The assay results from the most recent drill program at the Frank Zone (also known as the "Frank"), a high priority gold target situated 1 km southwest of reported Mineral Resources on the Valentine Gold Mine property in central Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, are being provided by Calibre Mining Corp.
Valentine Gold Mine – Frank Zone Drill Hole Highlights. Image Credit: Calibre Mining Corp.
The results for 23 drill holes totaling 3,904 m are given. A little over 6 km make up the three open pits that are part of the Valentine Gold Mine's current life of mine plan (also known as Valentine or VGM). The Valentine Lake Shear Zone is 32 km long.
Frank is just one of the numerous prospects that show how significant the potential is for Mineral Resource discovery and expansion along the VLSZ.
Highlights From the Recent Frank Drilling Include:
- These deposits include 3.14 g/t Au over 14.8 m Estimated True Width (“ETW”) in Hole FZ-23-017
- 3.10 g/t Au over 7.3 m ETW in Hole FZ-23-020; 39.90 g/t Au over 1.8 m ETW in Hole FZ-23-023
- 3.23 g/t Au over 4.5 m ETW in Hole FZ-23-022.
- The geological characteristics of Frank are similar to those of the nearby Leprechaun, Berry, and Marathon deposits, which currently total 3.96 Moz in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource (64.62 Mt at 1.90 g/t Au) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.10 Moz (20.75 Mt at 1.65 g/t Au) along the VLSZ.
Previously Reported Highlights from Frank Drilling Include:
- Hole VL-12-490 had 12.52 g/t Au over 2.9 m
- Hole VL-12-500 had 10.87 g/t Au over 3.0 m
- Hole VL-12-455 had 2.03 g/t Au over 16.0 m
- Hole VL-12-380 had 6.19 g/t Au over 4.3 m
- Hole VL-12-379 had 7.54 g/t Au over 2.3 m
Firstly, I would like to thank all employees and stakeholders who continue to contribute to the development of the Valentine Gold Mine. Construction is well advanced, with gold production on track for the first half of 2025. With our dedicated and experienced Newfoundland team we are well positioned to responsibly deliver and grow the Valentine Gold Mine, upholding our commitment to all stakeholders.
Darren Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Calibre Mining Corp.
Darren Hall said, “In addition to growing existing Mineral Resources, I am excited by the district scale discovery potential along the 32 km Valentine Lake Shear Zone demonstrated by these Frank drill results, which is located 1 km from the active Leprechaun open pit.”
2024 Valentine Exploration Program
The US$ 5–10 million exploration campaign will be concentrated on prospecting the entire property to find prospects in places where there has not been much or any prior exploration along the 32 km VLSZ.
Additionally, additional diamond drilling at Frank will be conducted to build on the promising outcomes of the 2023 exploration program. The entire property will be generated through trenching, drilling, till-sampling, and geophysics.
Frank Zone
Large, laterally continuous quartz veins in outcrop, some of which contain visible gold, are what define Frank. Frank is a high priority resource expansion potential along the 32 km VLSZ that has not been drilled since 2012.
Frank is an example of another Valentine-style discovery of stacked Quartz-Tourmaline-Pyrite-Gold ("QTP-Au") vein mineralization. Frank is currently situated around 1 km southwest of the active Leprechaun open pit and stretches 850 m along strike.
Valentine Gold Mineralization
On the hanging wall or northwest side of the VLSZ, gold mineralization can be found in QTP-Au veins that were formed within the granitoid rocks of the Valentine Intrusive Complex. Veins with up to four different orientations have been measured.
The most common veins in terms of quantity and gold content are the shallowly southwest dipping "Set 1" QTP-Au veins. Set 1 QTP-Au veins comprise densely stacked corridors of mineralization known as "Main Zones" at the Leprechaun, Marathon, and Berry Deposits.
The size and frequency of sheared mafic dykes, which run parallel to the shear zone and stretch northeast-southwest inside the granitoid rocks, appear to be correlated with the extent and magnitude of these mineralized pathways.
Like our main deposits, the mineralization at Frank is characterized by intense QTP veining that is restricted between a series of mafic dykes that run sub-parallel to the VLSZ and the conglomerate. According to preliminary modeling, Set 2's shear parallel veining might potentially contain substantial gold mineralization at Frank.