First Mining Gold Corp has announced the commencement of a second phase drill program at its Pickle Crow gold project in northwestern Ontario.
The 50,000 metre (m) program follows the strong results obtained in an initial 45,000m program completed by joint venture partner Auteco Minerals Ltd in 2020 and 2021.
Pickle Crow is one of Canada's highest-grade historical gold mines. It operated from 1935 until 1966, during which time it reportedly produced almost 1.5 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 16.14 grams per ton (g/t).
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First Mining said further drilling is being done on the new Carey discovery, which is the first in a series of shallow exploration targets being tested by Auteco that highlight the potential for open-pit mining in addition to what was historically a narrow-vein underground operation at Pickle Crow.
Follow-up drilling is underway to determine the continuity of mineralization at Carey between historical drill holes to the north and south of the initial intersections.
"The Carey discovery is only one of several shallow exploration targets being tested by Auteco, which may indicate potential for an open-pittable resource at the project in addition to underground targets,” First Mining Gold CEO Dan Wilton said in a statement.
“Furthermore, the recent drilling has successfully extended the known high-grade mineralization in the Shaft 3 area. We are impressed with the commitment and technical expertise of our joint venture partner Auteco to undertake and complete the first phase of their exploration program in such an aggressive timeline and with such impressive results, and we look forward to the assay results from the additional 50,000 metres of drilling which has just commenced,” he added.
To date, First Mining said, 14 diamond drill holes totalling 5,622m of drilling have been completed from the new program, following on from the initial 45,522m from 166 diamond holes that were completed in the first program.
Of these new holes, assay results have been partially received for five holes, and assays are yet to be received for a further nine holes.
There are currently four drill rigs on site. Auteco's dual strategy of driving near-mine resource growth combined with early-stage exploration targeting will continue to be the focus of the drilling program.
All drilling completed between September 2020 and June 2021 has been conducted outside of the current resource area, the company said.
First Mining is a Canadian gold developer focused on the development and permitting of the Springpole Gold Project in northwestern Ontario. The company also holds a large equity position in Treasury Metals Inc (TSX:TML), which is advancing the Goliath-Gold Complex towards construction.
First Mining's portfolio of gold projects in eastern Canada also includes the Pickle Crow and Hope Brook joint ventures, as well as the Cameron (NYSE:CAM), Duparquet, Duquesne, and Pitt gold projects.
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