Evaluation of Metal Grades
posted on
Jun 23, 2008 04:27PM
Golden Minerals is a junior silver producer with a strong growth profile, listed on both the NYSE Amex and TSX.
ECU has issued two press releases in the last week, the first for drill results on the Velardena Property on 6/19 and the second for drill results on the San Diego Property on 6/23. Below is a summary and resource calculation for each reported vein or zone. I used metal prices from last Fridays close of Au = $905.2, Ag = $17.43, Pb = $0.8323, Zn = $0.8584, and Cu = $3.90 in order to convert the metals into Ag equivalent. For calculation of the Terneras and Chicago reources I used the length and depth reported in the news release. For the remaining veins and zones, I calculated the resource based on a theoretical 100 meter long by 100 meter deep zone, since the exact dimensions are not yet reported and in hope that this will help convey the relative value. I also used a conversion of 1 cubic meter = 3 tonnes.
Terneras East Vein:
Au = 2 g/tonne
Ag = 1455 g/tonne
Pb = 6.16%
Zn = 2.5%
Ag Equiv Grade =59.32 oz/tonne
Vein Size = 200m x600m x2.05m = 246,000m3 = 738,000 tonne
Ag Equiv Resource = 43,778,160 oz
New Chicago Vein:
Au = 1.4 g/tonne
Ag = 306 g/tonne
Pb = 2.13%
Zn = 7.1%
Ag Equiv Grade = 22.13 oz/tonne
Vein Size = 400mx600mx0.7m = 168,000 m3 = 504,000 tonne
Ag Equiv Resource = 11,153,520 oz
Cantarnanas Zone
Ag = 102 g/tonne
Pb = 2.69%
Zn = 2.89%
Ag Equiv Grade = 9.25 oz/tonne
Zone Width = 15.10m
Theoretical Zone Size = 100m x100m x15.10m = 151,000m3 = 453,000 Tonne
Ag Equiv Resource = 4,190,250 oz per 100m x100m
Ag Vein Zone
Ag = 69 g/tonne
Pb = 1.95%
Zn = 1.79%
Ag Equiv Grade = 6.21 oz/tonne
Zone Width = 9.95m
Theoretical Zone Size = 100mx100mx9.95m = 99,500m3 = 298,500 tonnes
Ag Equiv Resource = 1,854,822 oz per 100m x100m
Contact Zone
Ag = 50g/tonne
Pb = 1.52%
Zn = 1.44%
Ag Equiv Grade = 4.77 oz/tonne
Zone Width = 5.9m
Theoretical Zone Size = 100m x100m x5.9m = 59,000m3 = 177,000 tonnes
Ag Equiv Resource = 844,290 oz per 100m x100m
La Cruz Vein
Au = 2.4 g/tonne
Ag = 1100 g/tonne
Pb = 12.6%
Zn = 6%
Cu = 0.6%
Ag Equiv Grade = 62.12 oz/tonne
Vein Width = 0.65m
Theoretical Vein Size = 100m x100m x 0.65m = 6,500m3 = 19,500 tonne
Ag Equiv Resource = 1,211,344 oz per 100m x 100m
Redox Zone
Au = 5.6 g/tonne
Cu = 1%
Ag Equiv Grade = 14.28 oz per tonne
Zone Width = 1.3m
Theoretical Zone Size - 100m x100m x1.3m = 13,000m3 = 39,000 tonne
Ag Equiv Resource = 556,920 oz per 100m x100m
As you can see, the winners are the Terneras Vein, the Cantarnanas Zone, and the La Cruz Vein. The La Cruz Vein actually had a higher grade (62.12 oz/tonne) than the Terneras (59.32 oz/tonne) althoughits width was considerably less at 0.65 m vs 2.05m. The Cantarnanas Zone could be a real winner depending on its length and depth, if we extrapolate this zone to the size of the Chicago (400m x 600m), this zone would hold over 100 million ounces Ag Equivalent. All in all, these news releases of the last week should boost our resource by over 100 million ounces more than that reported in January's NI43-101.