O3 Mining Inc (TSX-V:OIII, OTCQX:OIIIF) has reported the latest drill results from its 2021 program at the Marban project in Val-d'Or, Québec, which, it said, augurs well for an updated resource for the property earmarked for release in the first quarter this year.
The assays hail from 15 holes sunk in and around the Marban open-pittable deposits and focused on the so-called Marban and Norlartic zones.
O3 noted there were still 1,662 assays pending from last year's infill program from 32 holes, which are expected to be released in coming weeks.
Hailing the latest set of data, CEO Jose Vizquerra told investors in a statement: "Not only do the results offer us the potential to expand the overall scope of the project, but we are also seeing higher grades than the average resource grade, which we are confident will be reflected in our updated mineral resource in early 2022 and will be an important component in the completion of Marban's pre-feasibility study."
READ: O3 Mining hails "multiple intercepts" of mineable grade over more than 10-metre widths from Marban project drilling
Among the drill highlights at the Marban zone were 35.8 grams per ton (g/t) gold over a length of 8.9 meters (m) from 177m depth.
That intercept included 440 g/t of the yellow metal over 0.7 meters starting from 183.2m depth in one hole in the proposed preliminary economic assessment (PEA) pit.
Meanwhile, at the Norlartic zone, another hole hit 44.1 g/t gold over an intercept of 2.3m from 174.3m depth, which included 192 g/t Au over 0.5m from 175.4m depth, revealed O3.
This drilling was part of the company's 250,000m program at its Marban and Alpha properties in Val-d'Or, at which in 2021, O3 sunk a total of 118,951m.
The aim is to test for potential economic material (PEM) with 100-meter step-outs aiming to expand current resources of 2.4 million ounces measured and indicated and 1.3 million ounces of inferred and make new discoveries.
The Marban project spans over 7,500 hectares and sits just 12 kilometers from the famous Canadian Malartic mine, while Alpha spans over 7,754 hectares and sits eight kilometres (km) east of Val-d'Or and three kilometres south of the El Dorado Lamaque mine.
A previous PEA for Marban outlined production of an average 115,000 ounces of gold per year over a 15.2 year mine life.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com