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Andrew Todd
Manhattan Gold Corporation has significantly extended the scale of its flagship Jaws gold prospect in Canada, with a major 275-metre step-out drillhole confirming a continuation of shallow gold mineralisation and pushing the total drill-tested strike length to an impressive 1.25 kilometres.
The latest assays from the company’s Hook Lake project in Nunavut returned an intercept of 21.34m grading 1.72 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 32m downhole, including a higher-grade 4.52-metre section running at 4.89g/t gold.
Most notably, the hole has now demonstrated the mineralised system continues well beyond the historically tested area and remains open, pointing to the potential for a considerably bigger gold endowment.
With the newly expanded 1.25km of confirmed strike, which already contains a 490-metre-long corridor of high-grade mineralisation, Manhattan says Jaws has quickly catapulted itself to the top of its prospect list in Nunavut.
‘(This hole) is exactly the type of result we wanted from a major step-out. More than 275m southwest of the nearest drillhole.’
Manhatten Gold Corp technical advisor Sam Vaughan
The results land at a time when Canada’s vast northern territory of Nunavut is proving to be a hot address for gold explorers. Home to mining giant Agnico Eagle’s 6.7-million-ounce Meliadine operation, 225 kilometres to the northeast and one of Canada’s most significant gold mines, peers such as B2Gold and Fury Gold Mines are also advancing programs, underlining the district-scale appetite for new ounces.
Manhattan’s current program at Hook Lake is designed to build on a historical 1980s non-JORC-compliant resource at Jaws of 3.4 million tonnes at 2.38 g/t gold for about 285,000 ounces.
The company’s recent drilling has consistently delivered thicker, higher-grade intercepts than the historical work, including a stunning 41.15-metre hit at 4.66g/t gold, featuring a spectacular 7.62m at 18.67g/t gold. Another recent hole returned an eye-catching 74.67m at 1.61g/t gold from just 21.34m, suggesting a substantial gold system could remain untapped at depth.
Manhattan Gold Corporation technical advisor Sam Vaughan said: “(This hole) is exactly the type of result we wanted from a major step-out. More than 275m southwest of the nearest drillhole, it returned 21.34m at 1.72g/t gold from just 32m, including 4.57m at 4.89g/t Au and 1.52m at 9.35g/t Au. It confirms that Jaws continues to deliver substantial gold intervals well beyond the area tested historically.”
With the drill rig now parked up at Jaws for the season, the focus will turn to a pipeline of other new gold and silver prospects across the broader and the recently acquired 665-square-kilometre project area. The company says it has 10 further drillholes with results still pending, including maiden drilling at several regional targets.
These include the Spectre volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit, where historic drilling hit a polymetallic lens of 10.51m at an eye-catching 2.91 per cent copper, 6.70 per cent zinc, 95.67g/t silver and 1.04g/t gold.
Assays are also awaited from the previously untested Quantum and Lotus orogenic gold targets, which have returned surface sampling results of up to 16.75 g/t and 8.01 g/t gold, respectively, alongside a mouthwatering 2660g/t silver at Lotus.
Manhattan recently topped up its coffers with a $4.5 million placement to fund this very exploration program, which appears to be paying early dividends.
With the drill bit consistently delivering wide, shallow and high-grade gold intercepts at Jaws, Manhattan seems to be systematically proving up a mineralised system of serious scale. Now, with a conga line of assays due from several high-potential targets across the Hook Lake project, the company looks to be well on its way to becoming a Canadian precious metal player of growing scale and potential.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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