Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM) (TSX: FVI) is pleased to announce the discovery of the Yessi vein, a new blind mineralized structure, at the San Jose Mine in Mexico.
Paul Weedon, Senior Vice President of Exploration, commented, “Drilling by the mine geology team recognized a new blind zone of alteration and brecciation, resulting in the intersection of 1,299 g/t Ag Eq over 9.9 meters in drill hole SJOM-1387, and 621 g/t Ag Eq over 5 meters in drill hole SJOM-1391. This new zone has been named the Yessi vein.” Mr. Weedon continued, “Extension drilling intersected the Yessi vein approximately 200 meters further east of the Victoria Mineralized Zone, highlighting the potential size and strength of San Jose´s mineralized system.” Mr. Weedon added, “Drilling continues with additional holes planned along strike to the north and south to further define the extent of Yessi´s mineralization.”
Yessi vein drilling highlights include:
SJOM1387:1,299 g/t Ag Eq over an estimated true width of 9.9 meters
SJOM1391: 621 g/t Ag Eq over an estimated true width of 5.0 meters
SJOM1396:483 g/t Ag Eq over an estimated true width of 0.7 meters
Three drill holes totaling 1,118 meters were completed from an underground platform after infill drilling on the Victoria Mineralized Zone intersected alteration and brecciation towards the original planned depth in drill hole SJOM-1387. The resulting 200-meter extension returned intervals of up to 90 meters of brecciation, alteration, and zones of mineralization (refer to Figure 1). These holes support the interpretation of the Yessi vein, which represents the easternmost limit of mineralization intersected at San Jose to date and which does not have any surface expression, highlighting the regional prospectivity.
A review of the geochemical signature of the Yessi vein indicates a potentially different phase of mineralization with respect to the other San Jose mineralized structures, containing a higher gold to silver ratio and low levels of base metals. Further work is planned to better understand the relationship between the Yessi vein and the broader mineralized system at the San Jose Mine.
Additional drilling is currently underway to define the strike extent and geometry of the Yessi vein. Mineralization remains open along strike to the north and south, and at depth. Refer to Appendix 1 for details of the Yessi vein drill holes and assay results.
