Pentland cuts gold at Marlhill

Drilling at the Marlhill property by Pentland Firth Ventures (TSE) has not gone as planned. Still, operator Pentland Firth is far from upset.

The two most recent drill holes did not flatten as anticipated, and intersected their target, the M-1 vein, deeper than they were meant to go. Both drill holes cut gold mineralization at depths below 300 metres, and the vein system’s depth potential looks better than ever.

Hole PM-25 intersected 12.9 metres grading 7.5 grams gold per tonne. Hole PM-26 was also strongly mineralized, intersecting 10 metres with an average grade of 3.77 grams gold. Both intersections included some higher-grade intervals, notably a 2.6-metre length grading 14.7 grams gold in hole PM-25.

Indications from the few holes that have intersected the M-1 vein at that depth are that the vein bends to an almost vertically dipping structure below 300 metres, and that grades may be higher and the vein wider. The vertical dip is good news in itself, as vertical structures are more easily mined.

Pentland notes that gold concentrations in the two new holes are more uniform than those at shallower depths and that there was no visible gold. This suggests a different style of mineralization, in which gold exists with disseminated pyrite in and around the M-1 vein.

The Marlhill deposit is in Hoyle Twp., east of Timmins, Ont., and was in production during the 1980s. Pentland has drilled the mine’s M-1 vein on centres of about 45 metres, along a strike length of 300 metres and downdip for 200 metres below the deepest workings of the Marlhill mine.