Reunion Gold Corporation (TSX-V:RGD, OTCQB:RGDFF) said it has made two additional high-grade intercepts at its Oko West project in Guyana, including two holes that significantly expand the high-grade mineralized envelope below known zones.
In the past few months, the Longueuil, Quebec-based company has worked on infill drilling at distances required for resource estimation, expansion of the known mineralized footprint at depth and along strike, and continued exploration work to the south of the Kairuni zone on blocks 5 and 6.
Reunion Gold VP exploration Justin van der Toorn said: "As we shift from the infill program that will lead to a high confidence resource estimate down the road, we are seeing our deeper drill holes continuing to intersect significant high-grade mineralization.
READ: Reunion Gold's Oko West project shaping up to be 'very significant discovery', says CEO
“This, in turn, is guiding our focus of further resource definition drilling coverage that allows us to grow the size of the mineralized zones with systematic step-outs," van der Toorn said in a statement.
Reunion Gold said holes D22-159, 167 and 164 – which were part of the expansion program – demonstrated continued high-grade gold mineralization beneath existing drilling in block 4 and to the north at depth below block 1.
Hole D22-159, located in the middle of block 4, showed the continuation of high-grade mineralization 100 meters (m) below previously announced resource coverage and above the deep hole, D22-112, with an intercept of 1.58 grams per tonne of gold (g/t Au) over 77.2 m, including numerous high-grade intervals such as 3.08 g/t Au over 12.7 m and 3.20 g/t Au over 9.5 m, according to the company.
Reunion Gold said holes D22-167 and 164 were drilled below the northern portion of block 4 and the start of block 1, respectively. These holes expand the footprint of high-grade mineralization into previously undefined zones at depth.
Hole D22-167 reported an intercept of 2.23 g/t Au over 52.4 m, including high-grade intervals such as 4.20 g/t Au over 8.40 m. Hole D22-164 intercepted 4.58 g/t Au over 22.45 m, in addition to two notable intervals of 3.19 g/t Au over 4.00 m and 6.70 g/t Au over 4.20 m, the company said.
Exploration program update
Two more diamond drill rigs, supplied by Major Drilling, have been added to the resource definition drilling program. Reverse circulation drilling continues south of the Kairuni-Takutu shear zone in wide-spaced fences designed to test previously defined gold in soil anomalies, according to Reunion Gold.
A smaller scout RC rig has also arrived on site and will commence a deep geochemical sampling program that will allow for sampling beneath duricrust-covered zones in the center and west of the Oko West project area where prior soil sampling has proved inconclusive, the company said.
Environmental Resource Management completed the planned environmental baseline work of a dry-season survey of fauna and sampling surface and ground waters in October. Surface waters from local streams were also sampled for environmental DNA analysis to map aquatic fauna biodiversity using technology developed by NatureMetrics, a technique never previously used in the region. The wet and dry season results are being reviewed, and further work is being planned based on the results. The study of additional environmental baseline disciplines is planned for 2023, according to the company.
The company said it has engaged Newfields to perform an initial geotechnical assessment based on drill core and available drill data, to define possible slope angles for future pit designs. The company said it is also doing metallurgical studies from across the strike length and depth of the mineralized system, and that it has contracted Instream Energy Systems, a Canadian group specialized in electrical "run of river" power generation with hydrokinetic technology, to see if this can be used at the Oko West project.
Reunion Gold said that the number of malaria cases diagnosed and treated in the project area has significantly decreased. The Oko region has suffered from endemic malaria for decades, and the company's malaria eradication program, in partnership with the Guyana Ministry of Health, is effectively controlling the disease by diagnosing and treating hundreds of cases over the last year. The company said its medical staff at the project site provides free malaria testing and medication and general medical attention to anyone in the area.
Reunion Gold Corporation (TSX-V:RGD, OTCQB:RGDFF) is a leading gold explorer in the Guiana Shield, South America. To date, it has outlined continuous gold mineralization at the Kairuni zone over 2,000 m of strike and to a depth of 575 m.
Contact the author at susie@proactiveinvestors.com