Rupert Resources drills 137.2 metres grading 1.8 g/t gold in Finland
Rupert Resources Ltd. [RUP-TSXV; R05-FSE] has released results from its continuing exploration program at the 100%-owned Pahtavaara Project in the Central Lapland greenstone belt of Finland.
The company has drilled a significant gold-hosting structural zone at a newly identified target, called Ikkari. The target was identified using base-of-till sampling at Area 1, a 5-km-long, highly prospective section of a regional domain-bounding structure, 20 km of which are contained within Rupert’s contiguous landholding.
Highlights
The Ikkari target is a linear anomaly extending over 500 metres of strike length in base-of-till sampling. The first two drill holes into the target are located 100 metres apart. Hole 120042 intersected 137.2 metres grading 1.8 g/t gold from 10.8 metres, the base-of-till surface, including 7.1 g/t gold over 14 metres from 23 metres and 10.6 g/t over 3 metres from 27 metres.
Hole 120038 intersected 54 metres grading 1.5 g/t gold from 25 metres, including 4.7 g/t over 1 metre from 35 metres, 5.2 g/t over 2 metres from 65 metres and 5.7 g/t over 1 metre from 71 metres.
James Withall, CEO, commented: “These first two holes at Ikkari are the most significant intersections of our regional exploration program to date, showing continuity of grade across a broad shear zone structure. So far, we have only drilled 100 metres of the interpreted strike; the base-of-till anomaly has a strike extent over 500 metres, and this is limited only by the current extent of our sampling. Our recent Saitta discovery is proximal to the same regional structure five km to the east. Rupert’s exploration team have demonstrated yet again the success of their systematic approach to exploration, delivering a sixth new discovery in just over 12 months.”
So far, the 2019/2020 regional exploration program has completed 13,712 metres with 77 holes drilled at Area 1. The company has undertaken one of the most extensive base-of-till geochemical sampling programs ever conducted in this region of Finland, along with detailed ground gravity, magnetic and induced polarization geophysical surveys, the combination of which continues to identify new gold anomalies under glacial till to drill test. One diamond drill rig and one base-of-till rig are currently operating at the project.
The company is well financed, following the $13.1-million investment by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. in February, 2020, and the regional exploration programs are planned to continue throughout 2020. A detailed IP geophysical survey has just been completed at Ikkari, and plans are being made to resume drilling there in the coming months.
The project is located in the heart of the Central Lapland greenstone belt, northern Finland, where the company owns the permitted Pahtavaara mine, which is on active care and maintenance and is 297 km2 in size. The company acquired the project for just US$2.5-million in 2016 and is undertaking exploration, both at the existing mine and across the region, to demonstrate the potential for significant economic mineralization.
On May 11, shares of Rupert Resources jumped 39 cents, or 44.8%, to close at $1.26 on a volume of 789,200 shares traded.