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Highlights included 62.8m grading 79 grams per tonne silver, 0.58g/t gold, 1.19% lead and 1.15% zinc, for 217g/t silver-equivalent.
"These drill results … confirm that higher-grade breccia-hosted Ag-Au-Pb-Zn mineralisation extends to the north-east beyond the previously defined limits of the Pozo de Plata zone. Drilling along the southernmost vein trend intercepted multiple sulphide veins that returned kilogram per tonne silver-equivalent intercepts," said president and CEO Taj Singh.
"It is becoming clear that the large size of this system is a reflection of robust and long-lived structures that transported the mineralising fluids. It seems that these structures define the dominant north-east trends of the historically mined veins and the higher grade breccias. The critical opportunity for the company lies in the delineation of the higher-grade mineralisation along these trends," said VP exploration Gernot Wober.
The holes are part of a 30,000-35,000m phase I drill programme that commenced in September 2019 to define a high-margin project with scale. Discovery is aiming to complete a resource update in early 2021.
Drilling mainly focused on testing breccias but also included the company's first targeting of veins. Follow-up drilling targeting expansion of higher-grade resources, is planned on both the north-east extension and the vein targets, as soon as exploration resumes.
Cordero hosts an indicated resource of 990,000 tonnes grading 12.8g/t silver, 0.37% and zinc 0.17% lead for 407,761oz silver. It also hosts an inferred resource of 282,000t grading 20.7g/t silver, 0.75% zinc and 0.3% lead for 187,461oz silver.
Previous operator Levon Resources produced a preliminary economic assessment in 2018 which envisaged US$570 million initial capex for a 29-year mine producing an average annual of 8Moz silver, 44,788t zinc in concentrate, 31,158t of lead in concentrate and 11,900oz gold.
Exploration has been temporarily suspended in response to concerns relating to COVID-19. Prior to suspension Cordero had drilling 48 holes for 17,500m.
Shares in Discovery Metals are trading at C38c, valuing the company at $79 million.
