Maple Gold Mines Ltd (TSX-V:MGM, OTCQB:MGMLF) has reported additional assay results from 2022 drilling at its 100%-controlled Eagle Mine Property in Québec, saying the latest drilling in the northern splay of the main mine horizon - the North Mine Horizon - has returned the best intercept to-date from its 2022 program at Eagle.
The Vancouver-based advanced exploration company said the new results represent complete assays from five follow-up holes for which partial results were previously reported, targeting northwest extensions of the main mine horizon and along multiple sub-parallel gold horizons.
"Drill results continue to support the company's view that multiple sub-parallel gold horizons exist beyond what was historically mined at Eagle and have expanded our target areas along a broader mineralized corridor over a stratigraphic thickness that now exceeds 100 metres in width," Maple Gold Matthew Hornor said in a statement.
Maple Gold reported that drill hole EM-22-015 intersected 10.3 grams per ton (g/t) gold (Au) over 7.8 metres (m), including 41.1 g/t Au over 1m in the North Mine Horizon.
Meanwhile, further up-hole, EM-22-015 intersected 4.3 g/t Au over 3.9m, including 6.6 g/t Au over 2m, demonstrating the potential for the North Mine Horizon to be wider than what was previously interpreted.
The company noted that the EM-22-015 intercepts are located down-plunge from historical high-grade, near-surface drill results from a geologically similar hole (E-19: 19.6 g/t Au over 7.9m, as well as 17.5 g/t Au over 5.6m further up-hole) in an area with limited drilling that remains open further down-plunge.
In addition, EM-22-015 has now returned seven separate intercepts over a 120m interval starting from 142.5 m downhole.
"There is an apparent concentration of >10 g/t gold starting near surface and extending down-plunge to the EM-22-015 intercepts along the North Mine Horizon in an area with limited drilling that remains open further down-plunge,” Hornor continued. “This represents just one of several compelling follow-up targets that we are excited to pursue in 2023.”
Interpretation and summary of results
Maple Gold said the key assay results reported are from holes drilled at different orientations from the site of hole EM-22-005; three starting from the same drill collar (EM-22-013, EM-22-015, EM-22-016) and one wedge drill hole (EM-22-005W).
It said the new results from EM-22-015 support its model of multiple sub-parallel gold horizons, some of which are particularly high-grade (>10 g/t), extending from the southern splay of the main mine horizon - the South Mine Horizon - to beyond the North Mine Horizon over a mineralized corridor that now exceeds 100m in width. These two horizons merge into a single main mine horizon in the central part of the Eagle property, it added.
Furthermore, the company said gold mineralization at Eagle is not only limited to the known main mine horizon, hosted in mixed epiclastic and pyroclastic rocks of the northern part of the Joutel-Raymond volcanic complex, but also extends into a sill-like microgabbro occurring close to the Harricana Fault, and sporadically into the Harricana sediments further to the north.
The EM-22-015 intercepts are located approximately 60 m down-plunge from historical hole E-19. Additional historical drill holes intersected >5g/t Au roughly 250 m further down-plunge, highlighting the grade and volume potential of this new zone that will be tested via follow-up drilling in 2023.
READ: Maple Gold intersects near-surface gold mineralization confirming the continuity of the South Mine Horizon at Eagle Mine in Québec
In contrast with the South Mine Horizon, which is hosted in a mixed package of fine-grained crystal tuffs and laminated sediments with the latter hosting most of the gold-bearing semi-massive sulfide mineralization cut by irregular ankerite-(quartz) veinlets, the company noted that the North Mine Horizon is associated with coarser lapilli-tuffs that appear to have been quite permeable and allowed deposition of abundant matrix sulfide adjacent to and overlapping with the microgabbro further downhole.
The distribution of these coarse tuffs adjacent to the microgabbro represent a favorable target that has relatively limited drilling to the northwest as well as down-dip and down-plunge, the company said.
Intercepts >2 g/t Au have now been obtained at Eagle at downhole depths ranging from 109m to 1,234m, which is indicative of the significant depth continuity of the system. Multi-element geochemistry, a first for the Eagle project, indicates that gold is associated with elevated silver and that several additional elements can be used for targeting purposes as they provide for a significantly broader footprint than gold and silver alone.
The company said it completed a total of 28 drill holes corresponding to around 13,823m at Eagle during 2022, adding that approximately 20% of the assays for the entire program are still pending.
It said additional assay results will be released on a periodic basis over the coming months once they are received and interpreted.
In addition to its 100%-controlled Eagle Mine property, Maple is in a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (TSX:AEM) to advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in Quebec's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com