(Sharecast News) - Mining exploration and development company Alien Metals updated the market on its 12 wholly-owned silver concessions in Zacatecas State, Mexico on Monday, and gave details of its planned 2019 exploration programme.The AIM-traded firm said within its portfolio were the Donovan 2 concession, which lay within close proximity of the San Nicolas copper zinc deposit, and the San Celso concession which consisted of high-grade, low sulfidation epithermal veins.Further to its announcement on 26 September last year, it undertook a comprehensive review of its asset portfolio in September which then prompted further prospecting and field mapping campaigns over the entire 1,500 hectare concession area in November and December.Following that, Alien Metals said it now believed the portfolio, held through its wholly-owned subsidiary Compañia Minera Estrella de Plata (CMEP), remained prospective, adding it would continue to discharge its obligations to the Mexican authorities.The board said the projects which it would initially prioritise in 2019 were Donovan 2 and San Celso.It said the Donovan 2 project lay within close proximity of the San Nicolas copper zinc deposit, operated by Teck Resources.A tranche of ground magnetic and induced polarisation (IP) geophysics to investigate a regional magnetic anomaly had been completed, the board said, explaining that field mapping and sampling identified the presence of pathfinder minerals, including anomalous values of copper and zinc, which were consistent with the presence of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralisation.The geophysics programme comprised of 52.4 line-kilometres of magnetics and 2.6 line-kilometres of IP, which Alien said highlighted several areas of interest.That initial programme was now being followed up with detailed trenching and mapping, which was intended to further test for alteration and mineralisation, and to build confidence for the presence of a VMS system.Alien Metals said it expected to complete that phase of exploration work in the second quarter of 2019, and would announce the results when available.At San Celso, the company said prospecting and mapping work it had undertaken confirmed the presence of a number of major vein systems that had been previously exploited in parts during colonial times, but none of which appeared to have had systematic modern-day exploration.Geological mapping and sampling there were completed by company geologists in November, with standards inserted every 15th sample in the sample suite, and blanks carefully inserted between mineralised vein samples.Samples were placed in high-density plastic bags and sealed with plastic ties, and were stored in a locked warehouse until company geologists delivered samples to the ALS Global Preparation facilities in Zacatecas City, Mexico.The firm said the preliminary geochemical exploration work at San Celso continued to suggest mineralisation was indicative of a low sulphidation epithermal system.Alien Metals said it believed there was "considerable depth potential" to the vein systems at San Celso, and would undertake an underground mapping and sampling campaign in 2019."The results of this recent work in Mexico validate the investment in the Mexican portfolio and provide exciting prospects for future work," said Alien Metals chief executive officer Dennis Edmonds."At the same time, we continue to explore opportunities in other jurisdictions and commodities and look forward to updating investors in this regard during 2019."
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