Drilling boosts confidence in Probe Metals project
Probe Metals Inc. [PRB-TSXV, PROBF-OTCQB] on Tuesday released the first set of result from 2022 drilling on its 100%-owned Val-d’Or East Monique property near Val-d’Or, Quebec. The company said results from 28 holes returned significant gold intercepts within and surrounding the conceptual pits from a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) announced last year.
The Monique property contains a former open pit mine that produced 45,694 ounces of gold between 2013 and 2015. It hosts a measured and indicated resource of 13.6 million tonnes of grade 1.54 g/t gold or 672,800 ounces.
On top of that is an inferred resource of 11.7 million tonnes of grade 1.78 g/t gold or 671,400 ounces.
Monique is part of Probe Metals’ Val-d’Or East project where nine drills are currently active, including six on the Monique Gold Trend.
The Val d’Or East project is a district-scale land package, comprising 435 square kilometres and represents one of the largest land holdings in the Val-d’Or mining camp. The property is host to three past producing mines (Beliveau, Bussiere, and Monique) and falls along four regional mine trends, including 14 kilometres of strike length along the prolific Cadillac Break.
On Tuesday, the company said expansion drilling returned new intersections, grading up to 6.0 g/t gold over 16.4 metres, (including 60.6 g/t gold over 1.5 metres) 1.9 g/t gold over 18.3 metres and 40.4 g/t gold over 1.0 metre between surface and a depth of 400 metres.
The company said the 2022 resource drilling program is progressing well with almost half of the 150,000- metre program competed in the first four months of the year. Results from over 165 holes drilled since the beginning of 2022 at Monique are still pending.
Infill drilling continues to strengthen the resource, returning 3.0 g/t gold over 13.2 metres, 3.9 g/t gold over 8.9 metres, 1.6 g/t gold over 21.1 metres and 2.3 g/t gold over 8.0 metres near surface inside Monique Gold Trend’s open-pittable deposits, the company said in a press release.
“Both the expansion and infill programs at Monique continue to produce excellent results and continue to increase our confidence in not only the current resource but the exploration upside of the project,” said Probe Metals President and CEO David Palmer.
“These are large, robust gold systems, that have significant potential for growth and new discoveries and we will continue to push this exploration in 2022,” he said. “In addition to advancing another step closer to production, this year’s drilling program is also demonstrating the potential for Val-d’Or East to continue increasing in scale and value and to compete in an active gold market.”
On Tuesday, Probe shares eased 3.0% or $0.06 to $1.91 in light trading volume. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of $2.33 and $1.52..
Probe Metals was formed as a result of the sale of Probe Mines Ltd. to Goldcorp Inc. in March 2015. Newmont Goldcorp Corp., [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE], the world’s largest gold miner, currently has a 12% stake in Probe Metals.