iMetal’s Gowganda assays include 10 g/t gold

iMetal Resources Inc. [IMR-TSXV]  said Friday November 23 that ongoing exploration at its Gowganda West property in northeastern Ontario has defined highly favourable targets for upcoming drilling at Zone 3A.

iMetal shares advanced on the news, rising 9.52% or $0.01 to 11.5 cents on volume of 1.17 million. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $0.055 and 17.5 cents.

The company said Zone 3A is part of an apparent northeast trending structural corridor that extends for at least 2.4 km south of Tahoe Resources Inc.‘s [THO-TSX, NYSE] Juby gold deposit.

Back in August, 2018, the company said it was moving ahead with exploration at the 105 km² Gowganda West Project after receiving multi-year drill permits from the Ontario Ministry of Mines and Development.

In the August 28 press release, the company said it can also carry out planned mechanized stripping, trenching and ground-based geophysics over high-grade gold showing areas that continue intermittently along the structural corridor that contains Zones 3A, 3B and 3C.

In the same press release, the company said it had immediately mobilized an excavator and its exploration team was on the property, led by exploration manager Tom O’Connor. The company went on to say that access to high priority targets over the summer had been vastly improved by a forest cutting company working in the area.

“They have built a solid gravel road straight from Highway 560 from Gowganda into the first targets at Zones 3A and 3B,” the company said.

Gowganda is located roughly halfway between the mining communities of Sudbury and Timmins.

iMetals President and CEO Johan Grandin said he is confident that his exploration team can turn Gowganda West into “an exciting new discovery story.” That’s because of the extent of high-grade gold and copper surface showings on the property, its proximity to the Tahoe deposit and the lack of previous systematic exploration at Gowganda West, he said.

On Friday, the company said new assay data from recent channel sampling at Zone 3A provides additional support for a potential grassroots drilling discovery.

The company said a system of quartz-carbonate veins, quartz stockworks and shear zones, mineralized with pyrite and chalcopyrite, was intersected in most of the 84 new channel samples. Assays ranges in grade from geochemically anomalous to 9.96 g/t gold and varied in length from 0.7 metres to 1.25 metres (only gold assays have been completed to date). Fifteen samples assayed at least 1.3 g/t gold.

In addition, the company said the Timiskaming-type rocks, alteration and style of mineralization at Zone 3A share similarities with the Kirkland Lake gold camp.

Preparations are now under way to carry out a series of first-ever drill holes at Zone 3A in an attempt to determine continuity of mineralization to shallow depths.

“IMR intends to be a leader in the reawakening of the Gowganda region which has a rich mining history,” said Grandin. “Work at Gowganda West is continuing on multiple fronts and we look forward to updating shareholders again in the very near future.”