Ardiden Ltd. has sunk a golden hole in one with the maiden drill hole of its diamond drilling program at the Kasagiminnis project in Canada intersecting visible gold. The early hit bodes well for the current exploration program over the deposit and demonstrates that the company has a good handle on the controls of the gold mineralisation at depth. Drilling continues and is designed to significantly boost the current resource over the coming months.
Geological logging of the Kasagiminnis drill hole shows the presence of quartz veining and sulphides from 146.8m down-hole, extending over an intersection of 23.7m to 170.5m depth with visible gold spotted at 166.5m. Assays are currently pending.
Ardiden’s Exploration Manager, Dan Grabiec said:
“This intersection of a wide mineralised zone early in our programme, almost exactly where we predicted it should be, confirms our modelling and drill strategy. It is the first time that coarse, visible gold has been noted at Kasagiminnis. We have a highly experienced drill and support crew here and we are all really excited about this first hit and the potential for mineralisation to improve at depth, as seen elsewhere in other Gold mines and Deposits in the Region.”
Ardiden’s Kasagiminnis gold deposit is centrally located within its Canadian tenure and boasts an existing high-grade resource of 790,000 tonnes at 4.3 grams per tonne gold, for 110,000 ounces.
Ardiden’s exploration target for Kasagiminnis is between 500,000 and 1.2 million ounces, with the additional resource tonnage and grade expected to come from the current extensional drilling program which will test the deposit along more than 2km of strike and to a depth of 500m.
This first auriferous drill hole kicks off the primary phase of the exploration at Kasagiminnis that will result in seven diamond drill holes probing the western extensions of the deposit. This initial drilling will be followed by a further seven holes testing the depth extents of the mineralisation below the deposit as part of the Phase 2 program. It is expected to extend into the Canadian winter over the coming months.
The Kasagiminnis gold deposit is Ardiden’s first cab off the rank as it commences systematic exploration across its Pickle Lake gold project in Northwest Ontario. The company’s tenure covers a strategic position across the historic mining region which has produced more than 3 million ounces of high-grade gold.
Prominent operations in the Pickle Lake goldfield include the 1.5 million ounce Pickle Crow mine and the 600,000 ounce Golden Patricia mine, both of which produced ores that ran an average grade of more than 15 g/t gold – providing a significant incentive for exploration in the region.
With drilling ongoing, Ardiden is off to a flying start and appears to have a good handle on the controls on the gold mineralisation at Kasagiminnis.
With visible gold spotted in the first drill holes, Ardiden’s MD Rob Longley will no doubt be sweating like a gypsy with a mortgage as he awaits the results from the lab.
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By Matt Birney
