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See Images from the Paso Yobai Gold Project 2011 Trenching and Diamond Drilling Program
Discovered by a local prospector in 1996, Paso Yobai is an emerging gold camp located in eastern Paraguay. The village of Paso Yobai is approximately 150 kilometres east of capital city, Asuncion.
The Paso Yobai property covers an aggregate total of 15,615 hectares, comprising exploration concessions covering 7,800 hectares and exploitation concessions covering 7,200 hectares. The company own 100% of the exploration concessions and has the right to earn 70% of the exploitation concessions which cover the 8 kilometre-long Paso Yobai gold trend and is fully permitted for production.
The Company has completed an extensive exploration program and has significantly enhanced the value of the property by diamond drilling returning up to 26.6 gpt gold over 6.5 metres and by outlining a possible mineral deposit containing between 3.5 and 9.0 million tonnes averaging between 4gpt and 7gpt gold; furthermore, management believes the entire Paso Yobai Gold Tend, which has been continuously traced along strike for 8 kilometres, could host a potential mineral deposit ranging between 3,500,000 and 7,000,000 tonnes of similar grade. The potential quality
and grade is conceptual in nature; there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
We have also completed preliminary open pit mine design, metallurgical testing, flow sheet design, and determined preliminary acquisition and procurement cost estimates for a 500 tonne per day pilot plant. We are currently evaluating various financing scenarios to move the project forward to production
The Paso Yobai property is located in eastern Paraguay approximately 150 kilometres east of Asuncion and is readily accessible by paved highways and gravel secondary county roads. The village of Paso Yobai has a large labour pool including miners and a medical aid station for emergency triage and ambulance service to district hospitals.
The property covers 15,615 hectares and consists of - exploration concessions covering 7,800 hectares in various stages of approval (see figure) and two granted mining concessions identified in green, covering 7,200 hectares. The exploration concessions are 100% owned by the Company.
The mining concessions are held under an option agreement, which grants the company the right to earn 70% in the concessions by making exploration and cash options totaling US$ 2.35 MM. The mining concessions are fully permitted for production.
Gold was discovered at Paso Yobai by a local prospector in 1996. In 2007, the Company established its land position and to date has:
- Completed 3,000 line kilometres - helicopter borne electromagnetic magnetometer survey
- Collected 14,000 soil samples and 2,000 rock chip - channel samples
- Completed 6,616 metres of diamond drilling
- Excavated 11 trenches measuring 10 metres wide, 15 metres deep, and up to 40 metres long
- Completed geological mapping of trenches
- Collected 637 trench channel samples
- Outlining a possible mineral deposit containing between 3.5 and 9.0 million tonnes averaging between 4gpt and 7gpt gold.
- Completed preliminary open pit mine design, metallurgical testing, flow sheet design, and determined preliminary acquisition and procurement cost estimates for a 500 tonne per day pilot plant.
At Paso Yobai, native gold is strikingly common in numerous quartz-carbonate stringers and veins within a mafic dyke which has intruded the underlying sandstone and has been traced along strike for 8 kilometres by soil geochemistry.
Additionally, in October of 2009 the company identified a new, very large gold soil anomaly trend located 3 km NE of the 8 km long known gold zone. LAT is proceeding to carry on large scale trenching work (10 to 15 m deep) to expose the mineralization found in the soils and to prepare a drilling campaign on the new targets.
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As regards the original Discovery Zone: Mechanical trenching has exposed a high grade gold zone continuously along strike for over 700 meters and is open along strike.
The weighted averaged grade of the channel samples from the trenches returned 21.97 gpt gold over an average width of 1.1 metres as summarized below:
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Trench 1:
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21.47 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
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| Trench 2: |
61.38 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
16.45 gpt Au over 1.0 metres
14.25 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
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| Trench 3: |
10.08 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
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| Trench 4: |
34.79 gpt Au over 0.6 metres
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| Trench 5: |
55.50 gpt Au over 1.0 metres
20.00 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
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| Trench 6: |
7.01 gpt Au over 0.7 metres
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| Trench 7: |
11.47 gpt Au over 2.8 metres
18.48 gpt Au over 1.3 metres
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From a potential mining perspective, this high grade zone equates to approximately 7 gpt (0.25 opt) Au over a mining width of 3 metres, which can be selectively mined by open pit mining methods.
Diamond drilling at Paso Yobai has confirmed the continuity of the gold mineralization to a depth of 100 metres and remains open to depth. All holes intersected intense alteration associated with gold deposits. All holes intersected the target gold bearing zone.
Discovery Zone - Two Consecutive Diamond Drill Hole Cross Sections at 100 meters intervals
Economically Significant Gold Intersected at a depth of 100 meters - Gold Continues to depth
Gold was intersected in all holes ranging from 100 ppb to 111.15 gpt gold over widths ranging from <0.5 metres to 3.8 metres. Significant intersections include the following:
- DDH-43:
45 gpt Au over 1.3 metres
including:
- 111 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
- DDH-11:
27 gpt Au over 6.5 metres
including:
- 43 gpt Au over 4.0 metres
- 138 gpt Au over 0.5 metres
- 105 gpt Au over 0.5
Based on the extensive work completed on the Paso Yobai Property, Latin American Minerals estimates the 1,200 metre long Discovery Zone contains a Potential Mineral Deposit ranging from 450,000 to 900,000 tonnes with grades ranging from 4.0 to 7.0 gpt gold containing up to 225,000 ounces of gold.
By extension, management believes the entire Paso Yobai Gold Tend, could host a potential mineral deposit ranging between 3,500,000 and 7,000,000 tonnes of similar grade, containing up to 1,800,000 ounces.
The potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature; there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
The Company is investigating various opportunities to advance this developing gold project.
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