IAMGOLD defines more gold on Gosselin Zone at Côté Gold

"These additional results continue to highlight the importance of this new discovery and we are now starting to demonstrate the connection of the Gosselin and Young Shannon Zones outlining mineralization over a sizable area," Craig MacDougall, Executive Vice President, Growth for IAMGOLD, stated

"Our exploration program will continue to focus on the delineation of the mineralized zone targeting the completion of a maiden resource estimate later this year."

IAMGOLD Corporation has announced additional assay results from its delineation diamond drilling program at the Gosselin Zone discovery, located approximately 1.5 kilometres northeast of the Côté Gold deposit.

The Gosselin delineation drilling program is being undertaken as part of the Côté Gold Joint Venture Project, a 70:30 joint venture between IAMGOLD and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. ("SMM"). Côté, located 125 km southwest of Timmins and 175 km north of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, is currently under construction with first gold production anticipated in the second half of 2023 (see news release dated July 21, 2020).

In January 2021, IAMGOLD reported the completion of thirty-three (33) diamond drill holes totaling 13,735 metres as part of the resource delineation drilling program, completed between the fourth quarter 2019 and early December 2020. Assay results previously reported from the first twenty-four (24) diamond drill holes totaling 10,049 metres confirmed the continuity of broad gold bearing mineralized intervals associated with the Gosselin Zone (see news release dated January 21, 2021). 

IAMGOLD is now reporting final assay results from the remaining nine (9) diamond drill holes totaling 3,686 metres. One drill hole was completed on Three Ducks Lake from a barge-based platform and eight (8) drill holes were completed from land-based drill pads on the Young-Shannon peninsula.

The assay results reported herein are provided in Table 1, below, and include the following highlights (see plan map attached to this news release for drill hole locations - figure 1):

•     Drill hole GOS20-55:81.0 metres grading 1.34 g/t Au and:103.0 metres grading 1.44 g/t Au

•     Drill hole GOS19-56:115.0 metres grading 0.95 g/t Au

•     Drill hole GOS20-57:37.2 metres grading 1.40 g/t Au and:101.6 metres grading 1.86 g/t Au

•     Drill hole GOS20-61:16.0 metres grading 3.58 g/t Au

•     Drill hole GOS20-62:96.4 metres grading 1.02 g/t Au

   
includes:11.1 metres grading 3.40 g/t Au

The Gosselin discovery is located immediately northeast of the Côté deposit, and is accessible by a network of construction roads on the developing mine property. The diamond drilling program was designed to complete in-fill and delineation drilling on the Gosselin and Young-Shannon Zones, at a nominal drill hole spacing of approximately 75 metres. Drilling results to date demonstrate widespread gold mineralization contained within sericite-altered, locally brecciated Chester Intrusive tonalite and diorite at grades similar to the adjacent Côté deposit.

Diamond drilling data collected from this program continues to increase the understanding of the geological, alteration and structural controls on the Gosselin mineralized system and is being integrated into exploration models to guide future drilling campaigns. Results have so far demonstrated gold concentrations associated with a number of veins of specific compositions hosted within altered intrusive units that appear to define a favorable structural corridor. These interpretations will help refine the deposit model to support a planned future mineral resource estimate.

Drilling completed to date has better defined and expanded the dimensions of the combined Gosselin - Young-Shannon Zone, now traced over a strike length of approximately 1.0 kilometer and 450 metres width (perpendicular to strike), and extending to a vertical depth of 450 metres (see figure 2). The zone lies immediately northeast of the Côté deposit, below Three Ducks Lake and remains open at depth, to the northwest, east and southwest.

Next Steps

A winter diamond drilling program has commenced on ice based platforms on Three Ducks Lake and is expected to continue into March 2021. The Côté Exploration team continues to conduct the on-going drill program in concert with the ongoing Côté mine construction work, adhering to the health & safety and environmental protocols established for the Project.

Assay results will continue to be validated and incorporated into the geologic and structural models for the Gosselin - Young-Shannon Zone to support the planned resource estimate expected later this year. The 2021 exploration drilling which commenced in January will include the completion of approximately 14,500 metres of diamond drilling to continue to delineate and expand the mineralized zone. 

Elsewhere on the property, exploration, including additional drilling will continue to evaluate other identified targets along the developing mineralized trend of the Côté deposit and the Gosselin Zone.

Tags: Northern Ontario / Exploration / Gold / All Articles