Matador Mining Ltd (ASX:MZZ, OTCQX:MZZMF) has confirmed the potential of the greenfield Big Pond Area with a diamond drilling campaign targeting prospective mineralisation at the Window Glass Hill Granite target within the Cape Ray Gold Project that intercepted notable gold.
The company believes the first intercepts from reconnaissance diamond drilling of the Big Pond Area indicate the potential for shallow, structurally controlled gold mineralisation. Intercepts of note include:
- 1-metre at 6.7 g/t gold and 1-metre at 1.9 g/t; and
- 3 metres at 2.8 g/t, 3 metres at 2.1 g/t and 1-metre at 2.3 g/t.
Infill drilling targeting the Window Glass Hill (WGH) mineral resource returned 9 metres at 1.1 g/t gold from 17 metres including 1-metre at 3.1 g/t and a high-grade interval of 1-metre at 12.8 g/t from 106 metres.
Two other WGH infill holes targeting the margin of the WGH mineral resource returned low grades consistent with surrounding broad spaced drilling.
Extensional drilling aimed at the Window Glass Hill Granite (WGHG) margin target also returned gold, hitting a near-surface high-grade intercept of 1-metre at 11.0 g/t from 12 metres with numerous other low-grade intercepts. Other high-grade assays include:
- 1.2 metres at 6.7 g/t gold from 185.5 metres; and
- 5 metres at 1.8 g/t from 22 metres and 2 metres at 2.3 g/t from 50 metres.
“Highlights the discovery potential”
“I am pleased to see gold mineralisation intersected from our first reconnaissance diamond drilling program assessing multiple conceptual targets in the Big Pond Area,” Matador Mining executive chair Ian Murray said.
“This initial greenfield drilling success confirms the efficacy of our integrated exploration targeting approach and highlights the discovery potential of the large and prospective district we control.
“The Big Pond Area still has multiple untested targets less than five kilometres from the Central Zone Mineral Resources, which is the site of the proposed central processing facility.
“This is contiguous to the Window Glass Hill Granite where we continue to demonstrate resource expansion potential with new discoveries like the Granite Margin Target and extension of mineralisation around and beneath existing WGH mineral resources.
“The WGHG Margin target potential continues to expand. Infill drilling within the WGH mineral resource continues to increase our confidence in future mineral resource growth and conversion of inferred to measured and indicated.
“We aim to have one diamond drill rig solely dedicated to drilling the Window Glass Hill Granite target area throughout the 2022 season to accelerate mineral resource growth.”
Pending results
Assays are still pending for a further 31 diamond holes drilled across 4,241 metres and four target areas:
- 10 greenfield diamond drill holes assessing the WGHG Heart-Shaped Pond (HSP) target area (1,235 metres). This area, just west of the main WGH resource, has never been drilled, however, new power auger geochemistry delivered multi-gram bottom-of-hole gold intercepts prompting a reassessment of the area’s prospectivity;
- 8 greenfield diamond drill holes (1,214 metres) testing for along-strike extensions of the WGHG Margin mineralisation to the northeast;
- 4 greenfield diamond drill holes from the Big Pond Area (571.3 metres);
- 9 infill drill holes within the WGH mineral resource (1,121.1 metres).
Results are also pending for 1,200 conventional till samples from the Malachite Lake greenfield reconnaissance program and the remainder of the Stag Hill power auger sampling program.
These remaining assay results are expected to be released over the coming months, ahead of the planned February 2022 winter drill program.
About Matador Mining
Matador Mining is a gold exploration company with tenure covering 120 kilometres of continuous strike along the highly prospective, yet largely under-explored Cape Ray Shear in Newfoundland, Canada.
In November 2021 Matador was the recipient of the CIM NL Prospector/Explorer of the Year award.
The company released a scoping study which outlined an initial potential seven-year mine life, with a forecast Internal rate of return (IRR)of 51% post-tax, rapid payback (1.75 years) and life of mine (LOM) all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$776/ounce gold.