Eighteen holes (PAL0159–PAL0176) for a total of 6,003 metres (two short holes abandoned) of a planned 15,000 metre winter program have been drilled. The drill program is focused on expanding gold-cobalt resources at Raja and South Palokas, and testing less drilled prospect areas including Terry’s Hammer and Rumajärvi. Gold-only assay results from the first 6 holes are reported (PAL0159 – PAL0161, PAL0163, PAL0164 and PAL0173), with multi-element including cobalt assays awaited.
Highlights:
At the South Palokas prospect, drill hole PAL0173 intersected 17 metres @ 3.0 g/t gold from 264 metres, including 5 metres @ 4.9 g/t gold from 264 metres and 5 metres @ 4.6 g/t Au from 276 metres;
The hole was targeted into a recently defined electromagnetic (“TEM”) conductive plate below the resource reported in December 2018.
This is the best intersection as well as the deepest hole drilled at South Palokas, and opens up the undrilled extensions of the TEM conductor, which extends 450 metres down plunge and forms an excellent target for continued drilling.
At the Raja prospect, drill hole PAL0161 intersected 4.0 metres @ 2.9 g/t gold from 345 metres and PAL0159 intersected 3.0 metres @ 2.3 g/t gold from 434 metres and 3.5 metres @ 2.4 g/t from 452 metres (Figures 3-4);
PAL0159 extended mineralization 130 metres down plunge from the resource reported in December 2018. Further infill drilling is planned.
New TEM surveys at both the Palokas and South Palokas projects have defined plunging conductors approximately 450 metres long and 100 metres wide below the resource reported in December 2018. Both conductors at Palokas and South Palokas remain undrilled and will be a focus of future drilling;
Drilling with four rigs continues 24/7 with additional TEM to be conducted over the Rumajärvi area commencing in the next week;
Mr. Hudson, Chairman and CEO, states, “This is a solid start to our winter drilling with down-plunge extensions of mineralization defined at both the South Palokas and Raja resource areas. These drill hits targeted TEM conductors, giving strong encouragement that new conductors at Palokas and South Palokas, will be associated with further mineralization. Â We welcome all to Mawson’s PDAC booth #2941 from 3rd to 6th March and at the Core Shack #3104B (5th to 6th March), to discuss our work programs and view representative samples of drill core. Come and see if you can spot some visible gold in our new drill holes!”
PAL0173, which intersected 17 metres @ 3.0 g/t gold from 264 metres at South Palokas extended mineralization 60 metres down plunge from PAL0016 (8.4 metres @ 5.9 g/t AuEQ from 206 metres). Mineralization was encountered from 232 metres to 405 metres (170m down hole width) and is one of the thickest intersections on the property to date. The hole was targeted into the upper margin of a strong linear electromagnetic conductor which extends 450 metres down plunge and forms an excellent target for continued drilling.
At the Raja prospect, drill hole PAL0161 intersected 4.0 metres @ 2.9 g/t gold from 345 metres to extend mineralization 25 metres east from previous drilling. PAL0159 intersected 3.0 metres @ 2.3 g/t gold from 434 metres and 3.5 metres @ 2.4 g/t from 452 metres (Figures 3-4) and extended mineralization 130 metres down plunge from the resource reported in December 2018. Further infill drilling is planned. Additional lower grade gold was intersected on this section (PAL0164: 2.0 metres @ 1.1 g/t gold from 407 metres) demonstrating the continuity of mineralization below the resource. Further infill drilling is now planned.
New ground electromagnetic (TEM) surveys at both Palokas and South Palokas have defined plunging conductors with the same dimensions as the Raja prospect conductor (450 metres long and 100 metres wide) below the resource areas. Â Both the deeper extension of the conductors at Palokas and South Palokas are undrilled and will be the focus of future drilling.
Assuming a predominant stratabound control, the true thickness of the mineralized interval is interpreted to be approximately 90% of the sampled thickness. Visible gold was noted in drill hole PAL0173 between 267 and 268 metres with a strong association with scheelite. Cobalt data will be provided when multi-element assays are reported by the laboratory. Quality control duplicates for all holes show good repeatability of gold assays. Intersections are reported with a lower-cut of 0.5g/t gold over 1 metre lower cut, except PAL0173 264.0-281.0 metres. No upper cut-off was applied.
The hosts rocks to the gold and cobalt mineralization comprise sulphide (pyrrhotite>>pyrite), biotite, muscovite, chlorite, Mg-Fe amphibole hydrothermal mineral assemblages within and adjacent to predominately grey albitites. Textures range from veined albitic granofels through fractured and brecciated to locally schistose. Veining and fracture fill minerals include pyrrhotite, magnetite and magnetite-pyrrhotite (+/- quartz, tourmaline). Retrograde chlorite after biotite, generations of secondary muscovite (“sericite”) and vein-controlled chlorite+/- tourmaline and magnetite are also present. Preliminary hand-held XRF analysis confirms the presence of associated scheelite and molybdenite, the former visible under UV light as tiny veinlets and disseminations. The alteration is clearly post-metamorphic, reduced, and most likely driven by granitoid intrusions. Chlorite and fine muscovite are regarded as the lowest temperature silicate minerals with gold, structurally controlled in apparent spatial association with quartz and/or K-feldspar veins. Altered rocks enclosing the mineralized package contain locally abundant talc and tourmaline.
Technical and Environmental Background
Four diamond drill rigs (K3 & K8) from the Arctic Drilling Company OY (“ADC”), Kati OY (“Kati”) and MK Core Drilling OY (“MK”), all with water recirculation and drill cuttings collection systems were used for the drill program. Core diameter is NQ2 (50.7 mm). Core recoveries were excellent and average close to 100% in fresh rock. After photographing and logging in Mawson’s Rovaniemi facilities, core intervals averaging 1 metre for mineralized samples and 2 metres for barren samples were cut in half at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) core facilities in Rovaniemi, Finland. The remaining half core is retained for verification and reference purposes. Analytical samples were transported by Mawson personnel or commercial transport from site to the CRS Minlab Oy facility in Kempele, Finland. Samples were prepared and analyzed for gold using the PAL1000 technique which involves grinding the sample in steel pots with abrasive media in the presence of cyanide, followed by measuring the gold in solution with flame AAS equipment. The QA/QC program of Mawson consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, duplicate samples by quartering the core, and blanks the within interpreted mineralized rock. In addition, CRS inserts blanks and standards into the analytical process.
The qualified person for Mawson’s Finnish projects, Dr. Nick Cook, President for Mawson and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining Metallurgy has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.
Source: Company Press Release
