CALICO – Apollo Silver Corp. – a Canada-based exploration company, announced Wednesday, the completion of the 2022 Calico Drill Program Phase 2 at its Calico Silver Project. The company previously reported finding high-grade silver mineralization and a gold target in the Calico Mountains.

“The 2022 Calico Drill Program has been completed ahead of schedule and under budget,” said Apollo President and CEO Tom Peregoodoff. “I am very proud of the team, who completed the Phase 1 and Phase 2 drill campaigns with no lost time incidents and no significant health or environmental issues to report.” 

The project is in the southern Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert. This mountain is a nine mile long range dominantly composed of volcanic and sedimentary rocks.

Peregoodoff said initial results from Phase 1 validated “high-grade, shallow, and continuous nature of the silver mineralization at Calico” – nine of the 10 holes of silver mineralization were above 50 grams per ton and seven holes show intercepts of high-grade silver, greater than 100 grams per ton. 

The process of mineralization includes chemical alteration, replacement, and enrichment of minerals within igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.

He also said Phase 1 results verified and expanded a gold target.

Gold intercepts were reported for eight holes. Apollo said they reviewed historic drilling and recent surface mapping. The company concluded that there is evidence to suggest that the 1.4 miles between the Barstow sediments and the Pickhandle volcanic rock formation is prospective for gold.

RELATED: Apollo declares 166 million in Calico

The company says the Phase 2 Drill Program was completed on November 12, 2022, approximately 14 days ahead of schedule. They made a total of 132 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes between two properties in Calico. 

The results were previously processed at ALS Global-Geochemistry in Reno, Nevada.

“Phase 2 assay results from Calico will be released to the market on a regular basis as they are received from the lab,” said Peregoodoff.

Apollo Silver Corp. has two silver exploration and resource development projects – Silver District Project in La Paz County, Arizona and Calico Silver Project.

This isn’t the first time silver has be claimed in Calico.

Calico – located three miles from Barstow, was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town. The mining district produced millions in silver and borax – a soap-making mineral, between 1881 and 1907. In 2005, Calico was recognized as a historical landmark and proclaimed “California’s Silver Rush Ghost Town.”