LaSalle reports strong gold in soil at Egan

LaSalle Exploration Corp. has announced that the recently completed soil geochemical survey at the E1 target area on the Egan Gold Property has revealed multiple anomalies including results up to 1.52 g/t and 1.90 g/t gold that warrant further exploration. Egan is strategically located in the heart of Ontario's Abitibi gold camp, central to operations in Timmins, Kirkland Lake and Matachewan, which collectively have produced greater than 115M oz gold1,2.

Highlights

• Geochemical survey returns strong gold in soil anomalies up to 1.90 and 1.52 g/t
• Integration of geochemical and geophysical anomalies with LiDAR and airborne magnetic surveys indicate several compelling targets
• Planning of 2022 program, expected to include diamond drilling, is in progress

Commented Ian Campbell, President and CEO of LaSalle, "We are very pleased with the overall results of our first systematic surface exploration program at Egan. We are particularly excited about the results of the orientation soil survey announced today on the E1 grid which show strong spatial correlation with geophysical targets in areas of known gold mineralization but also in new areas supported by favourable geological and structural features in this area of the property." 

The results of the orientation soil geochemical survey announced today are part of the systematic surface exploration completed late fall 2021, and which also included prospecting, mapping and induced polarization geophysical surveys ("IP") over parts of the property selected based on the interpretation of airborne magnetic, LiDAR and surface work completed in spring 2021. 

The orientation soil survey on the Grid 1 area (Figure 1) centred on the high grade E1 gold occurrence. 128 B-horizon soil samples were collected over an area measuring 1,200 metres east-west by 3,000 metres north-south on 200 metre spaced lines with samples collected every 100 metres. Additional geochemical surveying planned on the E2 and E3 grids was suspended due to the onset of winter conditions; this work will be completed in the spring. 

On December 7, 2021, the Company announced the completion of a 71 line- IP survey on three separate grids including the E1 grid. This survey identified several anomalous chargeability trends which were interpreted to represent sulphide mineralization. Prospecting and mapping in the area of E1 which has limited outcrop exposure, discovered a new gold showing 300 metres northeast of E1 returning values up to 3.02 g/t gold from grab samples. This discovery is characterized by strongly hematite altered syenite that hosts 3-5% quartz veins and 5-7% disseminated pyrite, characteristics which are similar to the E1 occurrence. Additionally, several large sub-angular boulders of hematite altered syenite with 2-3% quartz veins and 1-2% pyrite typical of E1 was discovered 150 metres north-northwest of E1. The discovery of the E1 extension and the boulders which are similar to the altered syenite host at E1 suggests multiple sources and a much larger footprint to the gold mineralizing system than previously known.

Combining the soil geochemistry with the IP survey results reveals a strong spatial correlation of the anomalous features as shown in Figure 1. The area surrounding the E1 occurrence is defined by a broad area of elevated chargeability within which several IP axes have been interpreted. This area shows several elevated gold in soil samples including 1,520 ppb gold (1.52 g/t), 400 metres west southwest along trend from the E1 surface exposure.

In the east-central part of the grid, one sample returned 1,900 ppb gold (1.90 g/t) and is located at the western end of a weak IP chargeability anomaly which extends 400 metres to the east where it remains open. Additional surveying and geochemical sampling is planned to fully define its extent.

In the southern part of the grid, anomalous gold in soil results correlate with two moderate to strong IP chargeability anomalies that extend for over 600 metres. The IP anomalies have been interpreted as potentially thick bands of altered lithologies enriched in sulphides. These occur in the area proximal to the interpreted contact area between the Bradley Lake Syenite and the volcanic rock sequences to the south defining a new priority target for future exploration. 

Future Work

Based on the success of the 2021 program, the next phase of work will include detailed geochemical sampling over the E1 grid to further delineate targets as well as complete the previously planned sampling on the E2 and E3 grids. LaSalle is compiling and evaluating all the data collected over the 2021 exploration campaign with the objective of designing a follow-up program to further assess the targets outlined to date and to define drill targets as part of the next work program. 

About the Egan Property 

LaSalle optioned the Egan property in August 2020 based on the 2017 discovery of the E1 Zone when logging activities exposed a northeast trending shear zone with a well developed stockwork of quartz veins hosted in syenite. Sampling by the vendors of seventy-eight grab samples returned gold assay values ranging from 0.1 to 105.0 g/t gold with 15% of the samples returning over 10 g/t, including 105.0 g/t, 67.2 g/t and 47.6 g/t gold. Assays of nine grab samples by LaSalle ranged from 0.09 g/t to 63.70 g/t gold, including individual select grab samples yielding 63.70 g/t, 22.70 g/t and 4.70 g/t gold, while two composite chip samples returned 7.67 g/t gold over 3.0 metres and 2.80 g/t gold over 4.0 metres.

The E2 Zone, exposed in trenches dating from the 1920's, is located 3 km southeast of the E1 Zone and consists of a series of easterly trending, laminated quartz veins hosted by mafic metavolcanics near the contact with the Bradley Lake Syenite. Sampling done in 2018 and 2019 returned high grade gold assay values of 15.3 g/t, 16.6 g/t and 19.30 g/t gold.

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