Matador Mining (ASX:MZZ) has identified several new diamond drilling targets designed to support the discovery of stand-alone gold deposits at the Cape Ray Project in Newfoundland, Canada.
Plans are currently being finalised to test these targets, located at the project’s Central Zone, with the first phase of diamond drilling expected to begin in the coming weeks. Phase two will begin later in the Canadian summer.
Recently, Matador, which has a market capitalisation of $34.63 million, processed five of nine geotechnical holes drilled at the Central Zone in 2022. The holes were completed to support pit wall optimisation work at the Central Zone but were never sampled.
Reinterpretation efforts, however, revealed a significant zone of mineralisation, with results up to 11m @ 2.39 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
conducted a comprehensive structural review and an updated resource estimate, which resulted in identifying prospective down-plunge extension targets at Central Zone.
CEO Sam Pazuki says a considerable amount of data has been collected from the Central Zone and Window Glass Hill deposits at the Cape Ray Project over the last two decades.
“Over the past 15 months, in particular, the company has undertaken comprehensive analysis on the vast quantities of data collected historically, by other companies and by Matador, to better understand the structural and geological controls, test old and new geological theories, and develop new and innovative geological models,” Pazuki explains.
“What we also found was that nearly all previous exploration work was primarily within the deposits, which do remain open along strike and at depth. The previous exploration activities in the resource corridor neglected kilometres of strike from the deposits, never tested the foot- or hanging-wall zones, nor drilled many holes deeper than 200m below the surface.”
To assist in further target generation, the company has planned an electromagnetic survey to be carried out later in the Canadian summer.
The survey will help detect a key graphitic schist horizon within the Windsor Point Group. Matador says this horizon is considered a favourable rheological and geochemical unit that hosts most of the Central Zone’s mineral resources.
Matador is also conducting a comprehensive targeting workshop, led by structural expert Brett Davis, and will include company personnel including Chairman Justin Osborne and B2Gold geologists.
The Cape Ray Project covers 120km of strike along the highly prospective, yet under-explored Cape Ray Shear in Newfoundland, Canada. The project hosts a resource of 837,000 ounces of gold at 2g/t gold across four deposits.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Matador Mining
