Eastmain Resources Inc. has reported results of its first NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate for the 100%-owned Eastmain Mine Project, located in the Otish Mountains region, James Bay, Québec. The new Mineral Resource Estimate demonstrates the high average gold grade of the Eastmain Mine mineralisation and consistency with historic interpretation and Mineral Resource Estimates.
The new Mineral Resource Estimate is built from historic information developed by previous operators and the inclusion of 26 drill holes completed by Eastmain within the Deposit’s Mineral Resource domains, of which seven were specifically drilled as verification holes in 2017.
Highlights
- Increase in tonnes and contained gold ounces over historic estimate.
- Total Indicated Resources: 899 000 t at 8.19 g/t Au for 236 500 gold oz.
- Total Inferred Resources: 579,000 tonnes at 7.48 g/t Au for 139 300 gold oz.
- Reduction of Mineral Resource cut-off grade due to a higher current gold pricing of US$1250/oz and the inclusion of Mineral Resources from the C Zone have added significantly to gold endowment within the deposit.
A programme of verification drilling returned significant gold mineralisation results including:
- EM17-116 (Triangulation) 23.1 g/t Au over 4.4 m.
- EM17-118 (Twin) 12.9 g/t Au over 7 m.
- EM17-119 (Twin) 17.0 g/t Au over 3 m.
- EM17-120 (Triangulation) 14.7 g/t Au over 2 m.
All verification holes report comparable grades to those in neighbouring historic holes.
Exploration 600 m to the NW of the A Zone Mineral Resource domain intersected an interval returning 9.33 g/t Au, 23.8 g/t Ag and 0.44% Cu over 2 m in hole EM17-126. Historic holes in this area suggest the potential for a new mineralised zone similar to the Eastmain Mine can be explored.
Geophysics, trenching, geological mapping and drilling were completed in 2017 near the Julien and Hillhouse targets, providing important geological and structural information to guide exploration of new targets along, or in zones parallel to, the Mine Trend.
Eastmain Resources President and CEO, Claude Lemasson, stated: “The game changer for the Eastmain Mine Project was the construction of the new road (Route 167 Nord) under Quebec’s Plan Nord about 3 years ago, providing all-season access to our property. This infrastructure has allowed us to re-evaluate the potential of this former producer, re-assess the historic Mineral Resource Estimate and initiate an extensive exploration programme. We have established that the robust high-grade nature of the deposit will limit sensitivity to gold price fluctuation. With additional verification drill holes, we are confident that we will be able to convert more Inferred Mineral Resources to the Indicated Mineral Resource category. The historic on-site infrastructure, including a ramp to the shallow mining areas, provides an advantageous head-start for advanced exploration.”