An Update on the Rio Tinto/Kennecott Exploration Program on the Frisco System of Horn Silver Mines’ property
The directorship of Horn Silver Mines, Inc., is pleased to provide an update on the Rio Tinto/Kennecott Exploration Program on the Frisco System of Horn Silver Mines’ property.
During Q2 2020, Kennecott Exploration Company (“Kennecott”), a subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO ASX: RIO), commenced exploration on Alderan’s Frisco copper/gold/silver project in Utah, USA. Kennecott is earning up to 70% interest through exploration expenditure on the project.
Previously, Kennecott conducted field visits to assess ground conditions and determine logistics and safety requirements to support an initial drill program. Kennecott spent several weeks reviewing selected drill holes to understand the geology and planned an initial diamond drill program to follow up high-grade intersections at the Cactus Breccia and Accrington Skarn targets as well as deeper hole testing the Reciprocity IP Anomaly.
Kennecott and Alderan’s subsidiary, Volantis Resources Corp., worked closely with the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining to permit near term drilling activities. A total of 15 previously permitted drill sites were removed from Volantis’ existing permits and moved into a permit under Kennecott.
During May 2020, Kennecott commenced an initial four-hole 2,000m drill program to test targets at the Cactus Breccias, Accrington Skarn and Reciprocity areas including:
At the Cactus Breccias, a hole to test for possible continuity between the Cactus and Comet Breccias.
At Accrington Skarn, a hole to test an approximately 50m step-out from significant historic intercepts and to help determine continuity in the area.
At the Reciprocity target, a deeper hole is planned to test the IP anomaly where, based on Kennecott remodeling of geophysical data, a previous hole drilled by Volantis may have been terminated before reaching the anomaly depth.
Progress has been slow due to COVID-19 related protocols. RTX has now received assays from the first Cactus hole. We anticipate receiving assay results shortly. Further drilling will be dependent on the results of the initial program. This drill program forms part of the first earn-in stage for Kennecott’s option to acquire a 55% project interest in Frisco by spending a total of US$6 million of expenditure. Kennecott will earn 70% of the project by completing three stages, which will total US$30 million exploration expenditure.
For questions or further information:info@alderanresources.com.au.