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Probe Metals (TSXV: PRB) says drilling at its Val-d’Or East project’s Monique deposit in Quebec has returned “significant” gold intercepts that are likely to expand the area of the strike and increase its resource update due by year’s end.
Highlights from the results of 45 new holes showed “continued strike and depth expansion with significant gold intercepts along the Monique gold zones,” Probe, a Toronto-based explorer, said in a press release on Tuesday.
Infill drill hole MO-22-419 intercepted 18.2 grams gold per tonne over 7.4 metres from 465.7 metres depth, the company said. Infill hole MO-22-414 cut 1.5 grams gold over 54 metres from 83 metres.
Expansion hole MO-22-418 intercepted 3.9 grams gold over 11 metres from 66 metres down, Probe said, while expansion drill hole MO-22-397 cut 2.5 grams gold over 16.5 metres from 16.3 metres.
The site, 25 km east of Val-d’Or, hosts three past-producing mines, Beliveau, Monique and Bussiere. The intercepts are helping define continuous gold mineralization over 2 km of strike length along a structure extending for some 10 km across the property, Probe chief executive officer and president David Palmer said in the release.
“The consistency of Monique mineralization has been remarkable,” Palmer said. “Drilling has confirmed thick, continuous gold zones and the deposit has continued to grow and improve rapidly during this phase of drilling.”
BMO Capital Markets said Probe has narrowed the space between drill holes to 30 metres in places as it seeks to validate resources for an update due this year while other drilling shows the Monique deposit has room to expand.
“Drilling from Probe’s infill and expansion campaign at the Monique deposit provided strong results with infill intercepts continuing to confirm grades and thicknesses,” analyst Andrew Mikitchook wrote in a note on Tuesday. “Expansion drilling (is) identifying mineralization outside the existing resource where the deposit remains open.”
The results of 130 other holes at Monique are pending as Probe continues with geotechnical, metallurgical and other research to complete a prefeasibility study due in a year. A resource update on the property’s other zones is due in the first quarter of next year.
Probe’s Val-d’Or East property which includes the Monique, Pacalis and Courvan deposits, has 29.8 million measured and indicated tonnes of 1.81 grams gold per tonne for 1.7 million oz. gold, according to a July 2021 estimate. The project’s other properties, Lapaska, Senore and Sleepy, contain 2.7 million tonnes of 3.19 grams gold per tonne for 273,900 oz gold in an inferred resource estimate from the same time.
Laurentian Bank Securities said Probe’s drilling validated its 3-D model and highlighted a significant resource increase potential.
“We believe the high hit-ratio of drilling suggests a resource increase of +20%,” analyst Barry Allan wrote in a note on Tuesday. Allan has a buy rating on the stock and a C$5 price target. Probe shares added C$0.01 on Tuesday to trade at C$1.19. The stock touched a high of C$2.31 this year in March and April and is valued at about C$182 million.
“We will be increasing our focus on untested targets and regional exploration surrounding the deposits,” CEO Palmer said. “This exploration upside is what first attracted us to Val-d’Or East and we are looking forward to expanding our exploration programs to capture some of the potential we see in these other areas on our property.”
Probe also controls the Detour Quebec gold project across 777 sq. km about 190 km north of Rouyn-Noranda, the 748-hectare Dubuisson property just west of Val-d’Or, the Timmins West project near Timmins, Ontario, the Casa-Cameron gold project across 171 sqkm in northwest Quebec, and the Black Creek chromite project in the Ring of Fire area of northern Ontario.
