Galantas Gold Corporation has stated that drilling at the newly purchased Gairloch Project will begin in the coming weeks. Drilling for the first 800-meter program targeting the Kerry Road deposit has begun, including investigating the depth potential of near-surface mineralization.
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Historical Exploration Highlights:
- 11.29 grams per ton (g/t) gold (Au), 0.58% copper (Cu), 2.44 g/t silver (Ag), and 0.19% zinc (Zn) over 16 m
- 3.16 g/t Au, 0.90% Cu, 3.39 g/t Ag and 0.51% Zn over 18 m
- 1.46 g/t Au, 1.86% Cu, 1.65 g/t Ag, and 1.08% Zn over 20 m
- 9.59 g/t Au, 1.17% Cu, 2.58 g/t Ag, and 0.55% Zn over 5.5 m
- 1.5 g/t Au, 5.92% Cu, 16.5 g/t Ag, and 0.54% Zn over 6 m
The true widths are unknown. Historical drill hole data was collected from Consolidated Gold Fields Limited logs recorded in 1979 and 1980; the British Geological Survey provides scanned copies.
The drill program seeks to explore the deposit down dip southeastward and the lateral expansion to the northeast and southwest while concentrating on the mineralized outcrops near Kerry Road. Since historical drilling stopped after intercepting the major sulfide horizon, a deeper hole (about 350 m) is planned to test beneath the Kerry Road deposit.
This stratigraphic hole will let Galantas gain insight into the local geology and test for further sulfide horizons that are estimated to be present in the region based on knowledge of other deposits with similar geology elsewhere.
We are eager to kick-off drilling at this underexplored region of Scotland. The Gairloch Project offers a fantastic opportunity for Galantas to diversify and build its portfolio having acquired some of the best exploration ground in the country in a gold-bearing volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) setting with known mineralization over 10 km and a number of high-priority targets that have yet to be tested.
Mario Stifano, Chief Executive Officer, Galantas Gold Corporation
The Kerry Road deposit is a strata-bound, Besshi-style VMS gold-copper-zinc deposit that is visible at the surface. This is one of the earliest known Besshi deposits. The host rocks in Gairloch geologically resemble those found in the Trans-Hudson Orogen in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, home to the thriving mining sites of Flin-Flon and Snow Lake VMS.
Consolidated Goldfields dug 87 holes over a distance of 9189 m to find the Kerry Road deposit in the 1970s. Since then, there has not been any commercial exploration.
However, in 2018, drilling by GreenOre Gold PLC (GreenOre) that discovered 1.0 g/t gold, 0.9% copper, and 0.6% zinc over 17 m validated the mineralization at Kerry Road. GreenOre’s 2018 rock chip sampling also found significant cobalt in the bedrock.
The Kerry Road deposit is located inside the Gairloch Schist Belt, a Paleoproterozic volcanic arc terrane that stretches for 25 km. Quartz-carbonate schist with major minerals, such as chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite, and pyrrhotite, is the unit of interest.
In recent years, there has been little investigation in the area. The British Geological Survey (BGS) discovered a 4 g/t Au outcrop connected with a strong geophysical anomaly roughly 10 km south of the Kerry Road deposit in their MRP146 report of the region. However, the area remains untested. Galantas has discovered several candidates for additional exploration.
Galantas has purchased a 100% stake in the Gairloch Project, a 217 km2 mining license area, including the Gairloch Schist Belt, and exclusive rights to explore and develop the project.