First Nordic Metals commences base-of-till drilling at Klippen project, Sweden
First Nordic Metals Corp. [TSXV: FNM; OTCQB: FNMCF] has begun a base-of-till (BoT, also known as top-of-bedrock) drilling program on the 100%-owned Klippen project, located in the southern extent of the Gold Line belt, northern Sweden.
Taj Singh, president and CEO, commented: “The Klippen target currently being tested represents one of the most extensive gold and pathfinder element anomalies in the First Nordic portfolio, at over five kilometres long. The litho-structural setting is ideal for large orogenic gold deposits, and historical exploration has identified gold mineralization, but this does not seem to explain the size and intensity of the till anomaly, so the exploration potential here remains high. BoT drilling is the most effective method of targeting potential new discoveries under glacial till cover and has already proven fruitful at our Paubacken project’s Aida discovery further north. We look forward to reporting results later this fall as well as advancing exploration on multiple assets on the Gold Line belt in Q4.”
The fall Klippen project BoT drilling program is designed to investigate bedrock sources of a greater-than-five-kilometre-by-350-metre historical gold, arsenic, copper and zinc glacial till anomaly oriented in the prominent ice flow direction. The program will include up to 120 BoT drill holes and is designed to systematically test the bedrock along a one km zone interpreted to be the most probable source of the till anomaly based on interpretation of geophysical data and ice flow direction.
Several other coincident arsenic, copper and zinc anomalies identified in the 2023 glacial till sampling program will also be tested. Samples from these target areas were analyzed using XRF (X-ray fluorescence) which did not analyze for gold but contain similar pathfinder element assemblages.
Historical BoT and diamond drilling campaigns carried out by previous operators were focused in a small area of the anomalous zone. Here, anomalous gold mineralization was encountered in both BoT and diamond drilling. Mineralization observed is mainly hosted within a highly strained and altered syn-kinematic granodiorite measuring 4.5 km by 0.5 km.
Gold mineralization mainly occurs as sulphide veins consisting of pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite hosted within the highest strain zones of the granodiorite and minorly within highly strained sedimentary and volcanic units along the margins of the granodiorite. Mineralization is associated with intense sericite, carbonate, epidote and biotite hydrothermal alteration assemblages extending laterally into wallrock. Interpretation of historical drill core has led to the interpretation that mineralization encountered to date may be distal to a larger zone of mineralization under the main area of the till anomaly.
The company’s flagship asset is the Barsele gold project, located in northern Sweden and in a joint venture with senior gold producer Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. [AEM-TSX, NYSE].
Immediately surrounding the Barsele project, First Nordic Metals is the 100% owner of a district-scale licence position of close to 100,000 hectares on Gold Line greenstone belt. Additionally, in northern Finland, First Nordic Metals is the 100% owner of a district-scale position covering the entire Oijarvi greenstone belt.