Meridian Mining UK Societas announced several of the strongest results to date from its Santa Helena Au-Cu-Ag & Zn VMS deposit (?Santa Helena?), part of the greater Au-Cu Cabaçal Project (?Cabaçal?), in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. High-grade highlights include CD-574, returning 15.9m @ 3.9g/t AuEq /2.6% CuEq from 58.2m and CD-556: 22.4m @ 3.2g/t AuEq /2.2% CuEq from 9.2m, amongst many strong near-surface intersections. These results both extend and infill Santa Helena's high-grade continuous mineralization and will be included in the pending resource estimate in Fourth Quarter 2024.
Meridian is also reporting that the results of multiple geophysical programs have been combined to map Santa Helena's massive sulphides and to identify potential targets for blind extensions to its main mineralized trend. Further assays are pending. Highlights Reported Meridian's Santa Helena drill program reports continued high-grade Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization; Meridian intercepts more shallow high-grade Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization at Santa Helena; CD-574: 15.9m @ 3.9g/t AuEq /2.6% CuEq from 58.2m; Including: 5.5m @ 9.0g/t AuEq /6.0% CuEq from 60.1m; CD-556: 22.4m @ 3.2g/t AuEq /2.2% CuEq from 9.2m; Including: 5.5m @ 7.8g/t AuEq /5.2% CuEq from 21.3m; CD-512: 7.7m @ 4.9g/t AuEq /3.3% CuEq from 61.1m; Including: 4.0m @ 8.9g/t AuEq /6.0% CuEq from 61.6m; CD-549: 11.3m @ 3.1g/t AuEq /2.1% CuEq from 43.4m; Including: 5.4m @ 5.7g/t AuEq /3.8% CuEq from 43.4m; CD-548: 3.5m @ 10.0g/t AuEq /6.7% CuEq from 47.6m; CD-568: 4.8m @ 7.6g/t AuEq /5.1% CuEq from 48.0m; Santa Helena's geophysical program has outlined near-mine open upside to test; and Open targets to test for potential massive sulphide extensions defined by Mise-à-la-Masse, new BHEM tool, and surface surveys.
Santa Helena Drill Results: Santa Helena's drilling has delivered a steady flow of gold, copper, silver zinc and some lead mineralization, consolidating the footprint of the deposit's western, central and eastern sectors. The geometry, depth, continuity and robust grades of the mineralization to date indicate that Santa Helena's potential to host open pitable resources continues to be maintained. Drilling remains in progress to characterize the western limit of the deposit, where CD-574 returned 15.9m @3.9g/t AuEq /2.6% CuEq from 58.2m, including a higher-grade core of 5.5m @ 9.0g/t AuEq /6.0% CuEq from 60.1m.
Drilling was also directed further to the west, where lower angle oblique holes are necessary due to access constraints. CD-539 returned 40.4m @ 1.8g/t AuEq /1.2% CuEq from 16.9m in this position. This is not representative of true width given the angle of drilling, but is considered commensurate with adjacent intersections on the southern flank of the deposit.
Similar important results have been delivered over the shallower up-plunge sector of the deposit to the east, with results from CD-556 highlighting the presence of mineralization at shallow depths, returning 22.4m @ 3.2g/t AuEq /2.2% CuEq from 9.2m, including 5.5m @ 7.8g/t AuEq /5.2% CuEq from 21.3m. Drill holes CD-555 and CD-559 were collared as a fan 41m northwest along strike, crossing an area where there was some conflicting information in historical collar positions, and where some historical records had only partial composites from BP Mineral's last phase of historical drilling. CD-555, drilled at a lower-angle to the VMS body, returned multiple intersections including a down-hole zone of 13.1m @ 3.7g/t AuEq /2.5% CuEq from 29.7m.
CD-559 was drilled at an angle more representative of the true with of the mineral horizon, and returned multiple intersections, including: 11.2m @ 1.9g/t AuEq /1.3% CuEq from 12.0m, including 3.3m @ 4.1g/t AuEq /2.8% CuEq from 17.8m. The area includes other intersections from angled holes, CD-552, CD-522, CD-568, CD-532, defining a shallow dipping sheet of near surface mineralization that would appear a good nucleus for a starter pit, subject to ongoing studies. The eastern sector drilling also includes robust results from the northern synformal fold limb of the deposit, such as CD-549: 11.3m @ 3.1g/t AuEq /2.1% CuEq from 43.4m, including 5.4m @ 5.7g/t AuEq /3.8% CuEq from 43.4m, and CD-548: 3.5m @ 10.0g/t AuEq /6.7% CuEq from 47.6m.
This position appears to be disrupted somewhat by faulting migrating to the west, although the new geophysical surveys define a potential target for an offset of this fold-limb position. Santa Helena Geophysics: Meridian is now deploying a range of bore-hole electromagnetic (?BHEM?) and surface geophysical methods to test for possible near-mine sulphide extensions that are positioned beyond the limits of the know massive sulphide pile. The Geonics probe shows versatility in better mapping the lower conductivity sulphide assemblages, typical of those present along the Cabaçal belt to date.
BHEM has advanced in the western sector of the Santa Helena prospect. Modelling of the BHEM plates is resolving conductors of up to 150m strike length with a conductivity thickness of 10 - 52 Siemens, aligning well with the thickened hinge zone of the massive sulphide pile. Higher conductivity plates appear to correlate with intersections with higher copper sulphide content (survey of CD-497, in which individual sample grades peaked between 3.1 - 4.5% Cu).
The higher conductivity response is slightly oblique to the main trend with a more northwesterly strike. Potentially this reflects some zonation, with studies ongoing. CD-574, CD-332 and CD-497 were used as platforms for a Mise-à-la-Masse (?MALM?) bore-hole geophysical survey.
The MALM survey method maps surface potentials (or voltages) associated with resistivity contrasts linked with geology. Sulphide bodies are particularly amenable to the technique due to their conductivity contrast against more resistive host rocks. The three drill holes were selected at the western limit of the historical mine area (as the presence of historical mining cavities can subdue the natural signal).
The survey detected a response over known sulphide mineralization, although unexpectedly a trend emerged projecting to the northwest with an offset peak located ~75m northwest of the CD-574 collar position. This outlying trend deflects back and merges again with the known mineralization around the CD-497 position. The anomaly overlaps with the position of fixed loop surface EM conductors.
It is possible that a non-sulphide conductivity response may be generated by features such as a weathering trough, but the anomaly has interesting context and some drilling will be directed into this area. A positive supporting feature is that the strike of the more conductive BHEM anomaly projects towards the trend of the MALM anomaly.
