New Found Gold intersects 3.2 g/t gold over 43.8 metres at Queensway, Newfoundland
New Found Gold Corp. [TSXV-NFG; NYSE-NFGC] reported results from 46 diamond drill holes that were completed as part of a drill program designed to test the Keats West zone and follow up on new gold mineralization identified at the Cokes zone through reconnaissance and targeted drilling.
Both prospects are located on the west side of the highly prospective Appleton fault zone (AFZ). New Found’s 100%-owned Queensway project comprises a 1,662-km2 area, accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, 15 km west of Gander, Newfoundland.
Highlights: Three of today’s highlight intervals were drilled into the westernmost extent of the Keats West zone, intercepting 3.49 g/t gold over 23.20 metres in NFGC-23-1765, 12.8 g/t gold over 3.30 metres in NFGC-23-1745, and 16.9 g/t gold over 2.15 metres in NFGC-23-1755. All three holes hit the structure shallowly starting between 2 metres and 35 metres vertical depth, indicating strong near-surface continuity of high-grade gold mineralization over a strike length of 315 metres at Keats West.
Farther east, within the Keats West structure, additional results have been received from holes that were designed to test gaps left from the previous drilling campaign. Several thick intervals of high-grade mineralization were intercepted including the highlight intervals 3.20 g/t gold over 43.80 metres in NFGC-23-1708, 10.3 g/t gold over 13.00 metres, and 3.22 g/t gold over 23.50 metres in NFGC-23-1741, and 2.97 g/t gold over 23.00 metres in NFGC-23-1713.
Gold mineralization at Keats West is hosted by a low-angle thrust fault that dips gently to the south-southwest and has a drill-defined mineralized footprint spanning 305 metres long by 315 metres wide and starts at surface with all intercepts drilled to date occurring above 130 metres vertical depth. The zone has a cumulative average thickness of 30 metres.
At Cokes, a historic showing located 300m southwest of Keats West on the west side of the AFZ, drilling has successfully expanded upon the mineralized zone through a combination of grid and targeted drilling. A first-pass program conducted by New Found in 2021 returned encouraging results at Cokes including the highlight interval of 2.40 g/t gold over 23.70 metres in NFGC-21-157.
Today’s results expand the mineralized footprint at Cokes and define a low-angle and south-dipping gold mineralized structure that is very similar in orientation to the nearby Keats West. Several significant intervals were received including 4.33 g/t gold over 11.80m in NFGC-23-1891, 2.75 g/t gold over 13.50m in NFGC-23-1609, 3.64 g/t gold over 7.90m, 2.54 g/t gold over 8.55m and 1.76 g/t gold over 11.10m in NFGC-23-1870 that together span a domain 65m wide by 90m long. Additional drilling is required to understand the mineralizing controls in this area and to expand on this new discovery.
Melissa Render, vice-president of exploration, stated: “Our second pass drilling at Cokes has enhanced our understanding of this zone and allowed us to hone into a higher-grade portion of the structure that was previously unknown. This success at Cokes is a great example of where it is often necessary to revisit areas and take a new approach or persist with the drill to produce an improved model that can allow for better targeting. Cokes is in good company with the Keats West structure located just 300m to the north. At Keats West, we are encouraged by today’s results testing the far western extents of the zone where it comes to the surface and continues to produce intervals of near-surface high-grade gold mineralization.”
The company is currently undertaking a 650,000-metre drill program at Queensway, and approximately 2,100 metres of core are currently pending assay results.
The company has not completed any economic evaluations of its Queensway Project and that the Queensway Project does not have any resources or reserves.
The Queensway Project, located 15km west of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, is 18km from Gander International Airport. 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 workforce. The company is well funded for this program with cash and marketable securities of approximately $53.5 million as of February 2024.