Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSXV: HSTR) (OTCQX: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) (“Heliostar” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the first results from a 12,500 metre drilling program at the La Colorada Mine in Sonora, Mexico. La Colorada is currently producing gold from residual leaching having ceased mining in late 2023. Heliostar is reviewing the potential to restart mining in 2025 and is completing a drill program intended to expand the mineral reserve ahead of this decision.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 5.0m grading 18.0 g/t gold
- 37.0m grading 1.24 g/t gold
- 11.8m grading 1.71 g/t gold
- 14.5m grading 1.69 g/t gold
- 10.1m grading 0.85 g/t gold
- Five drill rigs operating at site completing a 12,500m drill program
- Program designed to expand oxide mineral reserves at the El Creston pit
- Results show shallow mineralization is open and can positively impact mining economics
- Production decision at El Creston expected by mid-2025
Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented, “La Colorada has long been a successful mine that helped build El Dorado Gold in 1990s and Argonaut Gold in the 2010s. It has operated profitably over its history and has reserves to support growth. Mining ceased in 2023 when stripping to expand the pit was not completed. This pre-strip is now a capital project and the opportunity to restart is a priority for Heliostar in 2025. Our team recognized that there are significant opportunities to expand shallow mineralization and today’s results demonstrate the potential to convert a portion of the previously assumed waste into ore. This can result in lower capital costs and higher cash flow at the beginning of the restart. We value speed as a guiding business principle at Heliostar and have hit the ground running to deliver these results at the mine. I believe La Colorada will help build a third mining company over the next decade!”
Drill Results Summary
Mineralization at La Colorada’s Creston Pit is predominantly hosted in three veins: the North, Intermediate and South Veins (Figure 1). These veins trend northeast-southwest to east-west, dip northward and are surrounded by halos of smaller mineralized vein zones. The Creston Pit has historically mined all three of these veins. Drilling prior to Heliostar’s acquisition of the mine had successfully focussed on these veins beneath the pit and had expanded the mineral reserve.
Reviewing the expansion potential revealed two opportunities for reserve growth; near surface extensions of known veins where little or no drilling had been completed and upgrading and expanding mineralization beneath the pit. Both opportunities were defined using historical drilling, blasthole data, mining shapes, and the geological model.
High density blast hole data strongly emphasizes the potential for continuation of veins at shallow depth. It defines elevated gold grades continuing to the edge of the pit walls where they remain open for expansion.
Figure 1: Plan view of the Creston Pit showing historic drilling, blast hole samples and new Heliostar…
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