Chilean-focused explorer Tesoro Gold Ltd (ASX:TSO) has seen its shares jump more than 14 percent on news of a high-grade discovery at one of four key targets at its El Zorro Gold Project, with 173 grams per tonne identified through first pass drilling.
At 11:36 AEST, Tesoro shares were sitting at 4 cents, a rise of 14.29 percent since the market opened.
The high-grade discovery was made during a diamond drilling campaign at the Drone Hill target, located approximately 700 metres northwest of the company’s 1.3-million-ounce Ternera gold deposit, with four targets overall being identified within a 1.5 kilometre radius of this site.
At Drone Hill, shallow and high-grade gold was intersected, with results from one hole including 1.8 metres at 77.15 grams per tonne from 59.2 metres including 0.8 metres at 173.00 grams per tonne from 59.2 metres.
Tesoro is awaiting results from four diamond drill holes at two other targets – two at Buzzard, and another two at Ternera East – with these to be reported in the following weeks.
Managing director Zeff Reeves said the results were impressive both in terms of strength and what they suggested about underlying mineralisation.
“The exceptional results returned from first pass drilling at Drone Hill are highly encouraging and represent some of the highest grades intersected at the El Zorro Gold Project to date,” he said.
“Gold discovered in these initial holes is associated with a northwest-trending fault system
that also hosts high-grade mineralisation within the Ternera Gold Deposit.
“This fault system has the potential to link Ternera to Drone Hill over 700 metres of strike: we are focused on exploration at four high-priority targets to delineate additional shallow gold extending from or near to Ternera.
“Any additional resource ounces that are discovered so close to our existing deposit have the potential to meaningfully elevate the already attractive Ternera economics.”