda mining shafts.