Irving Resources drills 9.13 g/t AuEq over 0.41 metres at Omu, Japan
Irving Resources Inc. [IRV-CSE; IRVRF-OTCQX] provided an exploration update from its 100%-controlled Omu gold-silver vein project in Hokkaido, Japan.
The first diamond drill hole completed by Irving at the Hokuryu vein target encountered two high-grade gold-silver veins. Although this hole was temporarily terminated at a depth of 294.7 metres upon a heavy snow event in October, 2021, and did not fully test the sub-vertical electrically resistive zone being targeted, the two veins encountered graded 3.12 g/t gold and 469 g/t silver (9.13 g/t AuEq – gold equivalent) over 0.41 metres and 14.05 /t gold and 13.35 g/t silver (14.22 g/t AuEq) over 0.33 metres within 4.27 g/t gold and 7.55 g/t silver (4.37 g/t AuEq) over 1.67 metres, respectively. True thickness of these veins is not presently known. More drilling is needed to fully determine their orientation and true thickness.
The deepest of these two veins occurs within one meter of the end of the hole. Therefore, Irving believes it is possible that this hole was just beginning to enter a more significant zone of mineralization when it was halted. Irving plans to re-enter hole 21HKR-001 and continue drilling to its targeted depth of 600 metres beginning in May upon snowmelt.
Importantly, this hole is situated approximately 50 metres west of the historic Hokuryu mine workings clearly indicating this extensive vein system is open for expansion. The deepest vein intercept in hole 21HKR-001 occurs 240 metres vertically below surface which is an indication the Hokuryu vein system is open at depth.
| After hole 21HKR-001 is complete, Irving plans to drill three more holes as part of the first ever drill campaign at Hokuryu. |
As discussed in the company’s news release dated March 2, 2022, Irving is already underway with its 2022 Omui Mine Site diamond drill campaign.
Three holes have been designed as an immediate test of a recently discovered deeper hot spring system encountered by hole 21OMI-002 drilled late last year which intercepted a thick sequence of siliceous sinter interbedded with various sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks beginning approximately 200 metres beneath surface. Layers of sinter in hole 21OMI-002 contain significant gold and silver, a strong indication this is a fertile hot spring system, with individual sample intervals assaying as high as 3.55 g/t gold and 565 g/t silver. Pathfinder elements including arsenic, antimony, mercury and selenium are also highly enriched in these rocks.
The first hole of this new season, hole 22OMI-001, a NNE-directed hole collared approximately 360m SSW of hole 21OMI-002, is currently at a depth of approximately 554 metres and encountered multiple mineralized veins between 270 and 425 metres. Ginguro, comprised of fine silver sulfosalt minerals, is evident in several of these veins. Completion of this hole has been delayed for three weeks due to breakdown. Replacement parts have now arrived in Japan, and drilling has resumed. Targeted depth of 22OMI-001 is 700 metres which is about 600 metres beneath surface.
Irving believes the setting at Honpi is similar to other notable epithermal deposits that are buried, or “blind”, including the Fruta del Norte (FDN) deposit in Ecuador. The buried sinter cap of the FDN system was discovered under approximately 200m of post mineral cover and the vein deposit occurs immediately beneath the sinter.
“We are very pleased to see high-grade gold-silver intercepts in our first diamond drill hole at Hokuryu, a mine shut down abruptly in 1943 during World War II,” commented Dr. Quinton Hennigh, technical advisor and a director of Irving. “This is the first drill hole tested at Hokuryu in many decades. Although it was temporarily halted before fully testing our target, these two vein intercepts confirm that expansion of the Hokuryu vein system is possible. We are eager to complete this hole and the rest of the Hokuryu drill program over the coming months. We are also very encouraged by what we are seeing in the first Omui drill hole of 2022 and are eager to drill more at this very important target.”
Irving is a junior exploration company with a focus on gold in Japan. Irving also holds, through a subsidiary, a Joint Exploration Agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).