TNM Drill Down: Top gold assays of the week Sept 9 – 16

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).

Top gold assays for the week Sept. 9-16, 2022.

Osisko Mining’s (TSX: OSK) Windfall Lake project in central Quebec posted the top gold drilling results of the past week, followed by Mandalay Resources’  (TSX: MND) Costerfield mine in Australia and Jaguar Mining’s (TSX: JAG) Pilar operation in Brazil.

Osisko recorded 203 grams gold per tonne at Windfall Lake, starting from a depth of 242.8 metres for a grade x width of 1,056. The project, about 700 km north of Montreal has an estimated measured and indicated resource of 4.1 million oz. in 11.4 million tonnes grading 11.4 grams gold per tonne. The company presented new analytical results of 103 intercepts in 46 drill holes on Sept. 15, calling them “significant high-grade results.”

Osisko has been drilling on the site since 2015 and expects to complete a feasibility study by the end of the year.

“The expansion holes continue to clearly demonstrate additional potential growth of the resource base at Windfall,” chief executive officer John Burzynski said in a statement. “As the focus shifts to engineering and the pending feasibility study, we are reducing the number of active drills at site, however we will maintain exploration work on high-potential expansion areas as well as drilling on key infill areas for mine planning.”

The Costerfield operation by Mandalay, located about 115 km north of Melbourne reported 234.7 grams gold per tonne in drilling from a depth of 60.8 metres for a grade x width of 979. The drilling results confirm grade continuity and veins spreading to the south of the Shepherd site at Closterfield and drilling will continue into next year, Mandalay president and CEO Dominic Duffy said in a Sept. 13 news  release.

“Excitingly, drilling has intercepted a potential third veining horizon within the Shepherd domain,” Duffy said. “This new discovery is slightly deeper and further to the west of the domain and could represent the continuation of a stepped progression of gold concentration across structures.”

The company estimates production will be as much as 55,000 oz. of gold this year at a cash cost of up to US$710 per oz.

Jaguar Mining’s Pilar mine near Belo Horizonte, Brazil, posted 104.7 grams gold per tonne drilled from a depth of 245.3 metres for a grade x width of 607.

Jaguar runs Pilar as part of the Caeté mining complex about 450 km north of Rio de Janeiro. Caeté also includes the Roça Grande mine for production of 2,000 tonnes of ore a day. Drilling this year has targeted expansions to Pilar and shows results consistent with the mine’s stated mineral reserves and resources, the company said. Jaguar president and CEO Vern Baker said the company plans to drill deeper to add hundreds of metres of depth to the mine. “Over the next year we expect to develop the next two levels (16 and 17) while building the resource base to go significantly deeper,” Baker said. “Having some intersections with excellent grades and one very anomalous grade intercept have brought excitement to our team working on this resource extension.”