Our TNM Drill Down features highlights of 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).
Results over the length of the Americas led the week. Wesdome Gold Mines (TSX: WDO), at its Kiena mine complex in Quebec, scored the highest-grade assay followed by New Pacific Metals (TSX: NUAG) at its Carangas project in Bolivia and i-80 Gold (TSX: IAU; US-OTC: IAUCF) at Ruby Hill in Nevada.
Drill hole N103-6839W4 at Kiena near Val d’Or, Que. cut 1 metre starting from 260.9 metres deep grading 4,140 grams gold per tonne for a grade x width of 4,140. There was also 50.7 metres grading 92.11 grams gold per tonne starting from 94 metres down hole 6796W6.
Hole 6752W10 cut 83.2 metres grading 13.94 grams gold from 748.9 metres deep, showing new mineralization 100 metres below the known limit of the A zone resource, the company said. It also made a discovery in the south limb of the A zone, a lateral expansion of mineralization identified by multiple intercepts.
“Discovering additional gold ounces near planned infrastructure in our view is a strong way to leverage the exploration potential at Kiena,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Andrew Mikitchook said in a note.
The project has proven and probable reserves of 1.8 million tonnes grading 11.1 grams gold per tonne for a 651,000 oz. of contained gold. Based on a prefeasibility study completed in 2021, the project is expected to produce an average of 84,000 oz. gold annually over a mine life of seven years at an all-in sustaining cost of $894 per ounce.
The Kiena Mine complex restarted output in May 2021 after declining gold prices and lack of developed reserves forced Wesdome to suspend operations in 2013. From 1981 until that time it had produced almost 1.8 million oz. gold.
In second place this week, New Pacific Metals reported 591.85 metres from 176.25 metres to 768.1 metres down hole DCAr0049 grading 1.03 grams gold per tonne for a grade x width of 609.61 at its Carangas project in the western Bolivian department of Oruro.
The diamond drill hole included higher grade intervals of 14.64 metres from 412.1 metres to 426.74 metres grading 2.16 grams gold per tonne and 29.07 metres from 446.63 metres to 475.7 metres grading 2.76 grams gold per tonne.
The site is part of an area in the Andes which has seen large copper-gold discoveries on the Chilean side, but little exploration in Bolivia. New Pacific says it wants to publish its first resource estimate for Carangas by the middle of next year. The Canadian company is drilling in the project’s Central Valley area under a silver zone, Alex Zhang, vice president of exploration, told The Northern Miner on a recent site visit.
“Once we started drilling, we couldn’t stop because every hole hit a very long intercept of mineralization,” Zhang said.
In third place this week is i-80 Gold, which intercepted 10 metres from 199.4 metres to 209.4 metres down diamond drill hole 1RH22-55 grading 60.2 grams gold per tonne for a grade x width of 602 at its Ruby Hill project in northern Nevada.
Another Ruby Hill hole cut 18.3 metres grading 1.9 grams gold and 631.3 grams silver per tonne, 33% lead and 7.4% zinc.
The site, part of a gold mining area dating to the 1860s, has indicated mineral resources for an open pit operation of 220.8 million tonnes grading 0.54 gram gold per tonne for 3.66 million oz. contained gold.
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