Thistle Resources (TSX-V:TRCG, OTC:TRCGF) has intersected broad, high-grade gold mineralization at its Middle River Gold Project, the company said Wednesday.
Drill hole 21TRC-AU007 returned 1.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 20.71 metres, including 4.65 g/t over 2.82 metres.
The 74-metre hole was collared in the northeast extension of the mineralized fold trend.
“This hole is another example of the robust deposit we have at Middle River Gold - strong gold results over this shallow 74-metre drill hole, exactly the kind of result that keeps impressing us as we drill our mineralized ribbons,” CEO Patrick Cruickshank told shareholders.
Cruickshank said the company has received its Phase 3 drill program permits and looks forward to testing high-priority targets along the identified seven kilometres of mineralized fold ribbons.
COO and vice president exploration Gary Lohman said the result confirms the consistency of the system, noting that the current deposit covers only about 400 metres of a 7-kilometre trend independently confirmed by geophysical firms EarthEx Geophysical Solutions and Abitibi Geophysics.
"We have over 50 high-priority targets and permits in hand," Lohman said. "Our 2026 program will expand the deposit along strike and down-dip while we begin testing the deeper, high-chargeability lower zone that has never seen a drill bit."
The Middle River Gold Project is anchored by a seven-kilometre mineralized "S-Trend" of folded stratigraphy. Two completed drill programs have returned consistent high-grade, broad gold intersections, with the current deposit defined from surface to a depth of 130 metres. Geophysical surveys have identified stronger, high-chargeability zones at 400 metres and below, representing a deeper target that has not yet been drill-tested.
Thistle's stated objective is to define more than two million ounces of gold across the trend.