MacDonald Mines Early Grab Samples Results Indicate Gold and Copper Potential
MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd announced new surface exploration results from the Ashigami copper - gold site, 4.5 km southeast of the historic Alwyn Mine located along the McLaren Lake Fault Zone (MLFZ) on its SPJ Property near Sudbury, Ontario.
New grab samples from Ashigami blast pit contained 1.00 to 6.45 g/t gold, 3.11 to 5.55 % copper and 133 to 211 ppm cobalt. The grab samples while promising require additional more detailed testing through drilling to identify the true potential at the site.
The mineralization identified through the grab samples consists primarily of chalcopyrite with pyrite within dense multidirectional networks of quartz-carbonate veins, hosted in Gowganda formation sediments.
The results are like veining and mineralization observed in the Alwyn Cu-Au trend.
The Ashigami Cu-Au occurrence may represent a broader extension of the mineralized system observed along the Alwyn Cu-Au trend drilled in 2022.
“Following our 2022 drilling success in the Alwyn Cu-Au trend, we started to re-examine the showings and occurrences along the MLFZ to test for the presence of Cu-Au mineralization comparable to the Alwyn trend,” said Greg Romain, President & CEO, of MacDonald Mines Exploration.
“This initial surface work at the Ashigami showing revealed the presence of Cu-Au-Co mineralization that is comparable to what is observed in the Alwyn Cu-Au trend 4.5 km to the northwest and is suggesting a larger footprint than originally anticipated for polymetallic Cu-Au-Co mineralization along the MLFZ,” Romaine added.
Mineralization occurs in two areas at the Ashigami occurrence, located approximately 225 m east-west of each other. In 1981, a 100 ft x 20 ft blast pit was created to bulk sample the first occurrence, which yielded approximately 0.22% copper and negligible gold values (see OGS assessment report 41I10NE0167).
This occurrence is hosted within Gowganda Fm sediments and has a brecciated appearance due to intense, multi-direction quartz-carbonate veining, which contains primarily chalcopyrite with pyrite mineralization.
The blast pit is still well exposed and was resampled this year (new samples 610444 – 610446) in order to test the similarities of the occurrence’s geology and mineralization to that of the Alwyn Cu-Au trend.
The second showing, located 225 m east of the blast pit, was sampled in 2019 and occurs at a strongly deformed contact between Espanola Fm limestone and a clast-poor Gowganda Fm conglomerate. The contact is sheared in a N-S orientation and Au-Co mineralization associated with pyrite within the limestone unit. The continuity of Au-Co mineralization at the contact is not yet known.
Based on historic surface sampling, sodic and iron alteration occur throughout the Ashigami area at variable intensities, with some of the strongest sodic alteration observed directly around the Ashigami showings (see OGS report 41I10NE0073).
The combination of these new assay results, in addition to the presence of strong sodic and seeping hematite-bearing alteration, further highlight the similarities between Cu-Au-Co mineralization in Ashigami and Alwyn areas and define the Ashigami area as a primary focus for Cu-Au-Co exploration along the MLFZ during the spring and summer of 2023.
The Company’s primary objective moving forward is to determine the relationship of Cu-Au-Co mineralized showings along the MLFZ, such as Alwyn and Ashigami.
MacDonald Mines is a Canadian gold and base metal exploration company focused on exploring its 100%-owned, 19,720 ha (197 km2) SPJ Project, 20 km southeast of the prolific Sudbury Mining Camp in Northern Ontario. The Company’s focus is to locate what it theorizes to be large gold systems with high-grade gold surrounding the past producing Scadding Gold Mine and potential large gold and polymetallic structures surrounding Alwyn, Glade, MacLeod and Norstar.
The Company is also focusing on key critical metal systems surrounding Candore and Jerome within the SPJ Project to supply the renewable energy transition, particularly nickel, copper, and PGE’s. The demand and need for critical metals is at an all-time high, and Macdonald Mines’ believes the SPJ Property Area has the potential to be part of the solution.
To learn more about MacDonald Mines, please visit www.macdonaldmines.com
For further information contact
Phone Number
416 364 4986
Email Address
info@macdonaldmines.com
Tags: Northern Ontario / Exploration / Gold / All Articles