Orford Mining drills 3.8 g/t gold over 10 metres at Joutel Eagle, Quebec
Orford Mining Corp. [ORM-TSXV] has received all pending assays from its 2023 drilling program on its Joutel Eagle property located along the prolific Casa-Berardi structural zone in the Abitibi region of Quebec.
Results have confirmed, extended and better defined a series of thick, near-surface mineralized zones (South gold zone) within 150 metres of surface, including gold mineralization that intersected in the top 40 metres in hole 23-JE-008 which reported 1.7 g/t gold over 15.7 metres from 21.65 to 37.35 metres, including 5.8 g/t gold over 4.1 metres. 23-JE-004 returned 4.1 g/t gold over 14.6 metres from 100.30 to 114.90 metres, including higher-grade intervals.
Newly received assay results include 3.8 g/t gold over 10 metres from 108 metres to 111 metres in hole in 23-JE-016. Thick mineralized intersections of up to 1.1 g/t gold over 54.7 metres, including higher grade intervals of 1.7 g/t gold over 28.6 metres were reported from the South Gold Zone.
Drilling down-dip of shallow mineralization at the South Gold Zone has confirmed the extension of mineralization at depth (e.g., 22-JE-001 & 22-JE-002) with all intercepts remaining open at depth. Historical drilling indicates that mineralization continues to 300m depth and is open below that.
Drilling to the north of the South Gold Zone has identified a new mineralized trend (North gold zone) which reported 1.3g/t Au over 16.1m (23-JE-007).
All drilling intervals are down-hole lengths. True thicknesses cannot be estimated with available information.
David Christie, President and CEO, commented, “The results from the 2023 drilling campaign on the South Gold Zone at the Joutel Eagle property has proven our hypothesis of a shallow and thick zone hosting continuous gold mineralization. These results will be used to plan infill drilling and expand results at depth in order to achieve a resource estimate. We look forward to also drill testing the newly discovered North Gold Zone along strike.”
The 15 holes drilled at the South Gold Zone during the 20221 and 2023 programs have shown that the South Gold Zone hosts higher grade gold mineralization over wider intervals than had been reported historically. The South Gold Zone mineralization is open at depth and is observed as deep as 300 metres in historical drilling reporting 2.9 g/t over 6.3 metres, including 5.3 g/t gold over 2.3 metres in hole 83-033.
Two holes from the 2023 program were drilled to the North of the South Gold Zone in a previously untested area of the property. These holes intersected a new gold-bearing horizon 150 metres to the north of the South Gold Zone and reported 1.3 g/t gold over 16.1 metres from 201.0 metres depth including higher grade intervals of up to 4.5 g/t gold over 1.1 metres (Hole 23-JE-007).
Measurements were collected during the drill program with a core orientation tool and a full structural interpretation will be completed. Future drill programs will aim to extend the South Gold Zone at depth to provide a basis for a resource estimation, and to make additional discoveries along the North Gold Zone.
The Joutel Eagle property is situated just northwest of Agnico Eagle’s past-producing Eagle-Telbel operation which produced over 1.1 Moz of gold from 1974 to 1993. The Joutel Eagle property covers 11 km of the Casa Berardi structural zone south splay (CBSZ) which is associated with several gold deposits and, together with our McClure East property, gives Orford over 17 km coverage on the prolific CBSZ. The Joutel Eagle Property sits to the north of Orford’s 100%-owned Joutel South property and west of Orford’s 100%-owned McClure East property.
Orford has an option to acquire 100% of the 50 km2 Joutel Eagle Project from Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. [GMX-TSX; GLBXF-OTCQX International; G1MM-FSE].
Orford’s principal assets are the Qiqavik, West Raglan and lithium exploration projects comprising a land package totaling over 111,000 hectares in the Cape Smith Belt of Northern Quebec. The Qiqavik Project hosts several new high-grade gold discoveries along a mineralized trend in excess of 40 km. The West Raglan Project hosts a number of high-grade Raglan-style nickel/copper/platinum group metal discoveries along a 55 km mineralized trend. In early 2023 Orford acquired large claim blocks targeting Lithium in the Nunavik Region. These Lithium claim blocks have been carefully selected as having promising lithium potential after an exhaustive compilation of available data.
Orford also has four property positions in the Joutel region of the Abitibi District of Northern Quebec, which hosts historical deposits such as the Eagle/Telbel, Joutel Copper, Poirier Copper, and Vezza deposits.