Recent resource-definition drilling by Aurelian Resources (ARU-T, AUREF-O) at the Fruta del Norte gold-silver deposit in southern Ecuador has yielded several long, high-grade intersections.

The first infill holes testing 50-metre spacings between the resource drilling confirmed wide intervals of high-grade mineralization in the central part of the deposit. Hole 162 intersected 216.6 metres that averaged 12.9 grams gold and 10.5 grams silver per tonne, while another hole 100 metres to the north, hole 151, cut multiple zones, the best being 140.5 metres averaging 16.9 grams gold and 14.8 grams silver per tonne.

An October resource estimate, based on 100-metre drill sections, put the size of the deposit at 59 million tonnes at average grades of 7.2 grams gold and 11.8 grams silver per tonne, based on a cutoff grade of 2.3 grams per tonne.

Two stepout holes on the southern end of the structure both intersected significant gold mineralization. Hole 152 cut a 15.8-metre interval grading 4.4 grams gold and 4.7 grams silver on the southern edge of the known resource, while hole 154, 100 metres south of the resource, cut 13.5 metres grading 16.9 grams gold and 27.4 grams silver per tonne.

At the north end of the deposit, one hole intersected 8.8 metres grading 2.7 grams gold and 3.5 grams silver, and another two zones, both 1 metre in core length; one graded 44.3 grams gold and 34.1 grams silver, and the other 33.7 grams gold and 40.4 grams silver per tonne.