New Found Gold drills 10.36 g/t gold over 10.5 metres at Queensway, Newfoundland, shares up
New Found Gold Corp. [NFG-TSXV; NFGC-NYSE American] reported results from six diamond drill holes that were completed as part of a program designed to test the west side of the highly prospective Appleton fault zone (AFZ) adjacent to the Keats zone on the 100%-owned Queensway project. The property comprises a 1,500 km2 area, accessible through the Trans-Canada Highway, 15 km west of Gander, Newfoundland.
A new, near-surface high-grade gold discovery called Keats West has been made west of the AFZ, with intercepts including 17.87 g/t gold over 4.20 metres in NFGC-22-681 and 10.36 g/t gold over 10.50 metres in NFGC-22-686. These two intercepts are located approximately 50 metres apart along strike within an extensive brittle fault zone that has now been intersected over a strike length of approximately 120 metres and to a vertical depth of approximately 100 metres by four holes released today. Based on current modelling, this new structure strikes to the northwest, dips moderately to the southwest, and is open in all directions.
Hole NFGC-22-686 returned 10.36 g/t gold over 10.50 metres, including 43.84 g/t gold over 1.25 metres and including 88.20 g/t gold over0.40 metres.
The discovery of high-grade gold west of the AFZ is a recent and exciting development, starting with the intercept of 8.70 g/t gold over 6.75 metres in NFGC-22-533, announced on May 4, 2022. Up to this point, drilling was focused entirely on the east side of the AFZ, which is host to Keats, Keats North, Golden Joint, and Lotto. This recent discovery of similar high-grade gold mineralization now opens up a new 9.45-km target corridor along the west side of the AFZ at Queensway North.
Keats West is located northwest of Keats and along strike of the recent discoveries made at Keats North.
Melissa Render, VP Exploration for New Found stated: “The “West Side Story” plot thickens with the discovery of high-grade mineralization in a structure akin to the Keats-Baseline Fault and with similar epizonal characteristics seen elsewhere along the AFZ, particularly at Keats. This gives us great encouragement that the stratigraphy on the west side of the Appleton Fault Zone, spanning +9.45-km of strike on Queensway North, shares the same potential as the east. Currently one drill is operating at Keats West which will be joined by a second drill shortly, and two more drills are now testing additional targets on the west side of the AFZ. We are excited to move into a new territory with proven potential.”
Approximately 66% of the planned 400,000-metre program at Queensway has been drilled to date with ~44,445 metres of the core still pending assay results. Fourteen core rigs are currently operating meeting New Found’s targeted drill count for Q2.
The Company notes that it has not completed any economic evaluations of its Queensway Project and that the Queensway Project does not have any resources or reserves.
The Queensway Project is 18 km from Gander International Airport. The project is intersected by the Trans-Canada Highway and has logging roads crosscutting the project, high voltage electric power lines running through the project area, and easy access to a highly skilled workforce. The company is well funded for this program with cash and marketable securities of approximately $71 million as of September 2022.
In morning trading, shares of New Found Gold gained $0.17 to $4.48.