Wesdome Gold Mines drills 93.7 g/t gold over 3 metres at Eagle River, Ontario
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. [TSX-WDO; OTCQX-WDOFF] has provided an update on underground exploration activities at the wholly owned Eagle River mine near Wawa, Ontario.
Highlights: At the 6 central zone, drilling extended the high-grade zone 150 metres to the east, adjacent to existing infrastructure. Hole 758-E-456: 71.7 g/t Au over 3.3 m core length (58.2g/t Au capped, 2.8 m true width), including 233.6 g/t Au uncut over 0.5 m core length, including 144.5 g/t Au uncut over 0.4 m core length.
Hole 758-E-463: 93.7 g/t Au over 3.0 m core length (59.7g/t Au capped, 2.6 m true width), including 339.4 g/t Au uncut over 0.4 m core length, including 193.7 g/t Au uncut over 0.3 m core length.
Falcon 311 zone: Exploration and delineation drilling is confirming continuity of high grades and expanding this recently discovered zone in the volcanic rocks west of the mine diorite. Hole 857-E-52: 33.0 g/t Au over 5.0 m core length (31.8 g/t Au capped, 3.5 m true width), including 152.0 g/t Au uncut over 0.5 m core length.
300 zone: Infill and delineation drilling used to confirm mineralization within the resource shapes. Hole 1153-E-01: 39.7 g/t Au over 8.7 m core length (32.5g/t Au capped, 6.6 m true width), including 275.1 g/t Au uncut over 0.3 m core length, including 206.1 g/t Au uncut over 0.3 m core length.
Hole 1201-E-47: 33.4 g/t Au over 4.7 m core length (25.7g/t Au capped, 3.6 m true width), including 260.2 g/t Au uncut over 0.3 m core length. Refer to original press release for complete drill results.
Anthea Bath, president and CEO, commented: “These drilling results at Eagle River underscore the prospectivity across this asset, particularly as the high grade 6 central zone continues to expand down-plunge to the east, and the continuity and extension potential of the Falcon 311 and 300 zones is now being confirmed in follow-up drilling.
“This year’s exploration program at Eagle River is expanding the existing resource base of known zones and identifying targets near existing infrastructure. In the coming months, our objective is to integrate results from this drill program with recently initiated asset optimization studies to potentially extend mine life, leverage existing development more effectively and increase utilization of Eagle River’s 1,200 tonne per day mill.”
Wesdome’s budget for underground exploration at Eagle River in 2024 is nearly $10 million and includes expansion, infill and delineation drilling.
The 6 central zone, discovered in 2023, is located close to existing infrastructure and at relatively shallower depths of 600 to 750 metres. Approximately 10,280 metres over 39 holes were drilled in the first half of 2024 with an additional 28 holes planned for the second half of the year.
The 6 central zone has been delineated 180 metres in plunge and 145 metres on strike based on a 3D model completed in 2023. Drill results to date have been promising, extending the zone down-plunge by 150 metres to the east and 100 metres along strike. With drilling confirming further growth potential confidence in the mineral resource classification has also improved, increasing the potential for conversion to mineral reserves at year end.
Falcon 311 zone: Approximately 8,140 metres were drilled in the first half of the year across 44 holes. Drilling will continue to the end of the year with an additional 20 holes planned, mostly focused on extending the zone to surface and infill drilling for resource conversion.
Based on drilling to date, the Falcon 311 zone has been delineated to extend at least 250 metres along plunge and nearly 115 metres along strike. Drilling continues to confirm the potential for the zone to expand down plunge and potentially extend to surface, similar to the adjacent Falcon 7 zone discovered in 2019. Drilling efforts have also been directed towards infill drilling certain areas within the Falcon 311 zone, a strategy aimed at confirming continuity and upgrading the classification of the existing resource.
300 zone: Approximately 8,050 metres have been drilled year to date across 28 holes. Drilling will continue to the end of 2024 with an additional 25 holes planned for the balance of the year with approximately half of the holes focusing on testing the 300 zone at depth and the remaining holes functioning as infill drilling for resource conversion.
With development platforms recently installed at the 1201 level, underground drilling has focused on testing areas down-plunge of 300 zone that were not previously accessible. Infill drilling will also be conducted from this level, targeting certain regions within the 300 zone for resource conversion.
Wesdome is a Canadian-focused gold producer with two high-grade underground assets, the Eagle River mine in Ontario and the Kiena mine in Quebec.