Canada-focused Ardiden is set to shift its exploration efforts into higher gear at its Pickle Lake gold project in Ontario. The company is eyeing a maiden drilling campaign at the Esker prospect near Barrick Gold Corp’s historical Golden Patricia gold mine which produced more than 600,000 ounces of gold. Previous drill intercepts at Esker include 12.03m at 3.2 grams per tonne gold.
Pickle Lake lies some 180km east of the 30-million-ounce Red Lake gold-producing district.
Ardiden has identified 22 gold deposits and prospects across its 870 sq.km tenure including the 110,000-ounce Kasagiminnis deposit going at 4.3 grams per tonne gold.
The project tenure is divided into three separate geographical hubs, namely the Western Hub, Southern Hub and the Eastern Hub that hosts Kasagiminnis.
Ardiden is currently focused on the Western Hub where it is targeting new discoveries along 50km of strike of the Bear Head fault zone.
The company has conducted a geophysical survey covering the entire Western Hub which in conjunction with geological and structural interpretations has steered Ardiden to plot drilling campaigns along the fault.
Ardiden’s immediate focus at the Western Hub is the Esker prospect where a maiden drilling campaign is on the cards once the required First Nation Agreements are secured.
Management says Esker lies along a regional-scale structure that also hosts Barrick Gold’s historical Golden Patricia mine about 4km away.
Between 1985 and 1997 more than 600,000 ounces of gold were produced at Golden Patricia at a bumper grade of 15.2 grams per tonne gold.
Past drilling at Esker has also returned significant hits over a 3km under-explored structure associated with the Bear Head fault zone, including 12.03m at 3.2 g/t gold and 5.35m at 3.1 g/t gold.
To the north-west of Esker bonanza grade intercepts of 0.5m at 472.8 g/t from 184m and 0.44m at 153.5 g/t gold from 111m were previously reported.
Management says the Western Hub shows geological similarities to the Dixie gold project 25km south-east of Red Lake that is currently being drilled out by Toronto-listed Great Bear Resources.
Dixie has been widely reported as one of North America’s best new gold discoveries with four gold zones drilled to date along 4km of the LP fault, forming part of a broader 18km target. Recent intercepts include 2.3m at 50.05 g/t gold, 1.1m at 29.52 g/t gold and 49.25m at 2.1 g/t gold.
Both the LP fault and the Bear Head fault lie within the same greenstone belt.
Meanwhile at the Eastern Hub winter drilling at Kasagiminnis was cut short due to warm weather forcing the rig off the frozen lake.
Four holes hit gold mineralisation including 4m at 2.3 g/t gold from 147m, 1m at 3.49 g/t gold from 118m and 1m at 3.95 gold from 112m.
The strike extension to the east of the deposit remains untested and will be followed up in the next Canadian winter.
In the coming months Ardiden also plans to drill-test the two most prospective iron formations at the South Limb prospect, also located at the Eastern Hub.
About 1km away in an adjoining permit gold major Newmont Corporation produced more than 250,000 ounces at 6.6 g/t gold between 1987 and 1993 from underground operations at the historical Dona Lake gold mine.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
