Operations
El Sastre
The El Sastre Main Zone is the most advanced of the four primary zones comprising the Company's El Sastre Gold Project. The El Sastre Main zone is a high-grade, near-surface oxide gold deposit. Construction of a heap leach gold operation at the site was completed along with the Company's first gold pour in late 2006. Gold production for 2007 was 13,819 ounces and is expected to be 12, 000 ounces in 2008 of which Argonaut Gold will receive 6,000 ounces.Gold reserves at the Main Zone (as of Q1-2007) stand at 68,500 ounces (868,000 tonnes at 2.45 g/t) with an additional 102,000 ounces of inferred resources (1,440,000 tonnes at 2.2 g/t). As mining operations proceed, the Company's exploration efforts have continued to focus on better defining the deposit and converting resources into additional reserves. In Q3-2007 work was initiated to construct a second leach pad in order to meet requirements for 2008 and beyond.
El Sastre Exploration
Argonaut Gold and previous owners have defined a number of exploration targets on the El Sastre concession block. The four primary zones are the El Sastre Main Zone, from which the company is producing gold, El Arenal, the Bridge Zone and the Lupita Zone.
The El Sastre Gold Mine (Main Zone) and El Arenal are located on the Sastre concession. The Bridge zone is located on the Bridge concession and the Lupita Zone is located on the Lupita concession. Argonaut Gold owns 50% of the Sastre concession and is earning up to 70% of the Bridge and Lupita concessions.
El Sastre Gold Mine (Main Zone)
As mining operations proceed, the Company's exploration efforts have continued to focus on better defining the deposit and converting resources into additional reserves.
March 2007 El Sastre 43-101 Technical Report (PDF, 1.6 Mb)El Arenal Zone
Lupita Zone
El Arenal Zone
The El Arenal Zone is located on the El Sastre concession 2 km SE of the El Sastre Main Zone and 2.6 km SE of the Lupita Zone. The property contains an inferred resource of 1,830,000 tonnes grading 1.3 g/t for 76,000 ounces of contained gold. Gold found here is fine-grained and, metallurgically similar to the El Sastre Main Zone. This is significant not only in regards to the leachability of the ore and it supports the theory that the El Arenal and El Sastre Main zones may be connected. Numerous mineralized outcrops of similar rock type have been identified in the area between the El Arenal and El Sastre Main Zones.
In 2007 the Company completed a development road connecting the El Arenal and El Sastre Main Zones. The road was designed to provide exploration access to additional areas of known mineralization between the two zones. New drilling and trenching is planned to expand the present resources and improve the understanding of the potential continuity between all of the zones.
Bridge Zone
The Bridge Zone is located west of the Company's Lupita Zone on the Bridge concession and has an inferred resource of 1.26 million tonnes (0.5 g/t Au cut off) grading 1.71 g/t for 69,700 ounces of contained gold. Gold mineralization appears related to hot spring activity noted in railway embankments, trenches and outcrops. Mineralization is hosted in a number of different rock types with gold values associated with pyrite-arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite occurring both as disseminations and with quartz veins and stockworks. Mineralized breccia has been mapped over 600 m by 200 m.
Argonaut Gold has received notice from the joint venture partner in Guatemala electing to terminate the joint venture agreements regarding the Lupita Project. The Company is disputing this notice as it had received from the Partner consent to an extension to the schedule of exploration expenditures and payment obligations. The Company has elected to pursue dispute resolution procedures as provided for in the joint venture agreements.
Work plans at the Bridge Zone include further drilling to expand the known resources and a metallurgical screening program. A soil and stream sediment sampling campaign has also been prepared to investigate previously unexplored areas of the concession.
April 2007 Bridge Zone 43-101 Technical Report (PDF, 1.2 Mb)
Lupita Zone
The Lupita Zone, which is contiguous with the El Sastre Zone, has an inferred resource of 13 million tonnes (0.5 g/t Au cut off) grading 1.24 g/t for 518,000 ounces of contained gold. The deposit may be amenable to open pit mining and is hosted in deformed and altered phyllite. This includes exposed mineralization over 400m x 200m, which has been tested by eight drill holes and appears to be open at strike and depth.
Argonaut Gold has received notice from the joint venture partner in Guatemala electing to terminate the joint venture agreements regarding the Lupita Project. The Company is disputing this notice as it had received from the Partner consent to an extension to the schedule of exploration expenditures and payment obligations. The Company has elected to pursue dispute resolution procedures as provided for in the joint venture agreements.
In addition to assembling a comprehensive database combining previous exploration results, the company plans to conduct further drilling to expand the known resource. A metallurgical screening program has been initiated to evaluate potential processing alternatives. Work is also planned to better define and understand a number of additional mineralized targets that have been previously identified on the Lupita concession.
February 2006 Lupita and Bridge 43-101 Technical Report (PDF, 826 kb)
