Quebec Snapshot: Eight companies to watch

With a long and storied history of exploration and mine development, favourable mining policies, excellent infrastructure and a skilled workforce, Quebec is one of the world’s top mining jurisdictions for mineral explorers and developers. Below are eight companies with operations in the province.

MAPLE GOLD MINES

Canadian explorer Maple Gold Mines (TSXV: MGM; US-OTC: MGMLF) is aiming to establish a new gold district in the heart of the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt of western and central Quebec.

The Vancouver-headquartered junior has a 50:50 joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) to jointly advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects in the belt. It also holds an exclusive option to acquire 100% of the Eagle Mine property in Joutel.

Maple Gold says that the projects benefit from access to existing infrastructure as well as approximately 400 sq. km of highly prospective ground including a gold resource at Douay that shows potential for significant expansion, as well the past-producing Eagle, Telbel, and Eagle West mines at Joutel, which collectively produced 1.1 million oz. of gold between 1974 and 1993.

In mid-August, the company released initial assay results from the first drill hole, EM-22-009, of its second round of drilling at the 100%-controlled Eagle mine. That hole intersected 3 metres grading 11.39 grams gold per tonne starting from 990 metres downhole, including 2 metres at 15.53 grams gold and 1 metre at 24.4 grams gold.

The drill program comprises four (approximately 4,700 metres) master diamond drill holes and one daughter diamond drill hole to test potential extensions of mineralization along and beneath the past-producing, high-grade Eagle-Telbel mine trend.

Maple Gold says it has drilled about 16,450 metres of a 30,000-metre planned 2022 drill program across its Quebec portfolio, with assay results from Eagle reported for about 5,400 metres, representing 59% of completed drilling on the property.

The company currently has two drill rigs operating on Eagle, with the deep drilling program expected to include three holes in the Telbel mine area beneath and adjacent to the historical underground mine workings, which it says extend to about 1,200 metres below surface.

In May, Maple Gold reported an updated mineral resource for Douay and Joutel. The pit-constrained indicated resources now stand at 10 million tonnes grading 1.59 grams gold per tonne for 511,000 oz. contained gold and 76.7 million inferred tonnes grading 1.02 grams gold per tonne for 2.5 million gold ounces.

Maple Gold Mines has a market cap of $58.8 million.

NICKEL NORTH EXPLORATION

Nickel North Exploration (TSXV: NNX) is focused on advancing its flagship 100%-owned Hawk Ridge nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group metals (PGM) project at Ungava Bay in northern Quebec.  

In July, the Canadian junior released an updated resource estimate for the 173-sq.-km property, which delivered a significant increase over the initial resource reported in 2013. The project now contains 34.7 million inferred tonnes grading 0.22% nickel, 0.56% copper, 0.013% cobalt, 0.19 gram palladium per tonne, 0.05 gram platinum per tonne, and 0.025 gram gold per tonne, a 76.6% increase over the 19.3 million tonnes estimated in the initial resource.

Nickel North says that most of the updated estimate is pit-constrained, with 29.4 million tonnes grading 0.2% nickel, 0.52% copper, 0.012% cobalt, 0.19 gram palladium, 0.04 gram platinum, and 0.021 gram gold. The total underground resource, which was not included in the 2013 estimate, was estimated at 5.2 million tonnes of 0.35% nickel, 0.79% copper, 0.014% cobalt, 0.23 gram palladium, 0.06 gram platinum, and 0.04 gram gold.

The new estimate encompasses resource updates on the previously reported Hope Advance Main and Hope Advance North zones, and Gamma and Falco 7 deposits. According to the company, higher-grade “Raglan-type” sulphide mineralization exists in all four sulphide deposits. All of them remain open along strike and down-dip, it said.

Tony Guo, Nickel North’s president and CEO, said the updated resource delivered on  its key objectives – better definition of and increasing pit-constrained resources and establishing an initial resource for potential underground mining.

He added that the new resource places the company in an “excellent position” for planning the next large drill program to further define high-grade out-of-pit targets and expanding pit-constrained resources in late 2022 to summer 2023.

The Hawk Ridge property is located near tidewater and comprises a 50-km belt of strong magmatic copper-nickel-cobalt-PGM occurrences, about half of which are still undrilled or untested.

Nickel North Exploration has a market cap of $3.8 million.

NORTHERN SUPERIOR RESOURCES

Sudbury-headquartered Northern Superior Resources (TSXV: SUP; US-OCT: NSUPF) is primarily exploring for gold in Ontario and Quebec.

In Quebec, the Canadian junior holds a 100% interest in the Lac Surprise and Croteau East properties located in the highly prospective Chapais-Chibougamau mining camp, 500 km north of Montreal.

In July, Northern Superior announced a new gold discovery in a previously unexplored area of the 125.5-sq.-km Croteau East property as part of its winter core drilling and reverse circulation programs.

The discovery hole, CRO22_120, intersected 26.3 metres grading 1.06 grams gold per tonne starting 204 metres downhole, including higher-grade intervals of 11 metres at 1.93 grams gold and 3 metres at 4.98 grams gold. That hole was drilled 650 metres northeast and parallel to the 1.1-km-long Croteau Bouchard Shear Zone (CBSZ), which contains 11.6 million inferred tonnes grading 1.7 grams gold per tonne for 640,000 oz. contained gold. The zone remains open along strike in both directions.

According to Northern Superior, all eight core drill holes (2,407.2 metres) from the winter drilling intersected lithologies and alteration similar to the CBSZ.

“This new discovery hole coupled with the released results from the core and RC drill programs further substantiates that the system associated with the CBSZ 43-101 resource is much larger than previously understood,” Thomas Morris, the company’s president and CEO, said in a July 19 press release announcing the new discovery.

“In addition, several new promising and very exciting targets outside of the core 43-101 resource area have now been identified from the distribution and concentration of anomalously high gold grain values released today and in late 2021.”

He added that Northern Superior is in the process of “integrating this gold grain data with bedrock geochemistry, lithology and alteration information recovered from the recent core drilling and RC programs,” and that information from the current bedrock mapping and prospecting programs will also be integrated into this database.

The company said that it plans to refine further gold exploration targets on the CBSZ and across the Croteau East property for drill-testing this fall.

Northern Superior Resources has a market cap of $42.7 million.

ORFORD MINING

Orford Mining (TSXV: ORM) is a gold explorer with a land package totalling nearly 1,400 sq. km that encompasses six projects in highly prospective and underexplored areas of northern Quebec. These include the 390-sq.-km Qiqavik gold-copper project, the 707-sq.-km West Raglan nickel-copper-platinum group metals project, and the 260-sq.-km Joutel Regional gold-copper properties.

In June, Orford announced the launch of its 2022 exploration program on Qiqavik. The program includes 3,000 metres of diamond drilling to target the source of the high-grade Annick glacial boulder train, where grab samples returned grades of up to 648.8 grams gold per tonne, as well as splays from major structures where, it said, gold mineralization indicators are strong.

The company said that the exploration will include 40 line-km of induced polarization (IP) geophysical surveying to help target the sulphide-rich silicified mineralization seen in the Annick boulder train; re-gridding and merging of previous magnetic surveys conducted on the property to help understand the property and local structures; and interpretation of glacial till and frost boil sample results to identify areas to investigate with IP geophysics and drilling.

Commenting in a June 21 press release, David Christie, Orford’s president and CEO, said that the company was excited to drill “what we believe is the source to the high grade Annick trend.”

He added that “After starting from scratch on this property we have built an impressive geological, geochemical and geophysical data base which is pointing to strong targets. The 2022 program will be the most aggressive program on the Qiqavik property in its short history.”

Orford Mining has a market cap of $13.2 million.

QC COPPER & GOLD

Toronto-headquartered QC Copper and Gold (TSXV: QCCU; US-OTC: QCCUF) is developing copper projects in the Chapais-Chibougamau region of Quebec. These include the Opemiska project and Roger deposit, 15 km east of Opemiska.

The Canadian junior is focused on advancing the 130-sq.-km Opemiska property, which hosts the two past producing high-grade underground copper-gold mines comprising the Opemiska Copper Complex.

In August, QC reported the latest assay results from its current drill program on Opemiska, where it aims to upgrade the resource by converting waste into in-pit mineralization.

The results include three drill holes that all intersected wide zones of in-pit mineralization. Hole OPM-22-209 cut 39.5 metres of 0.38% copper and 0.38 gram gold per tonne from 86.5 metres downhole and 13.6 metres at 0.75% copper and 1.34 grams gold from 198 metres; OPM-22-211 returned 28.5 metres grading 0.42% copper and 0.18 gram gold from 51 metres and 54 metres at 0.62% copper and 0.23 gram gold from 234 metres; and OPM-22-214 hit 42.8 metres at 0.36% copper and 0.23 gram gold from 35.2 metres and 3.5 metres at 1.49% copper and 1.29 grams gold from 120 metres.

QC said that these holes were drilled in the Gap zone within the starter pit area that demonstrated higher grades and lesser strip ratio in the resource area between vein #1 and vein #3 and include vein #2. The current drill program, it said, is designed to improve the mineral resources by reducing the strip ratio and upgrading inferred resources to indicated and identifying additional mineralized structures.

Opemiska currently contains a pit-constrained resource of 81.7 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.65% copper and 0.31 gram gold per tonne (0.88% copper-equivalent) for 1.2 billion lb. contained copper and 815,600 oz. gold (1.6 billion lb. copper-equivalent). Inferred resources add 21.4 million tonnes grading 0.51% copper and 0.3 gram gold (0.73% copper-equivalent) for 239.8 million lb. copper and 209,200 oz. gold (345.8 million lb. copper-equivalent).

QC Copper and Gold has a market cap of $24.1 million.

ROYAL FOX GOLD

Canadian gold explorer Royal Fox Gold (TSXV: FOXG) is focused on advancing its Philibert project in Quebec, approximately 60 km southwest of the town of Chibougamau.

One of Quebec’s largest gold projects, the 53.9-sq.-km Philibert property lies 9 km northeast of Nelligan, a 75:25 joint venture between Iamgold (TSX: IAG; NYSE IAG) and Vanstar Mining Resources (TSXV: VSR; US-OTC: VMNGF), and 10 km west of Doré Copper Mining’s (TSXV: DCMC; US-OTC: DRCMF) Joe Mann gold mine.

In August, Royal Fox reported assay results from 18 drill holes on Philibert as part of its 2022 exploration program, two of which tested the Fault zone area and 16 testing the Fennec Fox zone. It said the drilling tested mineralization over a 480-metre strike length and up to 250 metres vertical depth.

Drilled on the northwestern limit of the defined Fennec Fox zone, hole PB-22-377 intersected 21.5 metres grading 4.29 grams gold per tonne from 78.5 metres downhole. That hole, said the company, represents a significant future target to expand near surface, high-grade mineralization along the 3-km Philibert trend.

Drilled on the southeastern end of the zone, PB-22-355 and PB-22-362 were designed to target the up-dip surface extent of the mineralized zone. PB-22-355 returned 1 metre grading 4 grams gold from 20 metres and 15.8 metres at 1.17 grams gold from 34 metres, including 5 metres at 2.83 grams gold.  Hole PB-22-362 hit 28.3 metres grading 0.72 gram gold from 33.5 metres, including 11.1 metres at 2.55 grams gold.

Simon Marcotte, Royal Fox’s president and CEO, said in an Aug. 29 press release that the drill results from the Fault zone “demonstrate the potential for continued mineralization within the 300-metre gap between the northwestern and southeastern domains of the Philibert trend.”

He added that the company is optimistic that further work in the area will link mineralization of the northwest and southeast zones. Royal Fox Gold has a market cap of $13 million.

VOYAGER METALS

Voyager Metals (TSXV: VONE) is focused on advancing the Mont Sorcier iron-vanadium project in Quebec, approximately 18 km east of Chibougamau. The project consists of the North and South deposits.

In July, Voyager released a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Mont Sorcier that targets an average production of 5 million tonnes of high-grade, low-impurity iron concentrate grading 65% iron with 0.52% vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) over a 21-year mine life.

Based on a US$100 per tonne iron ore (62%) price and premiums of US$15 per tonne for vanadium credits and US$20 per tonne for iron ore (65%), the project would generate an average annual free cash flow of US$235 million. The study estimated the after-tax net present value to be US$1.6 billion (at 8% discount) with an after-tax internal rate of return of 43%. All-in sustaining costs came in at US$28 per tonne over the mine life.

Initial capital costs were pegged at US$574 million, including US$118 million in contingency, which would be paid back in just under two years. Total operating costs over the life of mine are projected at US$66 per tonne of concentrate.

Commenting in a July 25 press release announcing the results of the PEA, Cliff Hale-Sanders, Voyager’s president and CEO, said: “We are very pleased that the results of this PEA more than support our continued efforts to improve the economics and progress with development plans for the Mont Sorcier project, we see the potential of the project to be a profitable, long-life mine.”

He added that Mont Sorcier is located in an established mining region and “has excellent access to existing infrastructure already in place, which reduces upfront capital requirements and shortens the development schedule.”

Voyager said that the PEA was based on a mine plan derived from the North zone, with indicated resources of 559 million tonnes grading 28.2% magnetite and 0.21% V₂O₅.

Voyager Metals has a market cap of $12.1 million.

WALLBRIDGE MINING

Wallbridge Mining (TSX: WM; US-OTC: WLBMF) is focused on advancing its flagship 100%-owned Fenelon gold property located along the Detour‒Fenelon Gold trend in northwestern Quebec, approximately 75 km northwest of the town of Matagami.

In August, the company released assay results from its ongoing infill drill program on Fenelon, which it said includes additional gold mineralization and extensions to mineralized intervals in previously unsampled sections of drill core within and adjacent to the existing resource area.

Highlights from the drilling included hole 19-0915-026, which intersected 34 metres grading 1.36 grams gold per tonne starting from 436.1 metres downhole, including 0.95 metre at 8.49 grams gold; FA-21-260, which returned 27.5 metres grading 2.13 grams gold from 372 metres, including 7.6 metres at 6.91 grams gold; and FA-19-086-W1, which hit 14.6 metres at 0.86 gram gold from 448.5 metres, including 1.5 metres at 4.06 grams gold.

Wallbridge said that it has prioritized more than 30,000 metres of previously unsampled drill core for infill sampling by the third quarter of 2022 and will focus on intervals that occur within or adjacent to known mineralized zones. To date, approximately 25,914 metres of previously unsampled drill core have been collected as part of the 2022 infill program, of which results for 19,215 metres have been received, it said.

Attila Péntek, the company’s vice-president of exploration, said in an Aug. 4 press release that the infill sampling program “has exceeded our expectations, with a substantial number of previously unsampled drill core intervals returning assays above the cut-off grade for the existing [resource].”

He added that “this underscores the quality and scale of the gold mineralization at Fenelon and has allowed us to delineate wider mineralized zones and adjust our models for future resource estimates.”

Wallbridge Mining has a market cap of $128 million.