Stelmine Canada intersects 2.62 g/t gold over 17.8 metres at Mercator, Quebec
Stelmine Canada Ltd. [STH-TSXV; STHFF-OTC] reported results from 1,950 metres of diamond drilling from 13 holes collared in the Meridian zone of the Mercator property, located in Caniapiscau mining district of Quebec.
This first phase of exploration drilling confirms an important gold mineralized system extending at least 1.7 km by 500 metres to a depth of 200 metres. The best core intercepts were 17.8 metres at 2.62 g/t gold, including 5.6 metres at 4.87 g/t gold (hole MCT22-08) and 9.75 metres at 1.13 g/t gold, including 1.7 metres at 3.21 g/t gold (hole MCT22-03), with the full results presented the associated table in the original press release.
Hole MCT22-08, providing the best gold intersection, was the only hole drilled under a 500-metre-by-200-metre area characterized by high-chargeability values where most of the surface high gold assays were obtained in grab and channel samples. Stelmine intends to focus its upcoming drilling campaign on this particular sector.
Five of the 13 drill holes yielded significant intersections with gold values over one g/t ranging from 1.45 to 17.8 metres in apparent thickness and depths varying from nine to 194 metres. The grade and extent of the mineralization confirm the significant surface gold data obtained since 2018 from grab and channel samples yielding 15% of gold values over one g/t and 41% over 200 ppb (parts per billion). At the core of the property (Meridian zone), 22 channel sites provided gold values ranging from three metres at 0.88 g/t gold to 27.5 metres at 2.07 g/t gold.
Isabelle Proulx, president and CEO, Stelmine Canada, stated: “We are impressed by the results of our maiden drilling program at Mercator confirming an extensive mineralized system within the Meridian zone exposed at the surface and continuing at depth over 100 metres. In light of the surface and drill core results, Stelmine believes the mining potential of the Mercator property resides in a high-tonnage moderately rich gold mineralization. We only have started our exploration at Mercator and are already planning our second drilling campaign for the summer of 2023. We acknowledged only 6 per cent of the Mercator property has undergone systematic exploration and sampling; leaving additional high potential targets to investigate. For instance, several high-chargeability/low-resistivity anomalies northwest of the Meridian zone still need to be drilled.”
There is a strong correlation in drill core gold intercepts and low resistivity/high chargeability zones. Several of these IP (induced polarization) derived anomalies are yet to be drilled, especially in the southwestern Meridian zone. Furthermore, access to the most promising drilling sites on the southwestern area of the Meridian zone was hampered par the steep denivelation and several targets were not drilled during the current program but will be investigated in the upcoming 2023 drill campaign. A new IP/resistivity survey with 100-metre line spacing is also planned to better define the company’s drill targets.
Compelling results from Mercator over the past two years prompted Stelmine to acquire 165 new adjacent claims. The extended land package covers a sedimentary basin with similar geological and structural characteristics found in the original Mercator property providing Stelmine with a unique highly prospective portfolio in an underexplored terrain. Indeed, outside the immediate Meridian zone, limited grab rock and channel sampling from moderately to strongly magnetic mafic granulitic assemblages generated anomalous gold (up to 0.5 g/t) and arsenic (up to 4,000 ppm (parts per million)) hinting at a larger mineralized system than previously thought.
Stelmine is a junior mining exploration company pioneering a new gold district (Caniapiscau) east of James Bay in the underexplored eastern part of the Opinaca metasedimentary basin where the geological context has similarities to the Eleonore mine.
Stelmine has 100% ownership of metasedimentary basin where the geological context has similarities to the Eleonore mine. Stelmine has 100% ownership of 1,782 claims or 938 km2 in this part of Northern Quebec, highlighted by the Courcy and Mercator projects.