Emperor Metals drills 10.8 metres of 15.8 g/t gold (including 3.4 m of 27.24 g/t Au) at Duquesne West, Quebec
Emperor Metals Inc. [CSE-AUOZ; OTC Pink-EMAUF; FSE-9NH] reported additional assay results from the ongoing summer 2023 drilling campaign at the Duquesne West Gold Project, Quebec. Drilling continues at the property and, with the recent completion of hole DQ23-13, drilling has reached 8,239 metres of a planned +8,000 metres program.
Highlights: 10.8 metres of 15.8 g/t gold, including 3.4 metres of 27.24 g/t gold in DQ23-05. Drilling confirms open-pit potential with bulk tonnage grades in traditionally unsampled intervals, distinct from known underground potential.
Intersections are predicted to expand the Historical Resource of 727,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 5.42 g/t gold. Drilling confirms the reliability of strategic AI Model, for example, DQ23-05 exceeds the average thickness and grade of the deposit and extends the mineralization along plunge as predicted.
CEO John Florek commented: “What is so impressive is the robustness of mineralization we are encountering. Our findings suggest a shift from a sole focus on high-grade gold to also include an open-pit potential knowing that these thick mineralized zones probably extend to the surface. Previous explorers were only focused on high-grade gold and ignored bulk tonnage opportunities. An approximate estimate of 70% of the historical core near surface has not been sampled.
Our strategic direction now encompasses the development of both pit-constrained and underground resources, which has the potential to substantially elevate the project’s prospects. The appeal of this property grows weekly as the assay results return from the lab.
The application of our AI Geological Model has been pivotal in facilitating a deeper understanding and potential expansion of the deposit. We are committed to the continued growth of this deposit in collaboration with our investors, employing targeted drilling and innovative approaches. We are clearly envisioning the ability to develop a multimillion-ounce potential with the addition of multiple mining scenarios on the property.
The proximity to multiple mills and infrastructure in a Tier 1 mining district makes this project highly valuable compared to its competitors.”
DQ23-05 intersection (10.8 m of 15.8 g/t Au) was designed to extend mineralization +100 metres westward down plunge of high-grade mineralization. It intersected higher grade and thickness than predicted by the model, which will help to increase the grade and add ounces laterally to the mineralized stopes model.
Due to multiple zones of mineralization of both high-grade and lower grade bulk tonnage we have focused our remaining drilling towards the open pit concept that has been envisioned over the 2023 summer drilling program. This is a significant milestone after examining the results of the 2023 drilling program, coupled with the lack of sampling in the near-surface historical drilling. The partial results and the visuals from our 2023 campaign suggest broader mineralized zones potentially amenable for open pit mining.
The open pit concept shows an ultimate pit with a depth extent to 400 metres; the footprint is 1.8 km by 0.8 km. Initial exploration will strategically focus on a phase 1 pit design. This will allow the company to determine the economics as we progress through the phases having the necessary assay results for resource evaluation. Currently Emperor is sampling available, near-surface, core that was not assayed by previous explorers located in the historical core library. Up to 70% of this core has not been assayed.
Partial assays for these reported drillhole results continue to increase confidence to consider an open pit potential to the Duquesne West deposit. Lab results for other mineralized zones intersected in holes DQ23-02, 03, 04, and 05 are in progress.
The Duquesne West Gold property is located 32 km northwest of Rouyn-Noranda and 10 km east of Duparquet. The property lies within the historic Duparquet gold mining camp in the southern portion of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in the Superior Province.
Under an option agreement, Emperor agreed to acquire a 100% interest in a mineral claim package comprising 38 claims covering approximately 1,389 ha, located in the Duparquet Township of Quebec from Duparquet Assets Ltd., a 50% owned subsidiary of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. [GMX-TSX].
The property hosts a historical inferred mineral resource estimate of 727,000 ounces of gold at 5.42 g/t gold. The gold system remains open for resource identification and expansion.
Reinterpretation of the existing geological model was created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. This model shows the opportunity for additional discovery of ounces by revealing gold trends unknown to previous workers and the potential to expand the resource along significant gold-endowed structural zones.