Results such as 2.75m grading 7.25 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 239 including 1m at 18.43g/t gold in the Boucher lode (LABU-22-08) and 3.65m at 5.41g/t gold from 30m including 0.3m at 43.06g/t gold in the Talus lode (LABU-22-09) are signs that the non-JORC 2010 NI43-101 estimate of 479,000oz of contained gold might be conservative.
Adding further interest, a 16.65m Boucher lode intercept grading 0.41g/t gold from 309m in LABU-22-14 was made on the perimeter of the historical interpretation, confirming significant width proximal to localised high-grade zones.
Labyrinth Resources (ASX:LRL) has now engaged highly-regarded consultants RSC Mining and Mineral Exploration to support the compilation of the maiden JORC resource, which is expected in the September quarter.
It has also engaged surface drilling specialists Diafor to start a 3,000m program targeting significant mineralisation extensions to depths of up to 400m below the current known resource.
“Drilling continues to return outstanding results with both width and grade, giving us every confidence in the upcoming JORC Resource. Importantly, we are intersecting high-grade gold in the five individual lodes as well as outside the currently modelled zones,” chief executive officer Matt Nixon says.
He adds that as the JORC resource is being compiled, the company’s first surface drilling program will seek to expand the known mineralisation below the modelled areas, which will set it up for further resource growth.
“This program will target depths of up to 700m below surface and drill through the full sequence of known gold lodes, as well as identify potential new zones across the significant 1.6km in strike,” Nixon explains.
“We are seeking to demonstrate the continuity of high-grade mineralisation at depth, having only just scratched the surface of a highly prospective large-scale gold system in the prolific Abitibi Belt.”
The completed maiden underground diamond drilling program of 17 holes totalling about 5,000m had targeted known resource mineralisation over a strike of about 500m and a depth of about 450m below surface.
This supported the presence of high-grade gold in discrete veins within broader intervals of pervasive mineralisation across a strike of 1.6km.
Importantly, the results have aligned with or improved on the grade distribution indicated by historical data that was used to generate the non-JORC resource.
Recent drilling at McDowell and Front-West also confirm evident extensions of these veins and provide readily accessible ore drive expansions from the existing underground mine.
The final holes of the campaign, which targeted the deepest extent of Boucher accessible from the existing underground workings, demonstrated considerable shear zone width with significant fine pyrite and mineralised brecciated quartz veins.
