Sokoman Minerals samples up to 4.6 g/t gold at Fleur de Lys, Newfoundland
Sokoman Minerals Corp. [SIC-TSXV; SICNF-OTCQB] reported final results for all 1,260 C-horizon tills taken on the Fleur de Lys project on the Baie Verte Peninsula, north-central Newfoundland.
Results confirm the potential of the Fleur de Lys Supergroup to host significant gold mineralization similar to deposits at advanced stages of development in both Northern Ireland and Scotland in the Dalradian Supergroup. The Fleur de Lys and the Dalradian Supergroups are believed to be equivalent sequences of metamorphic rocks spatially associated with major structural breaks.
The background level of gold grains in tills for the Fleur de Lys Project has been determined to be 10 grains in a 10- to 12-kg sample of screened till. Ottawa-based Overburden Drilling Management (ODM), who is overseeing the project, considers a sample to be anomalous if it contains two-times background or 20 gold grains. Results indicate that of the 1,260 samples, 328, or just over 25%, have at least 20 gold grains (to a maximum of 230 grains) and are considered anomalous. Fifty-five samples contain at least 60 grains (six-times background) and a number with more than 50% pristine gold grains. Gold grains described as pristine are considered to be from a local bedrock source (less than 200 metres transport).
In addition to the anomalous gold grains in tills, prospecting has also located anomalous gold in bedrock and float with 34 samples giving gold values >100 ppb Au (0.1 g/t Au), including 18 >500 ppb Au (0.5 g/t Au), and 10 >1000 ppb Au (>1.0 g/t Au) with a maximum of 4.6 g/t Au. The highest gold value was in outcrop in an area of strong gold-grain counts.
Tim Froude, President and CEO,, commented: “We are extremely pleased with the success of the till program in outlining strongly-anomalous gold in tills overlying favourable rocks and structures that have given significant gold values in both float and bedrock. The property is ideally suited to cost-effective exploration with a supportive local population, operating mines, and support businesses. We are prioritizing the anomalies for continued follow-up prospecting, trenching, and or fast-tracking to the diamond drill stage. Planning will include a review of data by ODM with input from our field crews. A preliminary interpretation of the till results by ODM defines a target area of 30-km strike-length, within which better-defined anomalies are found.”
The Fleur de Lys Supergroup, which underlies the project, are equivalent rocks to the Dalradian Supergroup in the UK, where three significant gold deposits, including the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland, and Cononish in Scotland are found.
Dalradian-type gold deposits occur in moderate- to high-grade metamorphic terranes and are typically high-grade (the Curraghinalt deposit has >6 million ounces of NI 43-101 compliant gold resources including 6.3 million tonnes at 14.95 g/t (Measured and Indicated) for 3.06 million ounces; and 7.72 million tonnes at 12.24 g/t gold (Inferred) for 3.03 million ounces.
The 100%-owned Fleur de Lys Gold Project is located on the west side of the Baie Verte Peninsula in north-central Newfoundland. The project is highly prospective for Dalradian-style orogenic vein-hosted gold deposits and as such, represents a readily accessible yet underexplored, district-scale, gold target in the Newfoundland Appalachians. The property has seen little modern exploration, with some areas remaining completely unexplored although historical grab sample values of 3.3 g/t gold to 25.5 g/t gold are reported from several locations.
Sokoman Minerals is a discovery-oriented company with projects in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The company’s primary focus is its portfolio of gold projects; the 100% flagship, advanced-stage Moosehead, as well as Crippleback Lake; and East Alder (optioned to Canterra Minerals) along the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt, and the district-scale Fleur de Lys project near Baie Verte, north-central Newfoundland, that is targeting Dalradian-type orogenic gold mineralization similar to the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland. The company also entered into a strategic alliance with Benton Resources Inc. through three, large-scale, joint-venture properties including Grey River, Golden Hope, and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland.
Sokoman now controls, independently and through the Benton alliance, over 150,000 hectares (>6,000 claims – 1500 km2), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, in Canada’s newest and rapidly-emerging gold districts. The company also retains an interest in an early-stage antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to White Metal Resources Inc., and in Labrador, the company has a 100% interest in the Iron Horse (Fe) project which has Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) potential.