Conico has intersected high-grade gold in the third diamond drillhole at its Sortekap prospect in Greenland.
The company’s best results include 1m at 42.81 g/t gold from only 41m downhole and 1m grading 2.58 g/t gold from 22m. Five more 1m intervals going at greater than 1 g/t were also discovered.
Mineralisation is present as gold-bearing quartz veins in the Archean amphibolite that is interpreted as orogenic style.
Sortekap is wholly owned by Conico and one of several prospects within the large Ryberg Project area covering 4,521 square km on the east coast of Greenland.
Two previous diamond drillholes in the campaign targeted IP anomalies and intersected serpentinite-hosted nickel sulphides.
As a result of the drilling, Conico has applied to increase the licence area and gold mineralisation will be targeted as part of drilling activity during the 2022 exploration season. All 2021 exploration assays have now been reported by the company.
Conico believes the gold discovery at Sortekap is “the first time an orogenic-gold occurrence has been identified on the east coast of Greenland”. The company claims first-mover advantage with a large and growing ground position unexplored for the style of mineralisation.
According to management, the Nalunaq mine on the south coast of Greenland produced more than 350,000 ounces of gold at 15 g/t or better from similar orogenic gold mineralisation, demonstrating the potential of the gold systems in Greenland.
South of the 2021 drilling at Sortekap the company has identified a deep fault structure with a lateral displacement of more than 3km and vertical displacement across 1km. The fault was identified from regional magnetic-radiometric survey and Conico believes it may have provided a pathway for rising mineral-rich hydrothermal fluids. The company sees the fault as an important guide for future exploration.
Longland Resources CEO, Thomas Abraham-James said: “To obtain high-grade results in the one and only hole targeting gold from our 2021 drilling is very pleasing. Drill-hole SODD003 was designed to target known surface occurrences of gold at depth, without the aid of geophysics. The result opens up the east coast of Greenland as being a prospective location for the discovery of orogenic gold, and Conico has first mover advantage.”
Conico has two large wholly owned projects on the east coast of Greenland and previous exploration has been limited.
At Ryberg, which encompasses Sortekap, exploration is targeting greenfield precious and base metal discoveries in a large igneous rock province. The brownfield Mestersvig project contains the historic Blyklippen zinc-lead mine and prospective surrounding geology according to the company.
Using its strong Greenland experience, Conico has pegged highly prospective ground with large tenements and is utilising modern exploration methods for the first time in the region.
High-grade gold in the first diamond drillhole on this type of target bodes well for Conico as is its ability to leverage first-mover advantage in what could turn out to be elephant country.
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