Rupert Resources Ltd ("Rupert" or the "Company"), 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 that new drilling (figure 1) at its flagship Ikkari discovery has extended near-surface, high-grade mineralisation.
Ikkari has a National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate of 49 million tonnes ("Mt") at 2.5 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") for 3.95 million inferred ounces (see Sept. 13, 2021 press release) 1. Over 45,000 metres ("m") of drilling has now been completed at Ikkari since its maiden resource statement (location of new holes see figure 1), focused on upgrading and exploring the limits of the Ikkari resource estimate.
Highlights
New drilling at Ikkari extends near-surface high-grade zone to the east (figures 2 and 3):
- #122057 returned
- 59 m of 8.0g/t Au from 148 m (116 m vertical)
- and 26 m of 4.5g/t Au from 223 m
In central Ikkari, further high-grade results were received, confirming widths of mineralised zones:
- #122090 returned
- 24 m of 6.3g/t Au from 206 m (173 m vertical)
- and 47 m of 5.8g/t Au from 267 m
- and 29 m of 1.9g/t Au from 349 m
- and 12 m of 1.2g/t Au from 382 m
- #122091 returned
- 49.5 m of 3.6g/t Au from 184 m (including 5 m of 9.7g/t Au)
- and 31.7 m of 4.0g/t Au from 283 m
Drilling at depth in the Ikkari deposit continues to confirm gold intercepts at the limits of September 2021's maiden resource estimate:
- #122068 returned
- 80 m of 1.4g/t Au from 276 m
- and 13 m of 3.7g/t Au from 540 m (440m vertical)
James Withall, CEO of Rupert Resources commented "The new drilling at Ikkari continues to impress with more indications of near-surface, high-grade material in the eastern section of the deposit with the drilling providing yet further proof of Ikkari's characteristic exceptional continuity and potentially broad mining widths, which we expect to be captured in the preliminary economic assessment."
New Ikkari Drill Results and Exploration Update
Results from six new holes at Ikkari (figure 1) have further confirmed near-surface, high grade mineralisation as well as adding to the depth of the mineralised zone. These results, from holes drilled mostly from the northern side of the deposit, during winter, confirm widths of the mineralised zones and improve continuity of high grades across the main mineralised zone by demonstrating the low variance of grade distribution. For example, in the eastern part of the deposit, hole 122057 includes a substantial intercept of 8g/t Au over 59 m from 116 m below surface (figures 2 and 3), which improves on previously reported grades on this section, and in the central part of the deposit hole 122090 also returns a high-grade intercept of 6.3g/t over 47 m from 173 m vertical (figure 1).
Further drilling at depth in the deposit has also improved grades at the lower margins of the reported Resource estimation, with hole 122068 reporting 3.7g/t Au over 13 m from 440 m vertical (figure 2).
An updated resource and accompanying preliminary economic assessment will be completed in H2 2022. Approximately 75,000 m of drilling is budgeted for the next twelve months targeting resource additions through satellites or extensions to Ikkari and elsewhere on Rupert's five regional target areas.
Regional exploration continues with nearly 30,000m drilled on targets, including Heinä Central and Heinä South, since September 2021.
Figures & Tables
Figures and tables featured in the Appendix at end of release, include:
- Figure 1. Location of new drill holes at Ikkari
- Figure 2. Long section showing new Ikkari drill intercepts
- Figure 3. Cross section showing location of drill hole #122057
- 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.