The June 26, 2026 Orestone Mining Corp. (“Orestone”) press release reports encouraging results from the Phase I surface exploration program at the Francisca Gold-Silver Project in Salta Province, Argentina.
Beyond the Headline
The June 26, 2026 Orestone Mining Corp. (“Orestone”) press release reports encouraging results from the Phase I surface exploration program at the Francisca Gold-Silver Project in Salta Province, Argentina. A total of 13 trenches were sampled on the South Gold Zone and 5 trenches on the North Gold Zone (Figure 1 and Table 1). In addition, reconnaissance mapping and sampling carried out along the Francisca Trend has identified two new prominent gold mineralized systems. The Tom East Zone where Trench 6B returned 21 m of 4.45 g/t Au in colluvium, is located 120 m east of the South Gold Zone and the Kelly Gold Zone, featuring broad zones of gold mineralized stockwork with grades of 0.24 to 0.41 g/t Au, is located 250 metres along strike of the South Gold Zone and is thought to be an extension of it. Both zones are open in three directions. Sampling in the North Gold Zone did not return value/length intervals of economic interest at this time, although the zone still is considered to be prospective.
The Francisca Gold Trend now covers a northwest strike length of 1,500 metres where an oxide gold-silver system is exposed in surface outcroppings in numerous areas including the North Gold Zone, South Gold Zone, Kelly Gold Zone and the Tom East Gold Zone (Figure 1) as stockwork, vein, breccia and epithermal vein systems. The outcropping zones are within a 500 to 1,000 metre wide zone of strongly hornfels-altered sediments and further defined by a 1,700 metre long by 500 to 700 meter wide IP chargeability anomaly of 7.9 mV/V that is interpreted to be related to the gold-silver mineralization.
Several large, strong IP chargeability anomalies measuring up to 20 mV/V are interpreted to indicate the potential for a larger buried sulphide mineralized gold porphyry. The oxide gold quartz limonite stock-work trend is associated with quartz feldspar porphyry intrusive dykes and intense sericite clay alteration along a NW-trending fault system.
These results strengthen Orestone’s exploration model by demonstrating that the South Gold Zone is a laterally continuous oxide gold stockwork with a mineralized footprint that is significantly larger than the original trenched area. The mineralized system has characteristics consistent with a large porphyry-epithermal-related gold-silver system. The extensive mineralization at surface augers well for the open pit potential.
Future work will include detailed mapping and sampling of the newly recognized target areas, integration of geophysical data with the new geological information and refining of drill targets. A Phase II drilling program is planned for summer 2026 to test both the near-surface oxide mineralization and the potential for a larger mineralized intrusive system at depth.
Figure 1
Source: Orestone
Plan map showing location of the South and Tom East Gold Zones on the San Francisco Property (Orestone Mining Corp. press release June 26, 2026).
Table 1
Source: Orestone
South Gold Zone Trench Samples (Orestone Mining Corp. press release June 26, 2026).
