Geophysical Survey On Silverton Carlin-Type Gold Exploration Property

VANCOUVER - Arizona Silver Exploration Inc. reported on the Silverton carbonate-hosted gold exploration property located in Nye County, Nevada. In late March the Company completed a combined helicopter-borne magnetotelluric (MT) and magnetic survey flown over the entire property. Rock chip gold samples above 100 ppb across an area 2.5 kilometers by 3 kilometers. Locally strong stibnite-quartz-gold veins in volcanics above the target limestone/dolomite section. A 2-year extension obtained on drilling permit (Notice of Intent) with the BLM.

The Silverton property is a large claim block of 1860 acres containing anomalous gold above 100 ppb in rock chip samples across an area 2.5 kms by 3 kms. The gold is accompanied by strongly anomalous arsenic, antimony, mercury and other metals (the classic Carlin-type or intermediate sulfidation metal suite).  Most of this area has exposures of Paleozoic carbonate rocks that are variably altered to dolomite.  In both the eastern and the western ends of the property the carbonates are overlain and intruded by Tertiary volcanics dated at late Eocene to early Oligocene in age.  The central area of exposed carbonate rocks appears to be a shallow anticline or complex dome.

Extensive low-grade gold-bearing jasperoid replacement deposits occur primarily at the contact between the carbonates and the overlying volcanics. Jasperoids also occur in the carbonates and volcanics along faults, fractures, and bedding planes. Veins of quartz containing variable amounts of gold, silver and antimony (stibnite) and barite within the overlying volcanics were the primary focus of shallow historic exploration drilling in the late 1980s to early 2000s.  No serious exploration has been done to test the altered carbonate package containing the bulk of the gold and trace metal anomalies, or in the carbonates beneath the swarm of quartz-antimony-gold veins.  Models of, and data from, deep Carlin-type deposits suggest a subtle geochemical halo occurs up to thousands of feet above the high-grade deposits, occurring mostly along faults, fractures, and bedding planes.

The company contracted a survey over the entire claim block as property-wide geophysics had not been previously done. MT measures the resistivity of the rocks to a depth of +1 kilometre, especially in resistive rocks like massive carbonates.  The survey has provided a 3D data set to aid in mapping resistivity changes and structures down to the depth limit of the survey.  The objective was to identify the signature features that characterize Carlin-type deposits described above. Such features outcrop but the shallow historic drilling provides no information on the sub-surface below about 150 metres.  The survey has revealed several obvious low resistivity anomalies beneath the surface features referenced above.  The Company has staked an additional 16 claims (320 acres) to cover the eastern margins of the large resistivity anomaly, which is included in the total acreage above.

Gregory Hahn, VP Exploration, said, “Our interpretation of the survey results are as follows. One very prominent low resistivity zone, interpreted as alteration, occurs along a strike length of +1.5 kms and a width of 0.5 kms, beneath a strongly silicified (resistive) volcanic cap.  No historic drill holes test this anomaly, although several historic drill holes drilled along the western (up-dip) flank of the anomaly intersected good intervals of low-grade gold and jasperoid.  We interpret these intercepts as the distal fringe of the heart of the anomaly which may represent a source for the low-grade intercepts. Several other weaker and shorter anomalies also are identified with low-grade gold intercepts in their vicinity. Importantly, the air magnetic survey shows a large intrusion at depth.  A prominent deep thick property-wide low resistivity layer has unknown origins. It could be extensive alteration, a package of carbonaceous sediments within the resistive carbonate sequence, or a large sill-like altered intrusion.  No existing drill holes went deep enough to penetrate and test this large low-resistivity layer.”

The Company submitted a request to extend the drilling permit for the property (approved and bonded Notice of Intent (NOI)) for two years.  The extension was received and the additional bond was approved. The extension will allow geologists time to review the results of the MT survey and amend the NOI as appropriate to test targets highlighted by the MT survey.