Entre Gold Expands Lordsburg Copper-Gold System
Entrée Gold Inc. a Canadian mineral exploration company has expanded its Lordsburg copper-gold discovery in New Mexico, intersecting significant intervals of porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization in three additional holes. Of particular note, a near surface intersection in hole EG-L-09-006 returned potentially economic grades of 0.2% Cu and 0.2 g/t Au over 118 metres (390 feet).
Three additional core holes totaling 1,214 metres (3,980 feet) have been completed on the porphyry zone discovered in late 2008. The initial intersection (hole EG-L-08-002) returned 310 metres (1,015 feet) of porphyry-style mineralization averaging 0.14% Cu and 0.08 g/t Au (refer to news release dated January 15, 2009).
The exploration program to date has consisted of diamond drilling, detailed geological mapping and soil geochemical sampling. The zone of surface alteration and anomalous geochemistry now exceeds 1.2 kilometres (3,940 feet) in length and 600 metres (1,970 feet) in width. Within this zone, drilling has confirmed sub-surface mineralization over a 300 x 400 metre area. Potassic alteration and sulphide-quartz veining are associated with feldspar porphyry intrusives cutting andesitic volcanics. Mineralization appears best developed in the contact area between the porphyry and volcanics, where it is hosted in part by an intrusive breccia.
All four holes drilled within this zone, including previously reported results from hole EG-L-08-002, have encountered near surface porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization (see table below). This confirms the presence of extensive, previously unrecognized, porphyry-style mineralization in the Lordsburg District. While showing many attributes of typical porphyry mineralization, the Lordsburg intersections are unusually gold-rich in comparison to other porphyry deposits in the southwest USA. The Cu (%) to Au (g/t) ratio at Lordsburg is close to 1:1.
Follow-up drilling is planned to define the full extent of near-surface mineralization, better characterize structural controls and test other parts of the system for higher-grade mineralization.
