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Murray Ward
Manhattan Gold Corporation has struck a high-grade cocktail of copper, gold, silver and zinc in the very first drill holes at the Spectre prospect, part of its Hook Lake project in the tier-one mining jurisdiction of Nunavut, Canada.
The company’s maiden drilling program at Spectre appears to have knocked it out of the park, with the first hole returning a solid 6.1-metre hit grading an impressive 3.18 per cent copper, 1.37 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 147.9g/t silver and 1.35 per cent zinc from 45.72m.
The impressive intercept sits within a broader, 19.81-metre mineralised sulphide zone that went 1.77 per cent copper, 0.8g/t gold, 84.3g/t silver and 2.3 per cent zinc from just 42.67m downhole.
As if that wasn’t enough, the same hole also tagged a stunningly high-grade zinc-rich zone closer to surface, delivering a 3.05-metre section at a whopping 29.5 per cent zinc from only 12.19m. That interval sits within a wider 7.62-metre intercept running at 13.98 per cent zinc from just 10.67m.
“Drilling at depth remains very limited, so the full extent of these systems is still largely untested.′
Manhattan Gold Corporation technical advisor Sam Vaughan
For Manhattan, the results potentially confirm a new volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) discovery – concentrations of metal-rich sulphide minerals that originally formed on or beneath the seafloor through underwater volcanic and hydrothermal activity – adding a significant polymetallic string to the bow of a project that was already delivering strong gold results at its flagship Jaws target.
A second hole, collared 77m along strike, repeated the dose, hitting 6.1m assaying 1.1 per cent copper, 0.27g/t gold, 88.3g/t silver and 3.34 per cent zinc from 73.15m inside a broader zone of 39.2m grading 0.28 per cent copper, 0.09g/t gold,23,5g/t silver and 0.12 per cent zinc from 59.44m. A third hole extended the mineralised footprint a further 341 metres to the northeast, intersecting a broad 15.24-metre zone of gold and silver mineralisation from 74.68m.
Together, the first three holes at Spectre have defined mineralisation over a 340-metre strike length, extending from surface to more than 86m vertical depth, with mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth.
Manhattan Gold Corporation technical advisor Sam Vaughan said: “Spectre has exceeded expectations in the maiden drillholes, returning outstanding copper, gold, silver and zinc results…The first three holes at Spectre have intersected mineralisation over a 340m strike length, giving us a strong polymetallic target alongside Jaws. With both Jaws and Spectre returning strong assays, and more than 60km of prospective geology across Hook Lake, we now have the datasets to target the next phase of exploration much more effectively.”
The Spectre prospect is 26 kilometres southwest of the company’s main Jaws gold target within its expansive 665-square-kilometre Hook Lake landholding. The project itself lies in the underexplored Rankin-Ennadai greenstone belt, which is home to Agnico Eagle’s 6.7 million-ounce Meliadine gold mine just 225 kilometres to the northeast, highlighting the geological endowment of the region.
Manhattan’s exploration at Hook Lake previously zeroed in on the orogenic gold potential at Jaws, where historical drilling outlined a non-JORC-compliant resource of 3.4 million tonnes grading 2.38g/t gold for 285,000 ounces. More recently, the company has breathed new life into the prospect with its own drilling delivering a string of high-grade gold hits.
Standout results included a stunning 41.15-metre hit at 4.66g/t gold, featuring a spectacular 7.62m at 18.67g/t gold. Another hole returned a hefty 74.67m at 1.61g/t gold from just 21.34m, suggesting a substantial gold system could be lurking at depth.
The discovery of a separate, high-grade VMS system at Spectre now demonstrates the broader potential of the project area to host multiple deposit styles. VMS deposits are prized for their polymetallic nature, often containing copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver and their tendency to occur in clusters, which could mean Spectre is potentially just the first of many for the company.
While the company has been busy at Spectre, the rods have also been turning at a suite of other regional targets including Quantum, Lotus and Omega, none of which have been previously drilled. Assays from seven drill holes, including Jaws, are still pending.
A regional till sampling program has also been completed at the Hook Lake project. The Manhattan says this will provide geochem data spanning strike extensions of Jaws across to Omega and Moonraker in the east.
The company went to Canada looking for gold at its Jaws prospect and appears to have found plenty of it. Now, with its first roll of the dice at Spectre, it has uncovered a completely different style of high-grade mineralisation.
With two distinct and high-grade mineral systems now on the books, a pipeline of assays from other new targets on the way and a commanding land position in what is clearly elephant country, Manhattan looks to have a firm grip on a project that is shaping up to be a potential company-maker.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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