Abitibi Metals boosts resource by 62% at B26 polymetallic deposit in Quebec
Indicated resources increased to 11.3 million tonnes from 6.9 Mt.
With the release of ten outstanding holes from the 2019 exploration program at its Indin Lake property in the Northwest Territories in Canada, Nighthawk Gold has expanded the under-explored central portion of the Colomac Main sill at depth.
The holes targeted zones 2.5 and 2.0 at the 899-sq.-km project.
Highlights include 36.1 metres of 1.86 g/t gold from a hole drilled below an area of historical shallow drilling, where uniform mineralization has been traced down to a depth of 260 metres as well as 28.5 metres of 1.26 g/t gold and 19.8 metres of 1.25 g/t gold.
The latter two intercepts targeted mineralization below a zone drilled in 2018, which extended mineralization at depth down to 250 metres and an area with a 150-metre gap in drilling, respectively.
The central portion of the Colomac Main Sill remains open and unexplored below 250 metres.
“Drilling on the Colomac Main has continued to demonstrate a consistency in breadth and continuity of mineralization throughout all areas of the deposit,” Michael Byron, president and CEO, said in a release.
“While the central 1-km section of Colomac Main remains largely unexplored, with few holes below 250 metres vertical depth, our current holes have tested the sill well below previous intersections, successfully extending mineralization to new depths.”
Infill drilling of near-surface areas has also confirmed historical intersections as well as their continuity at depth.
Current inferred resources for the project stand at 50.3 million tonnes grading 1.62 g/t gold for 2.6 million ounces
Based on its understanding that other areas of the sill widen with depth, Nighthawk believes that this wedge shape also applies to the central portion of the 9-km sill with potential for follow-up exploration.
“Our 2019 drilling at Colomac has changed how we view the deposit. The recent discovery of the sill’s dramatic widening of its mineralized portion to depth of up to 3 times its near-surface true width represents an incredible opportunity that may result in the exponential growth of tonnage and contained ounces,” Byron added.
Current inferred resources for the project stand at 50.3 million tonnes grading 1.62 g/t gold for 2.6 million ounces, contained within five deposits.
Colomac is a past-producing open pit with historical production of approximately 500,000 oz.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
