New Found Gold drills 197.78 g/t gold over 2 metres at Queensway, Newfoundland
New Found Gold Corp. [NFG-TSXV; NFGC-NYSE American] has released the results from 36 diamond drill holes that were completed as part of a drill program at the 100%-owned Queensway project, designed to expand on the recently discovered K2 zone (May 10, 2023) located 725 metres north of Lotto and 2.2 km north of Keats West on the west side of the highly prospective Appleton fault zone (AFZ). The district-scale Queensway project comprises a 1,662-km2 area, accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, 15 km west of Gander, Newfoundland.
K2 highlights: K2 is host to an impressive and complex system made up of multiple structures and crosscutting vein orientations that now spans a mineralized footprint of 410 metres long by 395 metres wide. The gold mineralization begins at surface and has been drill defined down to a maximum depth of 250 metres.
Much of the gold at K2 is found in the K2 Main structure, a low-angle, gold-bearing fault zone starting at surface that dips 40 degrees to the south and shares a similar orientation to Keats West. K2 Main is made up of a complex network of associated structures forming a mineralized damage zone that averages 65 metres in thickness.
The mineralization style at K2 consists of a series of stockwork and fault-fill-style quartz veins with orientations that parallel K2 Main and crosscut it, forming a broad domain of gold-mineralized brittle faults. These veins are extensive — many of them are projected to make their way to surface and additional drilling is required to fully define this network.
One such vein constituent of the greater K2 structure is the stibnite vein that has returned several significant intervals, including 4.50 g/t gold over 12.95 metres in NFGC-23-1303, 6.51 g/t gold over 5.05 metres in NFGC-23-1387 and 13.7 g/t gold over 3.90 metres in NFGC-23-1391. Stibnite is a near-surface, high-grade vein that has been traced over a current strike length of 105 metres. This vein contains significant amounts of stibnite, an antimony-bearing sulphide mineral as reflected by the antimony assay results of 0.95% Sb over 12.95 metres in NFGC-23-1303 and 0.04% Sb over 3.90 metres in NFGC-23-1391. This is the first time this mineral association has been observed at Queensway North.
An interval of 198 g/t gold over two m in NFGC-22-952 is found in a crosscutting vein that occurs immediately west of the AFZ and forms another important constituent of the greater K2 mineralized footprint. This interval demonstrates the high-grade potential of the K2 structure.
Melissa Render, vice-president of exploration, stated: “Drilling at K2 has led to the discovery of a significant gold-bearing structural zone with a large and growing footprint that includes an array of veining and strong associated gold grades. Like Keats West, K2 is located west of the AFZ and gold is generally hosted in a low-angle, gently dipping structure, with the majority of mineralization found close to surface. With minimal drilling into this new zone, it is already apparent that the complexity and sheer number of associated veins at K2 far exceeds the system at Keats West. Additionally, the overall K2 zone shares many similarities with Keats Main, including general orientation and the presence of numerous steeply dipping cross-structures. It is these complex environments that create opportune hosts for high-grade gold deposition, and today’s highlight interval of 198 g/t gold over two m gives us great enthusiasm that, like our flagship zones found 2.5 km to the south, K2 can also host high-grade gold.
The company is currently undertaking a 500,000 m drill program at Queensway, and approximately 39,400 m of core are currently pending assay results.
The company notes that it has not completed any economic evaluations of its Queensway project and that the Queensway project does not have any resources or reserves.
The project is intersected by the Trans-Canada Highway and has logging roads crosscutting the project, high-voltage electric power lines running through the project area, and easy access to a highly skilled work force. The company is currently undertaking a 500,000-metre drill program at Queensway and is well financed for this program, with cash and marketable securities of approximately $47.5-million as of August, 2023.