Impact: Positive
Aztec Minerals announced initial surface exploration results from its 75%-owned Tombstone gold and silver deposit in Arizona. The current surface program is focused on identifying areas of mineralization for future drilling, with a particular focus on the areas immediately around the historical Contention Pit and the western extension. The 10 reported channel samples are from the area around the historical (1980s) Contention Pit. All channels contained wide intervals of Au-Ag mineralization at surface. Highlights include: 3.72 g/t Au and 167.93 g/t Ag (5.82 g/t AuEq) over 30.2m, 0.827 g/t Au and 54.08 g/t Ag (1.50 g/t AuEq) over 50.0m and 0.46 gpt Au and 47.27 g/t Ag (1.05 g/t AuEq) over 42.3m. In our opinion, these are positive results. The widespread presence of mineralization at surface, including high-grade mineralization, bodes well for future drilling. The Contention Pit was shut down because of low gold and silver prices at the time, rather than the lack of mineralization, and Aztec’s exploration programs continues to demonstrate that this historic camp could have renewed potential.
