Tarku Resources completes drilling at Apollo project, Quebec
Tarku Resources Ltd. [TKU-TSXV; TRKUF-OTCQB; 7TK-FSE] successfully completed the maiden drill program on its Apollo gold project, part of the 3As projects, located east of the town of Matagami, Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec.
Eight holes, for a total of 3,048 metres, were completed on a 4-km-wide priority area of the east extension of the Sunday Lake fault. Tarku controls 100% of more than 20 km length of the regional faults, where no exploration has ever been reported for gold. Assays are pending for all holes but are expected to be received during Q1 2023.
Eight holes, with lengths between 217 and 577 metres, totalling 3,048 metres were completed. From east to west, the area covers a 4-km long section of the Sunday Lake fault.
Visual inspection of the core reveals both intensive hydrothermal alterations, similar in style to orogenic gold deposits, as well as magmatic alteration, including hematization, carbonatization and sericitization.
Fine-grained disseminated pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite and copper are observed over intervals up to 45 metres thick. The drill core has now been prepared and sent for assay, with results expected in the first quarter of 2023.
Julien Davy, president and CEO, said: “We are very impressed by the core recovered during this maiden drill program. All eight holes intersected prospective environments and the unexpected presence of visible base metals such as sphalerite and copper increase the prospectivity of this overlooked area. We’ll work on the interpretations during the coming weeks but the visible alterations halos of carbonatization, hematization, sericitization and silicification with structural control as visible breccia and the presence of long sequence of mineralization give us strong indications that this project looks more and more like other Abitibi-based multimillion-ounce deposits.”
Apollo drill program summary: The sixth hole (AP-22-006, 325 m depth) tested the eastern side of Zone 8 target (AZ8), corresponding to a high-chargeability anomaly with a strong magnetic susceptibility. Hole 6 intersected strongly altered rocks with pervasive silicification altering with moderate to intense metre-wide sections of hematization associated with disseminated to massive magnetite and up to 5% disseminated pyrite. The seventh hole (AP-22-008, 407 m depth) tested the north area of the Zone 6 target (AZ6) within the regional Sunday Lake fault corresponding to structurally controlled geophysical responses.
The hole intersected a different volcano-sedimentary environment within the regional Sunday Lake fault with visible strong to intense deformation throughout the hole. The first 170 metres intersected well-carbonated sequences of black shale and wacke with metre-long sections of up to 10% pyrite and pyrrhotite. After the first 170 metres, lapillis tuffs have strong pervasive silicification and are intruded by quartz-carbonate veinlets that locally become stockwork with centimetre patches of pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite.
The eighth hole (AP-22-007, 577 m depth) targeted the Zone 5 target (AZ5) and the bottom of the main magnetic anomaly. The hole has similarities with hole AP-22-002 with same syenitic dikes and ash to lapillis tuffs with over 100 metres of pervasive carbonatization, silicification and hematization associated with disseminated to massive magnetite. The hole intersected a 49-metre-long section of up to 5% pyrite, and pyrrhotite, finely disseminated throughout the section with locally sphalerite and potentially molybdenum also described.
In Arizona, in the famous Tombstone district, Tarku owns 100% of the 29 km2 Silver Strike project. Silver Strike has been interpreted by management to have the potential for similar carbonate replacement deposits comparable with the Hermosa project, located 80 km west in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, which South32 acquired for US$1.8-billion in 2018. Tarku is currently planning a surface mapping program, a deep-penetrating and high-resolution geophysical survey over the priority targets, with a minimum 5,000-metre drill program in the upcoming month.
In Quebec, Tarku owns 100% of the 3As exploration projects (Apollo, Admiral and Atlas projects), in the Matagami greenstone belt. After the last deep-penetration and high-definition induced polarization geophysical survey over Apollo, Tarku completed a 3,000-metre-plus drill program and is waiting for the results.