THUNDER BAY – MINING – Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront”) (TSX Venture: NOT) is providing an update on the summer exploration program at its 85% owned McFaulds volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) property in the Ring of Fire.
The 6-hole 3,033-metre copper-zinc focused program was completed in August and includes the drilling of holes MCF-18-93 through MCF-18-98, supplemented with surface and borehole electromagnetic (EM) surveys performed by Crone Geophysics.
Hole MCF-18-98 intersected 26.4 metres of massive sulfide grading 2.1% copper, 3.4% zinc, 5.5 grams per tonne silver and 0.2 grams per tonne gold from 707.3 metres downhole.
Drilled 155 metres down-dip of discovery hole MCF-17-88, the estimated true width of this intersection is 20 metres (See Figure 1). Copper mineralization occurs throughout but is richest towards the base of the massive sulfides (2.0 metres of 8.9% copper and 11.4% zinc) and is immediately underlain by high-grade zinc mineralization (3.5 metres of 14.2% zinc). A narrow zone of intense footwall chlorite alteration also underlies the mineralization suggesting the hole may yet be on the edge of the VMS hydrothermal system.
Bore-hole EM surveying identified a significant in-hole conductor which continues for several hundred meters below the current intersection (See Figure 2). A 20,000 siemens conductive plate 100 metres wide by 626 metres long was modelled from all bore-hole survey data to date.
“MCF-18-98 is our most aggressive step-out drill hole to date and represents the thickest and highest-grade intersection of sulfide mineralization at McFaulds No.8,” says Noront Vice-President Exploration, Ryan Weston. “These results, along with incredibly strong bore-hole response vectoring further down-dip has us very excited about testing the continuity of this high-grade zone at depth.”
“The new intersection in MCF-18-98 elevates the potential for McFaulds No.8 to be a significant copper-zinc deposit in the Ring of Fire. It also further validates our exploration approach over the past two years which involved looking beyond the depths of traditional airborne EM systems in our search for quality deposits to add to Noront’s project pipeline,” says Chief Development Officer Stephen Flewelling.
Hole MCF-18-96 drilled 45 metres down-dip from discovery hole MCF-17-88 intersected 11.5 metres of massive sulfides including 8.5 metres of 1.9% copper, 2.0% zinc, 6.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.3 grams per tonne gold, indicating excellent continuity of geology and grade at McFaulds No.8.
In addition to the significant results of MCF-18-96 and MCF-18-98, the drilling program also tested continuity of the McFaulds No. 10 zinc-rich horizon discovered during the 2017-18 winter drill program. Both MCF-18-93 and MCF-18-94 intersected 1-2 metre-wide horizons of high-grade zinc mineralization within a broader zone of low-grade zinc-silver mineralization with strong chlorite alteration. These holes were drilled 60 metres along strike and 65 metres up dip, respectively, of MCF-18-92. The continuity of alteration and broad zinc-silver mineralization is encouraging and indicates that the most productive portion of this new zone may be located further to the northeast.
Results of the summer drilling program are summarized in Table 1 below.
| Table 1 McFaulds VMS Drill Hole Summary Results |
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| Drill Hole | Zone | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Cu (%) | Zn (%) | Ag (g/t) | Au (g/t) |
| MCF-18-93 | MCF No.10 | 349.0 | 362.4 | 13.4 | – | 2.1 | 6.6 | – |
| including | 350.5 | 351.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 21.2 | 17.8 | – | |
| MCF-18-94 | MCF No.10 | 387.0 | 409.0 | 22.0 | – | 1.6 | 8.1 | – |
| including | 394.5 | 396.5 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 7.9 | 10.5 | – | |
| MCF-18-95 | MCF No.8 | 388.1 | 391.1 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 5.3 | 1.7 | – |
| MCF-18-96 | MCF No.8 | 614.0 | 622.5 | 8.5 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 0.3 |
| incl. Zn-rich base | 618.8 | 622.5 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 7.5 | 0.3 | |
| MCF-17-97 | (hole terminated at 186 m due to excessive lift) | |||||||
| MCF-17-98 | MCF No.8 deposit | 707.3 | 733.8 | 26.4 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 5.5 | 0.2 |
| incl. Cu-rich main zone | 711.0 | 727.7 | 16.7 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 7.3 | 0.3 | |
| incl. high-grade Cu base | 725.7 | 727.7 | 2.0 | 8.9 | 11.4 | 19.8 | 0.5 | |
| incl. Zn-rich main zone | 724.7 | 733.8 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 9.7 | 6.7 | 0.2 | |
| incl. high-grade Zn base | 730.3 | 733.8 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 14.2 | 3.5 | 0.1 | |
In conjunction with the summer drill program, Noront completed three ground EM surveys over the McFaulds No.8, No.10 and No.9 areas totalling 29 line-kilometres. The purpose was to test for deep sulfide mineralization (more than 200 metres in depth) along strike of known mineralization at depth. No new conductors were identified and, the exploration team is evaluating alternate geophysical methods to test below 300 metres deep, given the continued success of the McFaulds deep drilling program. Follow-up work is currently being planned.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) Program
Noront maintains a strict QA/QC protocol for all its drilling programs. Core logging and sampling is performed on-site under the supervision of geologists licensed by the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO). Reference standards, field blanks, and duplicates are inserted into the sample stream at regular intervals. Once cut, drill core samples are labelled and sealed in individual bags then grouped into batches for shipping to Thunder Bay via Nakina under chain of custody documentation.
Samples are submitted to Activation Laboratories (Actlabs), an ISO-17025 certified laboratory in Thunder Bay, for sample preparation and multi-element analysis. This includes fire-assay for precious metals and total-digestion ICP-OES for base metals (exclusive of chromium which is analysed by XRF). Samples exceeding analytical upper limits are automatically run for over-limit analysis. Analytical results are sent electronically by Actlabs to a database manager at Noront whereupon the company’s internal standards, duplicates and blanks are reviewed for accuracy, precision and the presence of possible contamination. QA/QC results for each batch are reviewed by a Noront Qualified Professional prior to accepting and importing new assays into the database. All assays reported in this press release passed the Noront QA/QC program.
About Noront Resources
Noront Resources Ltd. is focused on development of its high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit and the world-class chromite deposits including Blackbird, Black Thor, and Big Daddy, all of which are located in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario in an emerging metals camp known as the Ring of Fire. www.norontresources.com
Ryan Weston P.Geo., Noront Vice President Exploration and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI-43-101”) has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this press release.
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