Moneta Porcupine expands gold mineralization at Golden Highway

Moneta Porcupine Mines (TSX: ME; US-OTC: MPUCF) has released results from a winter drill program at its wholly owned Golden Highway project, 110 km east of Timmins, Ontario.

The project has six known deposits: South West, West Block, Windjammer North, 55, Windjammer South and Discovery. The property is within trucking distance of six existing mills that have excess capacity for toll milling, but the junior could also build its own mill on the 200-sq.-km. property.

“The focus of our exploration this year was on the deposits and targets adjacent to South West, which is our main deposit and currently the subject of a preliminary economic assessment,” Gary O’Connor, the company’s CEO and chief geologist, said a telephone interview.

“We laid out plans to drill out the extensions of the 55 and Windjammer South deposits, with secondary drilling to test the new target at Westaway. However, it became clear to us that Westaway had significant potential, and so went from being a new discovery into a resource drill-out program immediately.”

The 2,317-metre drill program includes five holes testing possible extensions of gold veins at Westaway, which was discovered in January. The drill program confirmed mineralization at Westaway over a strike length of 350 metres and widths averaging over 3 metres and to depths of 600 metres.

The work program confirmed a total of 13 mineralized veins at Westaway,  which is around 1.2 km west of the current South West gold resource and approximately 800 metres from the 55 deposit, O’Connor said.

Highlights of the program included drill hole 20-143, which intersected 2 metres grading 9.73 grams gold per tonne from 205 metres downhole, including 1 metre grading 18.9 grams gold from vein 13 at Westaway, which extended the vein by about 100 metres to the south, 150 metres to the west and 200 metres to depth from a previous drill hole located 1 km to the west of the South West deposit.

The same hole also intersected 4 metres grading 4.49 grams gold, including 1 metre grading 7.45 grams gold from vein 9, and 3 metres grading 3.72 grams gold per tonne, including 1 metre grading 5.83 grams gold per tonne from vein 8, and extended both veins by 100 metres to depth and 150 metres to the west.

“We are still logging and cutting core from deeper portions of the hole and will release the results from assays once they become available,” O’Connor said. “They will also be used to update the geological model for what is our flagship property.”

Other highlights from the drill program at Westaway included drill hole 20-38, which intersected 8 metres grading 1.59 grams gold starting from 229 metres downhole in Vein 12, with a higher grade core of 1 metre grading 5.18 grams gold. Drill hole 20-139 intersected 3 metres grading 3.42 grams gold, including 1 metre grading 4.11 grams gold from 326 metres downhole from vein 10, extending it 100 metres to the south.

“We have drill programs planned to extend the Discovery and Windjammer North deposits, possibly for later this year, or we may go back to exploration drilling on other targets that we have identified,” said O’Connor.

In the meantime, the junior is hoping to update its resource before the end of the year.

Currently, the project has an indicated resource of 3.82 million tonnes grading 4.53 grams gold for 556,500 contained oz. gold and inferred resources of 8.48 million tonnes grading 4.31 grams gold for 1.17 million ounces.

At press time in Toronto, Moneta Porcupine was trading at 15¢ per share within a 52-week trading range of 6¢ and 16¢.

The company has 312 million common shares outstanding for a $47-million market capitalization.