Tinka Resources drills 51.9 m of 10.1% Zn at Ayawilca

Dr. Graham Carman reports

 

TINKA DRILLS 52 METRES AT 10 % ZINC AND 15 METRES AT 20 % ZINC AT SOUTH AYAWILCA

 

Tinka Resources Ltd. has released new results from drill holes A17-056 and A17-057, the first two holes of the 10,000-metre 2017 drill program at Ayawilca, Peru, and the first holes to be drilled at South Ayawilca. Both holes were drilled from the same platform, approximately 400 metres from the existing zinc mineral resource. Two zones of significant zinc mineralization were intersected in both holes, associated with gently dipping massive to semi-massive sulphide replacements of carbonate and clastic sediments. Mineralization is open in all directions. Zinc mineralization is all sulphide (sphalerite, marmatite) accompanied by minor galena and iron sulphides.

There have been logistical delays to the drill program caused by heavy summer rainfall. Tinka will mobilize a third rig to site during the first week of April to accelerate the drill program.

 

Key highlights

 

Hole A17-056 (results from surface to 127 metres and from 238 to 294 metres are reported here; results from 127 to 238 metres were previously reported March 6, 2017, including 62 metres at 5.6 per cent zinc from 126 m depth):

 

51.9 metres at 10.1 per cent zinc, 62 grams per tonne silver and 233 g/t indium from 242.0 m depth, including:

14.9 metres at 20.6 per cent zinc, 152 g/t silver and 441 g/t indium from 279.0 m depth, including:

6.4 metres at 37.5 per cent zinc, 301 g/t silver and 916 g/t indium from 279.0 m depth;

 

The hole was lost at 293 m depth but successfully wedged and continued as hole A17-056A where it was recently completed to a depth of 376 metres. Assays are pending for the bottom section.

 

Hole A17-057 (results from surface to 294 metres are reported here):

 

40.1 metres at 9.1 per cent zinc, 22 g/t silver and 168 g/t indium from 157.6 m depth, including:

9.6 metres at 16.8 per cent zinc, 22 g/t silver and 299 g/t indium from 168.2 metres;

15.3 metres at 20.0 per cent zinc, 2.5 per cent lead, 102 g/t silver and 263 g/t indium from 264.0 m depth, including:

3.25 metres at 34.5 per cent zinc, 2.1 per cent lead, 96 g/t silver and 196 g/t indium from 265.75 metres;

5.2 metres at 32.5 per cent zinc, 69 g/t silver, and 639 g/t indium from 272.5 m depth;

The hole was completed to 477 m depth. Minor additional mineralization was intersected with assays pending.

 

Dr. Graham Carman, Tinka's president and chief executive officer, stated: "The first two holes at South Ayawilca have exceeded our expectations in terms of thickness and grade of zinc mineralization. These two holes are undoubtedly the best adjacent mineralized holes ever drilled at Ayawilca. There are also significant silver and indium credits. The intercepts in these holes are between 60 and 100 metres apart, and we interpret two mineralized bodies gently dipping to the south, formed by replacement of the host sequence, and remaining open in all directions. Furthermore, mineralization can be correlated from hole to hole showing good continuity, and aiding our interpretation of this blind target. Hole A17-056 has semi-massive to massive sulphide replacement of the entire 150-metre-thick carbonate sequence, indicating a very strongly mineralized system."

 

Dr. Carman continued, "Our focus is now on determining the scale of the mineralization at South Ayawilca. Rig 1 is currently drilling hole A17-059 to test the northwest extension of the discovery at South Ayawilca, while Rig 2 has recently commenced hole A17-060 to test the southeast extension. Very soon we will have three drill rigs operating at South Ayawilca. We plan to mobilize a fourth rig in late April to test the zone 3 area located two kilometres east of where we are currently drilling."

Both holes were drilled at the same azimuth direction (300 degrees) at angles of minus 75 and minus 55 degrees, respectively. True thicknesses of the zinc intersections are estimated to be at least 85 per cent of the downhole thickness. All significant results of the 2017 program are summarized in the associated table.

 

                            SUMMARY OF 2017 DRILL RESULTS 
  
Drill             From       To    Interval       Zn       Pb       Ag   Indium
hole               (m)      (m)         (m)      (%)      (%)    (g/t)    (g/t)

A17-056 (1)      90.30    90.65    0.35 (2)     29.0      0.4       82      443
and             113.00   113.40    0.40 (2)     31.2     0.04       85      759
and             126.00   189.90   63.90 (3)      5.6      0.1       17       29
including       127.50   145.40       17.90     11.6      0.2       36       20
including       127.50   133.30        5.80     22.5      0.3       77       50
and             199.20   204.70        5.50      5.8      0.1        6       38
and             228.50   233.70        5.20     12.9        0       11      162
and             242.00   293.90       51.90     10.1      0.1   62 (4)      233
including       279.00   293.90       14.90     20.6      0.2  152 (4)      441
including       279.00   285.40        6.40     37.5      0.4      301      916
A17-057          84.90    86.35        1.45     24.8        0       62      157
and             143.70   144.50    0.80 (2)     40.4      0.1      138      261
and             157.60   197.70       40.10      9.1      0.2       22      168
including       168.20   177.80        9.60     16.8      0.1       22      299
and             227.15   234.90        7.75      3.5      0.2       21       85
and             264.00   279.30       15.30     20.0      2.5      102      263
including       265.75   269.00        3.25     34.5      2.1       96      196
including       272.50   277.70        5.20     32.5      1.3       69      639
                                              hole abandoned in upper sandstone
                                                due to collapse in a fault zone
                                                      hole at West Ayawilca did
A17-058           0.00   301.00                          not reach target depth

All assays were calculated using a zinc cut-off grade of 2 per cent Zn over a 
six-metre interval.
(1) Hole A17-056 was lost at 293.9 m, then wedged and completed to 376 m as 
A17-056A; assays are awaited from 294 to 376 m.
(2) Narrow vein; true thickness is unknown at this time.
(3) The March 6, 2017, release indicated 62.4 metres. Additional sampling and 
assaying has extended the interval by 1.5 m for a total intercept of 63.9 m 
at the same grade.
(4) Hole A17-056 had a 20-centimetre interval from 287.1 to 287.3 m assaying 
greater than 1 per cent Ag. This was cut to 1,000 g/t for average interval 
grade.

 

Notes on sampling and assaying

Drill holes are diamond HQ-size core holes with recoveries generally above 80 per cent and often close to 100 per cent. The drill core is marked up, logged and photographed on-site. The cores are cut in half at the company's core storage facility, with half cores stored as a future reference. Half core is bagged on average over one- to two-metre composite intervals and sent to ALS laboratory in Lima, an ISO 9001:2000-registered laboratory, for assay in batches. Standards and blanks are inserted into each batch prior to departure from Tinka's core storage facilities. At the laboratory samples are dried, crushed to 100 per cent passing two millimetres, then 500 grams pulverized for multielement analysis by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) using multiacid digestion. Samples assaying over 1 per cent zinc, lead or copper are reassayed using precise ore-grade AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) techniques.

The qualified person, Dr. Carman, a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has reviewed and verified the technical contents of this release.

About Tinka Resources Ltd.

Tinka is an exploration and development company with its flagship property being the 100-per-cent-owned Ayawilca property in the zinc-lead-silver belt of central Peru, 200 kilometres northeast of Lima. The Ayawilca zinc zone has an inferred mineral resource of 18.8 million tonnes at 8.2 per cent zinc equivalent, and the tin zone has an inferred mineral resource of 5.4 million tonnes at 0.89 per cent tin equivalent, both open for expansion (May 25, 2016). The silver zone at Colquipucro, two kilometres north of the zinc zone, has indicated mineral resources of 2.9 million tonnes at 112 grams per tonne silver for 10.4 million ounces Ag and inferred mineral resources of 2.2 million tonnes at 105 grams per tonne Ag for 7.5 million ounces Ag hosted by oxidized silver-rich lenses less than 80 metres from surface (Feb. 26, 2015).

We seek Safe Harbor.