NEWS RELEASE
ECUADORIAN MINERALS CORPORATION | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
November 14, 2000 | Trading: TSE.EMC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ECUADORIAN ANNOUNCES FINAL DRILLING RESULTS AND NEW RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR BEROEN GOLD/SILVER PROPERTY, ECUADOR Ecuadorian Minerals Corporation (“EMC”) is pleased to announce that it has received final assay results, together with independent check assays, from its second phase diamond-drilling program completed during September 2000 on the Beroen epithermal gold/silver property in Ecuador. A total of 2,610m of drilling in 27 drill holes was completed during the Phase 2 program giving a grand total of 4,639m in 48 drill holes for both drill programs to date on the property. The majority of drilling has been carried out on the Alejandra and Dorada mineralized zones (see attached map), the two most advanced targets on the Beroen property at the present time. A recently completed in-house, inferred resource estimate for the Alejandra and Dorada Zones using a 1 g/t gold cut-off grade has outlined 1.07 million ounces gold and 7.6 million ounces silver contained within 7.0 million tonnes of material at a grade of 4.8 g/t gold and 34 g/t silver (gold and silver grades are uncut). Of particular interest is the presence of a body of high-grade mineralization within Alejandra North containing 578,000 ounces gold and 4.3 million ounces silver contained within 1.7 million tonnes of material grading 10.9 g/t gold and 81 g/t silver. The Alejandra Zone, together with its high-grade inclusion, and the Dorada Zone remain open along strike and at depth. The resource estimate was carried out by Dr. Barry D. Rayment, a consultant to and a director of EMC. The table below shows resource figures for the individual zones included in the estimate:
Note: All gold and silver grades are based on uncut gold and silver assays. Based on a typical economic cut-off grade for open-pit mines worldwide of approximately 1g/t gold and for underground mines of approximately 5g/t gold, EMC recalculated the inferred resource estimate utilizing these parameters. Application of the 1g/t gold cut-off for mineralized material within 50m of surface and the 5g/t gold cut-off below 50m results in a recalculated inferred resource estimate of 4.6 million tonnes at an uncut grade of 6.1g/t gold and 40g/t silver containing 887,637 ounces gold and 5.9 million ounces silver. A down-dip length of 200m was used in the above calculations for the mineralized zones intersected by drilling; vein intercepts were assigned a maximum down-dip length of 30m. Drilling to date has tested ground to within 130m of surface but topographically, from the top of the Alejandra Zone to the base of the Dorada Zone, mineralization has been intersected over a vertical distance of some 500m. As a result, in addition to possible extensions to mineralization along strike, considerable additional potential exists at depth. It is significant that because of the presence of a steep slope cutting both the Alejandra and Dorada Zones deeper mineralization would be well placed for possible future exploitation by relatively low cost adit (tunnel) development rather than by expensive shaft sinking. Alejandra Zone Following completion of the Phase 2 drilling program the zone is projected to cover a strike length of approximately 750m along an east-northeast trend. Approximately 75% of the zone is obscured by surface cover; mineralization is hosted by a distinct body of strongly brecciated volcanics which contains quartz veins, silicified zones and both tectonic and hydrothermal breccias, the latter commonly hosting bonanza-type gold and silver grades throughout the length of the zone. Results of previous surface sampling by EMC and a table showing Phase 1 drilling results was provided in the news release dated September 1, 1999. Results of EMC’s Phase 2 drilling program (14 drill holes totaling 1,399m) are listed below and their locations are shown on the attached map. Also included are seven drill holes (designated “LLP”) from Rio Tinto’s 1996 drilling program.
Note
: All gold and silver assays are
uncut In Alejandra North, two Phase 2 drill holes intersected particularly strong zones of precious metal mineralization. Drill hole BC-27 contained an intercept of 22.5m with uncut values of 8.2 g/t gold and 95g/t silver, including 15.7m at 11.2 g/t gold and 124 g/t silver (which includes 8.6m at 17.1 g/t gold and 156g/t silver). The drill hole is located approximately 50m east of the Alejandra adit, driven by EMC earlier this year, where systematic underground sampling gave average, uncut values of 23.2g/t gold and 250g/t silver over a 27.2m adit length. Individual samples within the adit ranged from 0.3 to 159.4g/t gold and 11 to 1450g/t silver. Approximately 300m east-northeast of the adit, drill hole BC-47, drilled within a previously unknown and unexposed northeastern extension to the Alejandra Zone, produced an intercept with uncut values of 29.3m at 5.4g/t gold and 24g/t silver containing an included length of 9.0m at 14.6g/t gold and 32g/t silver (which also includes 0.82m at 135.6g/t gold and 145g/t silver). The Alejandra Zone remains open to the northeast, although there is believed to be a displacement across a fault zone at the extreme northeastern end of the zone. In addition the entire Alejandra Zone remains open at depth. Dorada Zone The Dorada Zone consists of gold/silver-bearing, brecciated, silicified and clay-altered intrusives with minor volcanics and is projected to extend over a north-south to northeast-southwest strike length of approximately 500m. The zone remains open to the south and at depth. Phase 1 drilling results together with surface sample values obtained by EMC were described in the EMC news release dated September 1, 1999. Results from EMC’s recently completed Phase 2 drilling program (9 drill holes totaling 726.5m) are shown in the table below. Also included are 6 drill holes from Rio Tinto’s 1996 drilling program.
Note : All gold and silver
assays are uncut Drill hole locations are shown on the attached map. A particularly high-grade intercept was encountered in drill hole BC-37 during Phase 2 drilling providing an intersection of 2.9m at 46.5g/t gold and 344g/t silver, including 1.4m at 90.8g/t gold and 643g/t silver (gold and silver values uncut). The final drill hole completed at the southern extremity of the Dorada Zone, BC-42, contained a well-mineralized, near-surface, broad intercept over 17.7m (from 1.5m to 19.2m) containing 3.9g/t gold and 16g/t silver, including 13.7m at 4.6g/t gold and 19g/t silver, together with a further inclusion of 5.1m at 6.9g/t gold and 23g/t silver. The zone remains open to the south. Summary and Future Work Program The results of EMC’s two drilling phases and of the Alejandra exploration adit sampling indicate the presence of two strongly mineralized zones showing good continuity with significant potential for additional mineralization along strike and at depth. The present inferred resource estimate at a cut-off grade of 1 g/t gold containing 1.07 million ounces gold and 7.6 million ounces silver contains an important high-grade inclusion within the Alejandra North sector consisting of 578,000 ounces gold at a grade of 10.9g/t and 4.3 million ounces silver at a grade of 81g/t. Beroen shows many similarities in terms of grade, structural setting, style of mineralization and alteration with other high-grade, epithermal precious metal deposits such as Meridian Gold’s El Peñon mine in northern Chile, recently visited by EMC staff. To date, EMC has focused its attention on the Alejandra and Dorada Zones, although several other targets on the property, outlined by surface sampling and geophysics, remain to be drill tested. Phase 2 drilling was carried out by the South American subsidiary of Canadian-based Connors Drilling Ltd and by Paragon Drilling Ecuador S.A. Sample preparation and assaying were undertaken by Bondar-Clegg of Vancouver using conventional fire assay methods. Duplicate assays for selected samples were carried out by ALS-Chemex of Vancouver and show good reproducibility, particularly for high grade samples (greater than 5g/t gold and 15g/t silver). An additional drilling program for the Alejandra and Dorada Zones is now in the planning stage with the object of testing for possible strike and depth extensions to the zones, with particular emphasis on the high grade eastern extension of the Alejandra Zone. In addition, a further adit will be completed by EMC through the northeastern portion of the Alejandra Zone to allow detailed sampling and geological mapping of the mineralized zone. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Stephen J. Kay, President and CEO The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this News Release. For additional information, contact Linda North at Tel: (480) 483-9932 or Fax: (480) 483-9926. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ecuadorian Minerals Corporation is not a reporting issuer in the United States and the information provided herein is not a solicitation to sell shares. The Company, however, has maintained a Standard and Poor's Corporate Listing since July 1996. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||