Midland Exploration Inc. is pleased to report the beginning of an exploration program and the addition of map designated claims to its 100% owned James Bay Éléonore Gold project located in James Bay, Québec.
A total of 61 claims, covering 30,7 square kilometres, were added to the Éléonore Gold project which is located about 40 kilometres to the southeast of the Éléonore Centre property. This first phase of the exploration program includes ground geophysics on the Éléonore Centre property.
The Éléonore project, which encompasses the Éléonore Centre and West properties, is constituted of a total of 327 claims covering 172 square kilometres, and is located approximately 30 kilometres southwest from and in a geological environment similar to Goldcorp Inc.'s Éléonore deposit. This world-class gold deposit contains reserves of 4.97 Moz Au (proven and probable categories), combined measured and indicated resources of 1.06 Moz Au and inferred resources estimated at 2.80 Moz Au, for a total of 8.83 Moz of gold. (Source: Goldcorp press release dated February 19, 2015).
Prospecting conducted by Midland from 2009 to 2014 on the Éléonore Centre property identified the presence of several gold showings associated with quartz-tourmaline pyrite bearing veinlets occurring in sheared metasediments, as well as mafic and felsic metavolcanics which returned up to 18.8 g/t Au. These results strongly suggest that an auriferous hydrothermal system is present on the property by a strong abundance of quartz-tourmaline veins over a plurimetric area. In addition, the 2013 ground induced polarisation ("IP") survey identified many north-south trending IP anomalies and several remain unexplained. The 2011 soil geochemistry survey permitted to delineate a series of As-Cu-Sb anomalies clustered along a north-south-trending axis. The 2014 airborne high definition magnetic survey also identified the presence of an important north-south oriented structure associated with several gold showings and soil anomalies. Finally, a series of parallel northeast trending AeroTEM II conductors were outlined by the 2010 airborne geophysical survey which targeted sulfide bearing Éléonore-type sediments on the northern part of the Éléonore Centre property. Some of these conductors coincide with uncovered gold-bearing disseminated to semi-massive sulfides zones identified by Midland and several EM anomalies still remain unexplained.
The ground geophysical IP and magnetic ("Mag") surveys will complete and extend the 2013 survey located in the north eastern and eastern part of the Éléonore Centre property where several gold showings were uncovered by Midland (Golden Gun and Golden Gun South showings). The 40 kilometres IP-Mag survey will focus on identifying sulphide rich targets for further follow-up during the summer exploration program.
Elsewhere in the James Bay area, a total of 61 new claims were acquired 40 kilometres southeast of the Éléonore Centre property. This new claim block, adjacent and west to the Virginia Mines Inc.'s ("Virginia") Wabamisk-Anatacau project is in the La Grande Sub-Province more precisely in the Lower Eastmain Greenstone Belt. Several mineralized occurrences with economic to sub-economic gold values, including Mustang Zone and Challenger-Interceptor Showings are known in the belt. Next summer, Midland is planning geochemical rock and basal till samplings in this prospective area.