Finex Metals (TSX-V:FNX) has commenced diamond drilling at its 100% owned, royalty-free Kero Gold Project in northern Finland, located 15km southeast of Agnico Eagle’s (NYSE:AEM) Kittila gold mine.
The program comprises 2,000m of diamond core drilling and 600 top-of-bedrock samples across three priority target areas.
Finex aims to test the geometry and continuity of gold-bearing structures associated with historical drill results, including 9.05m @ 1.95 grams per tonne gold (Au) from 142.5m, including 1.05m @ 12.60g/t Au.
The company reinterpreted historical drilling and geophysical data, concluding that most previous drilling by the Geological Survey of Finland was oriented subparallel to the main gold-bearing structures. The current program uses revised azimuths intended to intersect these structures more effectively.
Chairman and CEO Tero Kosonen says this program is the “first systematic drill campaign” on the project to apply Finex’s revised geological interpretation.
“[Drilling] is designed to test zones of historical gold mineralisation and several exciting new targets,” Kosonen says.
Target area A will test mineralisation discovered in a trench where continuous channel sampling returned 6.20m @ 7.50g/t Au. Five drill holes have been planned, including stepout holes to test lateral continuity of the gold-bearing structure.
Meanwhile, target area B focuses on historical intercepts, including 1m @ 2.37g/t Au and 1m @ 1.89g/t Au, with associated arsenic-bismuth-antimony-tellurium pathfinder signatures. Two 200m drill holes will test this area.
Finally, target area C comprises three 200m drill holes testing an undrilled geophysical-structural target within a magnetic anomaly. Chief Geologist Dr Petri Peltonen notes the project sits within a regional structural corridor that may parallel the Kiistala shear zone hosting the Kittila mine.
“This places Kero in a favourable structural position between two regionally significant mineralised shear systems, within a complex deformation corridor known to have focused major gold systems elsewhere along strike,” Peltonen says.
The Kero Project is strategically positioned in the Central Lapland greenstone belt, 20km northwest of the multimillion-ounce Ikkari gold deposit acquired by Agnico Eagle through its purchase of Rupert Resources.
Finex received the exploration licence for Kero in February.
Finex Metals is an explorer focused on advancing gold, nickel, and platinum group element projects in northern Finland.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au
