Print Page  |
Email Page  |
PDF Page  |
Drilling at Easter Project
Gold and Silver
La Quinta Easter Propterty 43-101 Summart Report - View Report
La Quinta Easter Propterty NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources - View Report
La Quinta Resources Ltd. has acquired an option to earn 65% joint venture interest in the Easter gold-silver property from Gryphon Gold. La Quinta can earn 65% interest over a 5-year period by expending US$2 million on exploration of the property and paying the owner, Gryphon Gold, US$190,000.
The Easter property is situated in Lincoln County, Nevada, approximately 105 air-miles northeast of Las Vegas. The property consists of 20 unpatented mining claims (more than 400 acres) located on gold – silver veins hosted in volcanic rocks in the Delamar Mining District. The property was mined on a small scale historically with production of 204 tons of ore that averaged 0.668 oz/ton gold and 3.2 oz/ton silver from 1933 – 1935. Subsequent work by several companies has included drilling more than 100 holes using core and reverse circulation percussion methods.
GEOLOGY
The Easter project is located on the southern boundary of the Delamar Caldera, a resurgent bimodal volcanic feature nested with the regional Caliente Caldera volcanic complex. The Delamar Caldera contains rhyolitic tuffs and flows and basaltic dikes in the vicinity of the Easter project. Calderas are circular to semi-circular collapse structures centered around eruptive centers in volcanic fields. Resurgent calderas, sites of recurring volcanic eruptions, are important in the formation of ore deposits of various types, including gold and silver as found at the Easter project.
Remote image of Easter Project, Southeasterly oblique view. Marker is at North Vein, located approximately 3,000 ft North of the Easter Vein. Easter Vein is the dark hill face to the right of the marker, with the darkness due to lichen cover of the dipslope of the exposed vein. Argillic alteration and stockwork silicification have caused the bleaching of the rhyolitic tuffs between the two veins.
Aerial view of Easter Vein, westerly orientation. Rib atop hill in center of slide is the Easter Vein, with N85˚E strike, 50˚N dip, and approximately 400 m (1,300 ft) exposed uniform strike. North Vein is off the right edge of the slide, within the Delamar lobe of the Caliente Caldera.
Epithermal quartz-adularia veins containing gold and silver are hosted in the rhyolites outboard of and subparallel to basaltic dikes along the southern margin of the Delamar Caldera, a nested resurgent caldera within the regional Caliente Caldera. The Easter vein itself ranges from 10 – 70 ft in thickness, and is exposed intermittently along a strike length of more than 6,400 ft. The Easter vein consists of banded quartz with interspersed adularia and/or sericite, with vein textures ranging from massive to vuggy to cockscomb. Additional quartz and chalcedony veins flank the main Easter Vein along its entire strike length in both the hangingwall and footwall, with an aggregate width that ranges to 240 ft. The system has overall low-sulfur, low salinity characteristics.
The mineralogy of the Easter Vein consists of thin rhythmically banded quartz, iron oxides, fine-grained sericite and/or adularia, fine-grained pyrite and unidentified fine-grained gray sulfides. The thin rhythmic banding is apparent just above the safety glasses in the specimen to the right. Additional quartz vein textures include mammillary, vuggy, cockscomb, bladed (after calcite), and stockwork. |
|
HISTORIC DRILL PROGRAMS
Prior to 2000, eight companies drilled 109 holes on the project, using both core and percussion techniques. 93 RC holes were drilled for a total of 32,940 ft of both angle and vertical holes, and 16 core holes were drilled for a total of 4,287 ft of vertical and angle holes.
An additional 4,857 ft of core drilling, primarily as vertical holes, was completed by Beta Minerals in 2004, with results as follows, reported by Hembree (2004):
2004 Beta Minerals Drill Summary
Hole # INTERCEPT THICKNESS OPT AU GR AU |
2004-1 474-483 FT 9.0 FT 0.063 2.142 |
474-497 FT 23.0 FT 0.034 1.156 |
2004-2 405-420 FT 15 FT 0.018 0.646 |
442.8-449.0 FT 6.2 FT 0.025 0.85 |
2004-3 72-76 FT 4 FT 0.263 8.942 |
68-85 FT 17 FT 0.083 2.822 |
68-137 FT 69 FT 0.040 1.36 |
2004-4 142-147 FT 5 FT 0.343 11.68 |
140-147 FT 7 FT 0.299 10.166 |
135-147 FT 12 FT 0.227 7.718 |
135-200 FT 65 FT 0.074 2.52 |
2004-5 360-365 FT 5 FT 0.214 7.276 |
360-370 FT 10 FT 0.180 6.12 |
350-380 FT 30 FT 0.085 2.89 |
2004-6 697-764 FT 67 FT 0.006 0.204 |
764-773 FT 9 FT 0.025 0.85 |
784-789 FT 5 FT 0.035 1.19 |
2004-7 345-350 FT 5 FT 0.129 4.386 |
415-437 FT 22 FT 0.047 1.598 |
345-466 FT 101 FT 0.024 0.616 |
2004-8 233-275 FT 42 FT 0.023 0.782 |
2004-9 42-65 FT 23 FT 0.005 0.17 |
2004-10 223-226 FT 3 FT 0.047 1.598 |
2004-11 248-260 FT 12 FT 0.058 1.972 |
294-306 FT 12 FT 0.054 1.836 |
233-306 FT 73 FT 0.028 0.952 |
2004-12 135-148 FT 13 FT 0.099 3.366 |
The drilling programs to date have confirmed that gold mineralization hosted in quartz-adularia veins extends over a strike length of 1,800 ft and downdip to more than 1,700 ft below ground surface. These results may not be compliant with NI43-101. Additional surface sampling indicates that the mineralized veins continue along strike both east and west of the Easter Vein for at least 6,400 ft. La Quinta’s technical advisors plan to confirm several of the significant drill intercepts and extensions of surface mineralization outboard of the drilled areas, then drill untested gaps within the vein system to test for continuity of the mineralization.
