Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.
WESDOME DISCOVERS NEW HIGH GRADE ZONE IN FOOTWALL OF THE KIENA DEEP A ZONE INCLUDING 34.1 G/T GOLD OVER 18.0 METRES CORE LENGTH
TORONTO, March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX: WDO) (“Wesdome” or the “Company”) today announces underground exploration drilling results from a new high grade gold discovery in the footwall of the Kiena Deep A Zone at the Company’s 100% owned Kiena Mine Complex in Val d\'Or, Quebec.
Since the beginning of the year, underground drilling has refocused on expansion and exploration drilling, and has recently expanded and continues to expand the A and VC Zones. As part of this drilling, a new high grade gold zone was discovered in the footwall of the A Zone. The following results are part of the 35,000 m drilled since the close-out date of the last mineral resource estimate update (September 18, 2020) and were therefore not included in the December 15, 2020 release.
New High Grade Footwall Zone
Up until only recently, definition drilling of the A Zone was focussed on converting the large inferred resource to indicated as part of the ongoing prefeasibility (“PFS”) study. This recent shift to focus the drilling on exploration resulted in drilling holes through the A zones into the untested footwall rocks. Improved drilling practices and the use of drilling wedges permitted the drills to effectively penetrate this footwall area and resulted in the discovery of at least two new zones of high grade gold mineralization.
Given the limited drilling, the orientation and geometry of the mineralization is not known with any certainty; however, it is interpreted that this area consists of at least two lenses and is open laterally and at depth. The mineralization occurs within 50 metres (“m”) of the A2 zone and is located within amphibolitized ultramafic rocks demonstrating good geotechnical properties.
New Footwall Zone Drilling
Highlights of the recent drilling are listed below.
- Hole 6742W2: 11.9 g/t Au over 22.0 m core length (11.9 g/t Au cut)
- Hole 6742W6: 59.7 g/t Au over 5.9 m core length (28.9 g/t Au cut)
- Hole 6742W6: 34.2 g/t Au over 18.0 m core length (16.7 g/t Au cut)
All assays cut to 90.0 g/t Au. True widths are unknown at this time.
Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO commented, “As we changed our focus from definition drilling to expansion and exploration drilling, we were initially rewarded with the recent expansion of the A and VC zones that are sure to add to the current resource base. Moreover, the discovery of additional high grade gold mineralization within 50 m of the footwall of the A zone could have significant positive impacts on the resources, the ounces per vertical metre, and the overall project economics. Based upon the latest resource estimate of the A Zone, we are already at 1,000 ounces per vertical metre and the potential of this number growing is significant. Its early days with only a few holes, but this drilling highlights the potential to add ounces not only in this area but illustrates the untested potential of the entire gold system around the Kiena mine. Obviously, this footwall zone will be one of the zones of focus for the continuing drilling.
We also have a number of other excellent exploration targets to test this year, and have in place an aggressive but focussed program to test these targets, including the VC and B Zones at depth as these would be accessible from the main ramp and would enhance the current ounces per vertical metre already defined in the A Zone. Additionally, we are also currently ramping up a large surface exploration program, with the aim of unlocking additional value on the Kiena property further to the west and east of the Kiena mine initially, and later, over the entire property.
Also, we expect to have our final reconciliation of the bulk sample in the near term and early indications are positive in terms of grades and tonnes. Finally, the PFS is progressing well, and we expect to have it completed in Q2, with a possible re-start decision shortly thereafter. The pre-production timeframe is less than six months, potentially driving the Kiena Mine into commercial production in Q4 of this year.”
Kiena Deep A Zone Drilling
Recent drilling continues to better define and expand the Kiena Deep A Zone predominantly along the lateral extensions of the zone (Figure 3). The high grades intersected will be included in future resource updates and are expected to add to the current resource base as the intercepts are located outside the December 2020 mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) (see Wesdome press release dated December 15, 2020).
Highlights of the recent A Zone drilling are listed below.
- Hole 6739W3: 46.2 g/t Au over 24.2 m core length (36.6 g/t Au cut, 6.7 m true width) A1 Zone
- Hole 6742W6: 135.8 g/t Au over 7.5 m core length (26.5 g/t Au cut, 4.0 m true width) A1 Zone
- Hole 6742W2: 142.4 g/t Au over 22.2 m core length (22.3 g/t Au cut, 6.0 m true width) A2 Zone
All assays cut to 90.0 g/t Au. True widths are estimated.
ABOUT WESDOME
Wesdome Gold Mines has had over 30 years of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Company’s strategy is to build Canada’s next intermediate gold producer, producing 200,000+ ounces from two mines in Ontario and Quebec. The Eagle River Complex in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold from two mines, the Eagle River Underground Mine and the Mishi Open pit, from a central mill. Wesdome is actively exploring its brownfields asset, the Kiena Complex in Val d’Or, Quebec. The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930-metre shaft and 2,000 tonne-per-day mill. The Company has further upside at its Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Company has approximately 139.4 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WDO”.
Source: https://www.wesdome.com/news/press-releases/#87957b32eb1ef4ac9a8cfd0b3d511a18
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