Rupert Resources Ltd, a company advancing the multi-million-ounce Ikkari gold deposit and new regional discoveries at the company's 100% owned Rupert Lapland Project in Northern Finland, is pleased to announce new drilling from its Ikkari and Heinä South discoveries (figures 1 and 2).
Ikkari has a National Instrument 43-101 inferred mineral resource estimate of 49 million tonnes ("Mt") at 2.5 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") for 3.95 million ounces (see Sept. 13, 2021 press release) 1. Over 44,000 metres ("m") of drilling has now been completed at Ikkari since the maiden resource statement in September 2021 (location of new holes see figure 3), focused on upgrading and expanding the Ikkari resource estimate. Elsewhere, regional exploration continues with around 25,000 m drilled on targets excluding Ikkari since September 2021.
Highlights
New drilling at Ikkari extends to the west a previously identified zone of mineralisation at depth (figure 4a):
- #122031 returned
- 31 m of 1.1g/t Au from 173 m
- 16 m of 2.2g/t Au from 271 m
- 13 m of 5.8g/t Au from 431 m, including 1 m of 51.7g/t Au
- 30 m of 2.8g/t Au from 471 m (378 m vertical)
In central Ikkari, further high-grade results were received, and mineralisation was intersected at depth beyond the limits of previous drilling (figure 4b):
- #121071 returned
- 33 m of 6.5g/t Au from 299 m
- and 16 m of 3.0g/t Au from 445 m (413 m vertical)
Infill drilling in the west of the Ikkari deposit continues to confirm broad gold intercepts from surface (beneath till), as well as at depth at the margin of September 2021's maiden resource estimate):
- #122066 returned 72 m of 2.2g/t Au from 10.4 m (9 m vertical, sub-crop under till cover)
- #122058 returned 53 m of 2.2g/t Au, from 10 m (9 m vertical)
- #122053 returned 41 m of 2.5g/t Au, from 207 m (152 m vertical) and 19 m of 2.7g/t Au, from 493 m (377 m vertical)
- #122025 returned 61 m of 1.7g/t Au, from 98 m (73 m vertical) and 20 m of 3.6g/t Au, from 321 m (241 m vertical)
Drilling at Heinä South, 300 m south of the main Heinä South trend and 800 m northwest of Ikkari (figure 5), has intersected the following new mineralisation:
- #122072 returned 2 m of 4.9 g/t Au from 131 m, 15 m of 1.1 g/t Au from 142 m and 3 m of 2.5 g/t Au from 204 m
James Withall, CEO of Rupert Resources commented "The new drilling at Ikkari continues to expand the mineralised envelope with the infill drilling undertaken this winter season essential to improving resource confidence and maintaining the permitting timeline for the project. We continue to increase our understanding of the broader mineralising system through drilling and a recently completed geophysical survey. This will inform our next round of step out drilling at Ikkari and our exploration programmes to make further discoveries of scale in the region. Ikkari remains the cornerstone discovery in a potential new mining camp in a tier one jurisdiction."
New Ikkari Drill Results
Results from a further 18 holes (figures 1 and 2) continue to define broad mineralised zones, from surface, within the Ikkari orebody. A further 26 holes for over 8,000 m remain pending. New results are mostly from the west of the deposit and demonstrate consistently mineralised intercepts at shallow depths e.g. #122066 returned 72 m of 2.2g/t Au from 10.4 m (9 m vertical, sub-crop under till cover) as well as identifying deeper zones of mineralisation e.g. 47 m of 1.9g/t Au from 168 m, suggesting continuity to depth. Similarly, hole #122031 returned 30 m of 2.8g/t Au from 471 m (378 m vertical).
Hole 122071, in the central part of the deposit confirms the main high-grade zone (33 m of 6.5g/t Au from 299 m) and further extends mineralisation to depth in the south (16 m of 3.0g/t Au from 445 m, 413 m vertical and 6 m of 2.0g/t Au from 503 m, 465 m vertical). These results extend the mineralised zone by up to 80 m depth on this section.
New Heinä South Drill Results
At Heinä South, infill drilling along the 1 km long mineralised trend further confirms mineralisation, with results from #122050 of 7 m of 4.5g/t Au from 153 m, #122063 of 4 m of 4.0g/t Au from 112 m and 3 m of 2.1g/t Au from 205 m, and hole #122054 with results of 5 m of 2.7g/t Au from 109 m.
A further 300 m to the south of the Heinä South trend, initial results from a second, similarly-mineralised zone, parallel to the trend, indicate multiple mineralised zones. #122072 returned 2 m at 4.9 g/t Au from 131 m, 15 m at 1.1 g/t Au from 142 m and 3 m at 2.5 g/t Au from 204 m (figure 5). Results from several additional holes in this area are still pending.
Figures & Tables
Figures and tables featured in the Appendix at end of release, include:
- Figure 1. Location of discoveries at Area 1
- Figure 2. Long section showing new Ikkari drill intercepts
- Figure 3. Plan view showing location of new drilling at Ikkari
- Figure 4a. Cross section showing location of drill holes 122042, 122031 and 122025
- Figure 4b. Cross section showing location of drill hole 122071
- Figure 5. Plan view showing location of new drilling from Heinä South
- Table 1. Collar locations of new drill holes
- Table 2. New Intercepts from Ikkari
- Table 3. New intercepts from Heinä South
Geological Interpretation of Ikkari
Ikkari was discovered using systematic regional exploration that initially focused on geochemical sampling of the bedrock/till interface through glacial till deposits of 5 m to 40 m thickness. No outcrop is present, and topography is dominated by low-lying swamp areas.
The Ikkari deposit occurs within rocks that have been regionally mapped as 2.05-2.15 billion years ("Ga") old Savukoski group greenschist-metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks, part of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt ("CLGB"). Gold mineralisation is largely confined to the structurally modified unconformity at a significant domain boundary. Younger sedimentary lithologies are complexly interleaved, with intensely altered ultramafic rocks, and the mineralized zone is bounded to the north by a steeply N-dipping cataclastic zone. In general, alteration and structure appear to be sub-vertical, with lithologies generally dipping ~70 degrees north.
The main mineralized zone is strongly altered and characterised by intense veining and foliation that frequently overprint original textures. An early phase of finely laminated, grey ankerite/dolomite veins is overprinted by stockwork-like irregular siderite ± quartz ± chlorite ± sulphide veins. These vein arrays are often deformed with shear-related boudinage and in situ brecciation. Magnetite and/or haematite are common, in association with pyrite. Hydrothermal alteration commonly comprises quartz-dolomite-chlorite-magnetite (±haematite). Gold is hosted by disseminated and vein-related pyrite. Multi-phase breccias are well developed within the mineralised zone, with early silicified cataclastic phases overprinted by late, carbonate- iron-oxide- rich, hydrothermal breccias which display a subvertical control. All breccias frequently host disseminated pyrite, and are often associated with bonanza gold grades, particularly where magnetite or haematite is prevalent. In the sedimentary lithologies, albite alteration is intense and pervasive, with pyrite-magnetite (± gold) hosted in veinlets in brittle fracture zones.
Geological interpretation of Heinä South
Mineralisation at the Heinä South prospect is covered with up to 10 m of transported glacial till with restricted access in winter due to low lying wet ground conditions. Gold mineralisation is associated with multi-phase pyrite within quartz-pyrite and massive pyrite veins and lenses, as part of a stockwork of quartz-carbonate veins. Zones of massive pyrite contain the highest grades (up to 10 - 40g/t Au) with disseminated sulphide zone containing anomalous (<0.5g/t) gold. Early quartz-carbonate veins are overprinted by extensional veins that include coarse-grained pyrite and form sub-parallel trends, broadly related to lithological contacts between sediments and mafic-intermediate intrusives, although mineralisation also occurs within both lithologies.