Matador Mining Ltd (ASX:MZZ, OTCQX:MZZMF)’s exploration momentum is continuing at Cape Ray Gold Project in Newfoundland, Canada, with 30 diamond holes planned in an inaugural winter season drill program potentially starting in February 2022.
The company’s active greenfields exploration continues to generate quality targets with early results from Big Pond and Benton illustrating prospectivity for gold exploration.
Exploration pyramid evolves
Matador Mining executive chair Ian Murray said: “Having spent time with the team on site numerous times this year, I continue to be encouraged and enthused by the quality of our people and the systematic work across a number of exploration fronts being carried out.
“Our exploration pyramid continues to evolve as we identify new conceptual targets, and then actively move them either up the pyramid or strike them out.
“We are nearing the end of our 'summer' campaign, which has been more expansive than any of our previous programs and have commenced detailed planning required for the potential 'winter' campaign, another first for Matador."
Systematic power auger drilling at Benton and Stag Hill, and a large till survey at Malachite Lake, have upgraded several targets in the Matador Exploration Pyramid, which provides a visual representation of the current status, and progress, of the company’s extensive exploration portfolio.
Greenfields exploration progress
Matador Mining aims to continually develop conceptual targets that are rapidly tested and turned over, with the aim of progressing the best projects 'up the pyramid' to the ultimate prize of high-value ore reserves.
It has systematically progressed greenfield exploration activities throughout the field season, most recently executing a 1,200-sample mineral indicator till survey north of Malachite Lake, and power auger exploration drilling over target areas identified at Benton and Stag Hill.
First-pass diamond drill testing has been completed at Big Pond and Benton with assays from several holes pending.
Infill and extension drilling is ongoing across the Window Glass Hill Granite (WGHG) with two diamond rigs focused on growing the WGHG mineralisation footprint.
Malachite Lake
A large reconnaissance till sampling program is nearing completion north of Malachite Lake.
More than 1,200 conventional till samples have been collected over a regional-scale target area covering 12 kilometres by 4 kilometres.
Multiple highly prospective fault splays off the Cape Ray Shear Zone (CRSZ) have been identified coincident with a large bend in the main CRSZ structure.
All assay results for this program are pending.
Stag Hill
Power auger geochemistry drilling is underway at Stag Hill, a high priority target under shallow-moderate till cover immediately between the Central Zone and IAM deposits on the CRSZ.
Almost half of the planned power auger program has been completed and while drilling is ongoing, it is anticipated the program will be cut short and completed next year due to the impending winter shutdown of the power auger rigs.
Assay results from the first 51 power auger holes have already identified anomalous gold trends, including a peak 136 ppb gold value proximal to the Windsor Point Group Sediments margin.
A further 46 power auger holes have been completed with assays pending and around 110 planned holes remain to be drilled.
Also pleasing, is the effectiveness of the power auger drilling, which is proving to be a very effective geochemical testing tool facilitating rapid target definition for diamond drilling within broader conceptual and structural target areas.
Benton diamond drilling and power auger
The program successfully outlined multiple gold and pathfinder geochemical anomalies with several coincident high-priority structural targets identified in the detailed magnetics which require follow-up diamond drill testing.
Additionally, multiple new high-grade gold rock chip samples of up to 25.4 g/t gold, have also been returned for Benton, confirming the presence of high tenor gold mineralisation identified in historic sampling.
It also successfully confirmed the presence of deformed, altered and veined granitic host rocks that form part of the Cape Ray Igneous Complex (CRIC) just north of the CRSZ.
Results returned to date identified numerous gold and pathfinder geochemistry trends coincident with structures identified in the detailed magnetics that require priority follow-up during the planned winter drilling program.
The untested 65% of the Benton target area remains a priority power auger drilling target for the 2022 summer season.
Big Pond diamond drilling
Assays have been returned for 14 of the 28 diamond drill holes completed and, while minor primary gold mineralisation has been intersected in these holes, the drilling has not explained the strong surface gold anomalies.
Best gold results received to date from this first pass drilling include 1.1 metres at 1.4 g/t gold from 69.3 metres, 1-metre at 1.2 g/t from 35 metres and 1-metre at 0.5 g/t from 18 metres.
The strong structurally-controlled pathfinder element anomalism already intersected in diamond drilling, combined with anomalous gold and pathfinder element surface geochemistry and coincident significant structural complexity mapped by the detailed magnetics, indicate the Big Pond area remains highly prospective.
Results are pending for an additional 14 completed drill holes and three targets remain to be tested at Big Pond in 2022.
Community engagement
As part of the continued engagement with the local communities and other project stakeholders, Matador held a series of open house meetings with the communities in Isle aux Morts and Port aux Basques, and with members of the Qalipu First Nation in Stephenville.
These are the first in-person meetings to be held since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions came into effect in early 2020.
Murray added: “While visiting the project this month, I spent time meeting with our local communities and stakeholders, including the communities of Isle aux Morts, Port aux Basques, and Qalipu First Nations, as well as government departments, who all remain supportive of our activities and with whom we are looking forward to long and beneficial relationships.”
EA next steps
The next steps in the environmental assessment process are:
➢ Continuing engagement with First Nations communities and other project stakeholders;
➢ Continuing engagement with First Nations communities regarding Traditional Knowledge and Land Use studies;
➢ Effects Assessment on Valued Components - key areas identified which the stakeholders consider “valuable” and will require ongoing assessment and monitoring. The identified Valued Components include surface water, fish and fish habitat, caribou and traditional land use;
➢ Final preparation of the valued component chapters; and,
➢ Completion of the environmental impact statement for submission to federal and provincial agencies in August 2022.
Upcoming works
The winter season drilling program will focus on a corridor encompassing the PW East, Stag Hill West, Isle aux Morts and Benton prospects.
The program has been designed to:
➢ Investigate the surficial geochemistry and magnetic anomalies between PW and Zone 51, at the Central Zone mineral resource area;
➢ Follow up on results of the surficial and auger geochemistry and magnetic anomalies at Stag Hill;
➢ Drill test the identified brownfield and greenfield targets proximal to the Isle aux Morts deposit; and
➢ Follow up on results of the auger drilling, diamond drilling, surficial geochemistry and magnetic anomalies at Benton.