Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Amex Exploration has reported assay results for seven holes completed at the Denise zone, within its Perron gold property in northwestern Quebec, which step out the zone to the west and towards surface. The intercepts include long intervals of mineralization, which, according to Jacques Trottier, the company’s executive chairman, establish Denise as a “standalone gold zone.”
The drill highlights include 115.6 metres of 1.39 g/t gold from 264.9 metres; 189.4 metres of 1.07 g/t gold starting at 287.5 metres; and 50 metres of 2.12 g/t gold from 196 metres.
The Denise mineralization has now been traced over 325 metres of strike, from surface to 550 vertical metres and over widths of up to 100 metres. The zone remains open and also contains higher-grade intervals. Denise, together with the High Grade zone (HGZ) to the south, makes up the Eastern gold zone at the 45-sq.-km property.
The Denise gold zone features shear zone-type gold mineralization whereas the HGZ is a “typical bonanza vein” with high-grade gold within parallel quartz veins, with native coarse free gold
In the press release, Trottier also noted how the discovery of a gold-bearing system at surface presents potential for improved potential downstream project economics.
“We believe the Denise zone has the potential to add significant gold ounces to the overall Perron property as well (as) significantly add to the ounces per vertical metre when considering it in conjunction with the HGZ,” he said in a release.
“Previously, we had contemplated underground mining to extract the very high-grade gold mineralization of the HGZ. Having the Denise Zone located immediately south of the HGZ enables us to envision a starter pit followed by further underground mining. This fundamentally changes the possible economics of mining this area.”
There are additional assays pending for Denise.
The Denise gold zone features shear zone-type gold mineralization whereas the HGZ is a “typical bonanza vein” with high-grade gold within parallel quartz veins, with native coarse free gold.
In addition to the Eastern gold zone, discoveries at Perron include the Gratien, Grey Cat and Central Polymetallic zones. These cover a 2.7-km-long corridor, which lies along the Perron fault. The property hosts a total of 15 km of structural target strike length over the Perron and Normetal faults, with additional targets within the Beaupre block.
The current, C$21-million, ten-drill, 300,000-metre exploration program is focused on establishing an initial resource estimate for the Perron property.
Midday Wednesday, Amex’s stock was up nearly 6% on the TSXV. The company has a C$281 million market capitalization.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
