Athena Gold (CSE:ATHA) has staked an additional 3,939 hectares contiguous to the Forester Project in Ontario, expanding the project by more than 80% to a total of 8,843 hectares.
The newly staked ground covers volcanic rocks within the North Caribou Lake Greenstone Belt and strengthens Athena’s strategic position along strike of Orla Mining’s (NYSE:ORLA) Musselwhite Mine.
By consolidating a larger contiguous package less than 30km southeast of the mine, Athena is better positioned to systematically evaluate banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted high-grade targets and bulk tonnage orogenic gold potential across an expanded, under-explored portion of the proven gold-bearing belt.
Meanwhile at the Laird Lake Project in Ontario, the company has cut and submitted all core from a recently completed maiden drilling program. Athena Gold believes using multiple analytical methods will provide greater confidence in the results, particularly in a region known for coarse-gold occurrences.
Full assay results are anticipated as early as next month.
Further at the Excelsior Springs Project in Nevada, reverse circulation drilling is underway, with a primary focus on drilling at the Blue Dick target. The program, run by Mammoth Minerals (ASX:M79), is designed to test extensions of silver-gold-copper-antimony mineralisation previously reported at surface.
Drilling will also test untested gold zones along the Buster Trend identified through recent geophysical surveys. Preparation of the maiden resource for the Buster Mine zone is continuing, which is expected for completion later this current quarter.
Athena Gold is focused on exploring and acquiring mineral property assets. The company aims to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct additional exploration drilling and studies on its projects across North America.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Athena Gold
