Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX: WDO) announces results from the ongoing underground exploration drilling program at the Company’s wholly-owned Eagle River Mine in Wawa, Ontario.
300 East Zone
Ongoing extension and definition drilling of the 300 East Zone has continued to return high grade gold intersections. The 300 East Zone, previously defined from the 750 m-level to 1,000 m-level, has now been extended to the 1,400 m-level (Figure 1). The down plunge extension is a relatively more tabular zone that now measures in excess of 100 metres along strike with above average widths and grades. The recent drilling confirms the continuity of the geometry, and the consistency of the high grade mineralization, and remains open down plunge.
Highlights of the recent drilling are found below and are summarized in Table 1.
All assays cut to 140.0 g/t Au. True widths are estimated.
In addition, limited drilling has intersected a new zone of mineralization approximately 40 m north and in the hanging wall of the high grade 300 East zone. Hole 925-E-172 returned 43.1 g/t Au (29.0 g/t Au capped) over 1.5 m true width. This zone remains open down plunge and along strike and highlights the potential of finding additional sub-parallel zones in this area and will remain a priority throughout 2021. The recent drilling results will be included in the 2020 year end mineral resource and reserve statement.
311 West Zone
The Company is continuing to develop and explore 311 West Zone along the western margin of the mine diorite. Ongoing development on 750 level and associated sub-levels have defined high grade mineralization over 100 m in strike length (Figure 2). The recent development confirms the continuity of the geometry and the consistency of the high grade mineralization. This development has returned higher gold grades than originally intersected by the exploration drilling. The zone has transitioned from the diorite into the adjacent mafic volcanics, again highlighting the potential of the volcanic rocks to host gold mineralization, similar to that observed at the neighbouring Falcon 7 zone. The 311 West Zone remains open up plunge and along strike to the west within the mafic volcanics, and will be a focus of 2021 drilling.
Highlights of the recent development are found below.
All assays cut to 60.0 g/t Au.
Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO commented, “We are thrilled with our ongoing exploration efforts in the 300 East Zone which continue to grow in size and return high grade values. Mining of this zone will positively impact operations for the next several years.”
“We are also very pleased with the development of the 311 West zone that confirms the continuity of high grade in this zone, and appears to be even higher grade than the original exploration drilling. The 311 West zone will comprise a significant portion of 2021 mining and is substantially developed in preparation for production, which bodes well for the 2021 plan. Further, the gold mineralization is transitioning into the surrounding mafic volcanics, again proving the likelihood of identifying additional zones in the volcanics with our surface drilling program in 2021. We are currently in the process of planning next years’ exploration program, the largest in the Company’s history, which will consist of the continuation of exploration at depth, outside of the mine diorite, as well as areas along the Eagle Mine trend throughout our southern property package, with the aim of unlocking additional value on the Eagle River property.”
TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE
For underground drilling and development, the sampling of, and assay data from, underground drill core is monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance – quality control (QA-QC) program designed to follow industry best practice. Samples are transported in sealed bags to Eagle River Mine assay office in Wawa, Ontario. Samples are analyzed for gold using standard fire assay technique with gravimetric finish. Wesdome inserts blanks and certified reference standard in the sample sequence for quality control.
The technical content of this release has been compiled, reviewed and approved by Michael Michaud, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of the Company and a “Qualified Person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101 –Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
COVID-19
The health and safety of our employees, contractors, vendors, and consultants is the Company’s top priority. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Wesdome has adopted all public health guidelines regarding safety measures and protocols at all of its mine operations and corporate offices. In addition, our internal COVID-19 Taskforce continues to monitor developments and implement policies and programs intended to protect those who are engaged in business with the Company.
Through care and planning, to date the Company has successfully maintained operations, however there can be no assurance that this will continue despite our best efforts. Future conditions may warrant reduced or suspended production activities which could negatively impact our ability to maintain projected timelines and objectives. Consequently, the Company’s actual future production and production guidance is subject to higher levels of risk than usual. We are continuing to closely monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available.
ABOUT WESDOME
Wesdome Gold Mines is in its 30th year of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Eagle River Complex in Wawa, Ontario is currently producing gold from two mines, the Eagle River Underground Mine and the Mishi Open pit, from a central mill. Wesdome is actively exploring its brownfields asset, the Kiena Complex in Val d’Or, Quebec. The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930 metre shaft and 2,000 tonne per day mill. The Company has further upside at its Moss Lake gold deposit, located 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is being explored and evaluated to be developed in the appropriate gold price environment. The Company has approximately 138.9 million shares issued and outstanding and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WDO.”
Table 1 – Drilling Composites – 300 East Zone
Hole | From (m) |
To (m) |
Width (m) |
True Width (m) |
Au g/t (Uncapped) |
Au g/t (Capped at 140 g/t) |
925-E-135 | 462.8 | 472.8 | 10.0 | 4.23 | 40.96 | 34.79 |
925-E-144 | 378.9 | 384.4 | 5.5 | 3.50 | 24.92 | 24.85 |
925-E-152 | 471.7 | 474.7 | 3.0 | 1.50 | 1.43 | 1.43 |
925-E-153 | 374.6 | 377.2 | 2.6 | 1.67 | 11.21 | 11.21 |
925-E-159 | 456.8 | 461.0 | 4.2 | 2.10 | 33.73 | 33.73 |
925-E-160 | 464.4 | 468.7 | 4.3 | 2.12 | 61.96 | 36.33 |
925-E-162 | 517.0 | 520.6 | 3.6 | 1.52 | 93.83 | 37.94 |
925-E-163 | 384.1 | 386.1 | 1.9 | 1.49 | 2.21 | 2.21 |
925-E-164 | 422.3 | 433.6 | 11.3 | 6.45 | 7.60 | 7.60 |
925-E-166 | 418.1 | 428.2 | 10.2 | 5.07 | 54.85 | 35.82 |
925-E-167 | 491.2 | 497.1 | 5.9 | 2.95 | 47.29 | 29.38 |
925-E-168 | 293.3 | 295.3 | 1.9 | 1.49 | 85.13 | 40.06 |
925-E-169 | 503.4 | 506.1 | 2.7 | 1.52 | 5.79 | 5.79 |
925-E-172 | 455.5 | 458.1 | 2.6 | 1.49 | 43.11 | 28.98 |
925-E-176 | 435.6 | 439.2 | 3.6 | 1.52 | 24.27 | 15.22 |
925-E-177 | 425.2 | 428.7 | 3.6 | 1.50 | 29.36 | 21.37 |
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8aa8b2d4-fd9c-40ec-b1d2-306e2018019f
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ea019b0-70cf-491d-81d2-6bc19f80597c
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