TNM Drill Down: Top gold assays of the week Sept 16-23

Our TNM Drill Down feature highlights the top gold assays of the past week. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by our sister company Mining Intelligence (www.miningintelligence.com). 

TNM Drill Down Sept. 16-23.

Tempus Resources (TSXV: TMRR; ASX: TMR), Rupert Resources (TSXV: RUP) and Tombola Gold (ASX: TBA) scored the top gold drilling results for the week of Sept. 16-23 with projects in British Columbia, Finland and Australia, respectively. 

Tempus Resources reported “outstanding” drilling results at its Blackdome-Elizabeth project 200 km north of Vancouver. The Perth, Australia-based company’s drilling in the Elizabeth zone returned bonanza grade intersections of 310.7 grams gold per tonne over 1.1 metres for a grade x width of 326 in hole EZ-22-09. It also cut 11.75 grams per tonne gold over 2.3 metres from 102.45 metres depth, including 85.2 grams per tonne gold over 0.3 metre from 103.15 metres in hole EZ-22-11.

 The results extend the high and bonanza-grade strike length for the Blue Vein site by 80 metres to approximately 180 metres, the company said in a news release. It plans to extend its drill program by 10 holes for a total of 40 and a length of 2,000 metres. 

“Each of the holes intersected wide zones of sheared quartz veining with individual high-grade intersections of up to 85 grams per tonne gold,” Tempus Resources president and chief executive officer Jason Bahnsen said in the release. “The high-grade Blue Vein gold mineralisation zone has now been extended to approximately 180 metres strike length with the overall thickness of the quartz vein structure increasing in apparent thickness as the drilling moves northeast.” 

The 115-sq.-km Elizabeth zone is 35 km northeast of the former Bralorne gold mine, which produced 4.2 million ounces at a grade of 17.7 grams gold per tonne until 1971, Tempus said. A historic inferred mineral resource estimate from 2009 reported 206,000 oz. gold at 12.26 grams per tonne at the site. Tempus said it plans to issue a new resource estimate for its project during the first quarter of next year.  

 Toronto-based Rupert Resources reported drill hole 122115 34.2 metres of 7.1 grams gold per tonne (grade x width of 243) at its Ikkari gold discovery at the Rupert Lapland project in northern Finland.

In addition, hole 122180 cut 32.5 metres of 2.2 grams per tonne gold from 571 metres down-hole (500 metres vertical). The finding extends mineralization in the site’s east by roughly 110 metres in the downdip direction, beyond the limits of the current resource estimate, Rupert Resources said in a news release. The intercept included 1 metre at 11.3 grams gold and 0.7 metre at 17.3 grams gold, it said.  

The 634-sq.-km Ikkari site has a September 2021 resource estimate of 49 million tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold for 4 million inferred oz. gold. The initial resource was posted within two years of the Ikkari discovery. 

James Withall, Rupert Resources’ CEO, noted that data show a coarse grind size with a potential 95% gold recovery rate for Ikkari ore, which will allow a low-emission, high-margin operation.

“Drilling has recommenced, focused on expanding the limits of the Ikkari resource and at regional targets to demonstrate further opportunities in the emerging Central Lapland gold belt,” Withall said.

Drilling at Tombola Gold’s Mt. Scheelite site, part of its Mt. Freda gold project, returned 14 metres at 16.22 grams gold per tonne (grade x width of 227) from 26 metres, including 4 metres at 51.89 grams gold and 2 metres at 83.9 grams per tonne gold from 28 metres in hole MS22RC009. 

More drilling is planned in two months for the project, just west of the Gold Mile Complex in Cloncurry, Queensland, in northern Australia, about 1,700 km northwest of Brisbane. Tombola owns about 16 former mines in the area.  

“The company’s focus remains very much on first gold production in the December quarter, and importantly these results deliver the potential for Mt. Scheelite to be a key contributor to the Golden Mile/Mt Freda operations in the future,” said Tombola Gold chairman and managing director Byron Miles in a news release.

The next objective is to complete an initial resource estimate for Mt. Scheelite, which is just 700 metres from the Golden Miles producing centres of Comstock and Shamrock, the company said.  

Mt. Freda is expected to produce about 64,000 oz. of gold over an initial 30-month life of the mine from about 300,000 tonnes a year, Tombola said. Golden Mile is expected to produce about 15,000 oz. of gold over an initial 20-month life.  

 Mt. Freda is an open pit mine that was operated by Diversified Mineral Resources in the 1980s with a head-grade of 5 grams per tonne gold.