Onyx Gold drills 0.3 metres of 363 g/t gold at Timmins, Ontario
Onyx Gold Corp. [TSXV-ONYX; OTCQX-ONXGF] reported initial exploration results from its 2023 fall drill program in the Timmins gold camp, Ontario. The first assay results have been returned for drill hole MC23-132, which tested a prospective area 350 metres (1,148 feet) northwest of the former Croesus gold mine. The Croesus gold mine is famous for yielding some of the highest-grade gold mined in Ontario.
The completed program included about 4,000 metres of diamond drilling with one drill rig and focused on targets proximal to the historic high-grade Croesus gold mine, and on the new bulk-tonnage-style Argus zone discovered in 2022.
Highlight assay results for drill hole MC23-132 include 121.8 g/t (3.55 oz/ton) gold over 0.9 metres (true width); including 363.0 g/t (10.59 oz/ton) gold over 0.3 metres (true width).
The drill hole intersected a 30-centimetre-wide quartz vein containing abundant visible gold that returned 363 g/t (10.59 oz/ton) gold over 0.3 metres, representing the single highest assay in the company’s drill hole database for the project. The high-grade vein occurs within a broader zone of mineralization averaging 121.8 g/t (3.55 oz/ton) gold over 0.9 metres and was intersected approximately 60 metres vertically below surface. This new vein discovery represents an entirely new high-grade quartz vein in a geological setting comparable to the mined-out, bonanza-grade Croesus vein.
“The intersection of multi-ounce gold grades within a completely new vein system parallel to the renowned Croesus vein is a direct validation of the team’s recent advancements in geological and structural modeling in the area,” said Brock Colterjohn, president and CEO. “The historic Croesus gold mine produced some of the highest-grade gold ever mined in Ontario, with an average head grade of 95.3 g/t (2.78 oz/ton) gold. This new vein underscores the opportunity for additional discoveries within an established high-grade gold environment. It is an excellent start to Onyx Gold’s inaugural drill program in Ontario.
“The Timmins camp is one of the most prolific gold-producing regions in the world with multiple operating mines and excess milling capacity. Onyx Gold has established one of the largest land positions in the camp not owned by a producer. Much of this land package is in prime high-potential geology with little or no work completed for decades. Our land tenure represents particularly attractive opportunities for discoveries such as this. This new vein remains open in all directions, and we look forward to further expanding this high-grade discovery in a winter drill campaign. We are also looking forward to results from the rest of our fall program which will be reported in due course.”
A total of five holes (MC23-130 to MC23-134) totalling 872 m were completed by the company in late October/early November to follow up north and south of drill hole MC22-92 drilled by the previous operator, HighGold Mining Inc., which intersected a narrow quartz vein that returned 14.0 g/t gold over 0.6 metres in a broader interval grading 3.4 g/t gold over 2.6 metres.
The area was targeted for its similar geological setting to the Croesus gold mine – specifically, the occurrence of a parallel vein to the Croesus vein within a particular basalt flow unit that is locally brecciated and enriched in sulphides (the Croesus flow). The Croesus flow is interpreted to play an important role in the deposition of exceptionally high concentrations of gold within the Croesus vein.
The Munro-Croesus project is located along Highway 101 in the heart of the Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada’s premier gold mining jurisdiction. This large, 100%-owned land package includes the past-producing Croesus gold mine.
Extensive land consolidation from 2020-2023 has unified the patchwork of patented and unpatented mining claims surrounding the Croesus gold mine into one coherent package and enhanced the exploration potential of the project.
The project covers 70 km2 of highly prospective geology within the influence of major gold-bearing structural breaks.
The company successfully completed its planned fall drill program on December 2 with 4,078 metres drilled in 19 holes. Approximately half of the drilling budget was focused on expansion drilling at the Argus zone located on the western side of the property, with the remaining half of the drilling budget focused on follow-up holes at targets proximal to the historic high-grade Croesus gold mine. Assay results from the fall program are currently pending and will be released in due course.
Onyx owns 100% of each of its three Timmins properties. The Munro-Croesus gold project is located approximately 75 km east of Timmins, proximal to the Porcupine-Destor and Pipestone faults, and approximately 2 km northwest and along trend of Mayfair Gold’s multimillion-ounce Fenn-Gib gold deposit. Mining occurred intermittently at Munro-Croesus between 1915 and 1936. The Golden Mile 140-km2 (54 square miles) property is located nine kilometres (5.6 miles) northeast of Newmont’s multimillion-ounce Hoyle Pond deposit in Timmins. The Timmins South (Golden Perimeter) 187-km2 property is located to the south and southeast of Timmins and surrounds the Shaw dome structure.
Onyx Gold’s extensive portfolio of quality gold projects in the greater Timmins gold camp includes the Munro-Croesus gold property, plus two additional earlier-stage large exploration properties, Golden Mile and Timmins South. Onyx Gold also controls four properties in the Selwyn basin area of the Yukon Territory.