Solstice Gold Corp. (TSX-V:SGC) said it has started a focused gold-in-till sampling program at its Atikokan Gold Project in the Hammond Gold Camp, northwest Ontario, after analysis of nearby samples showed potential for new gold discoveries.
Exploration and analysis of regional lake sediment data and past till samples from west of the company's landholdings have shown potential for new gold discoveries associated with north-east trending faults within the Marmion batholith, which occupies a large area in the centre of the Atikokan property.
The 189 sq km Atikokan, which is located approximately 120 km west of Thunder Bay and near the Hammond Reef gold project, enjoys extensive till-bedrock terrain throughout the target area, which the company said is ideal for quality till sampling.
CEO Pablo McDonald said the results of recent extensive analysis of regional data and past sampling programs led Solstice to decide on a focused till sampling program around one of the largest lake sediment anomalies in the Marmion batholith.
"We note that both lake sediment and gold in till anomalies are developed over the nearby Hammond Reef Gold Project. Based on the similarity of the lake sediment anomalies at Hammond Reef and on our Atikokan Property, we plan to employ detailed till sampling to identify possible source areas for the gold anomalies on our claims," McDonald said.
The program will use methodologies similar to those employed in the 2012 till sampling at Hammond Reef, with Overburden Drilling Management employed to design and undertake the program, with samples shipped to its Nepean laboratory for initial analysis.
Roughly 10kg of samples will be processed to identify gold-indicator minerals, with gold grains examined and classified by morphology to determine transport distance from their original bedrock source.
The heavy mineral concentrates will be assayed by an independent laboratory.