First Class Metals PLC (“First Class Metals”, “FCM” or the “Company”) the UK listed company focused on the discovery of economic metal deposits across its exploration properties in Ontario, Canada, is pleased to provide an update on the ongoing drilling programme at the Roy prospect on the Sunbeam Property, where drilling has intersected a broad mineralised structure and visible gold has now been identified within drill core.
Highlights
- Visible gold (‘VG’) has been observed in core from one of the drilled holes
- Drilling is ongoing with all holes to date intersecting the (mineralised) ‘package’
- Currently the strike of the drilled structure is over 250m
- Emerald Geological Services remain on site supervising all aspects of the drilling.
- Drilling programme nearing completion with further results expected shortly
Marc J. Sale CEO, First Class Metals, Commented:
“The drilling at Roy is progressing satisfactorily with all holes intersecting a sulphide bearing, potentially mineralised ‘package’ of deformed and quartz veined chloritic schist and altered tonalite. This package has a true width of several metres. The identification of visible gold is a huge uplift for the exploration team. This vindicates the enthusiasm demonstrated over the Roy prospect by FCM and EGS. In my experience, visible gold identifiable to the naked eye within drill core is often associated with potentially high gold grades, I would anticipate the assay being in the order of an ounce, depending on the length of core in that sample.”
Roy structure
The lineament that the Roy occurrence / development is located on is a district scale structure and has now been traced through historic work and EGS prospecting towards the 111ppb lake sediment sample some 5km northeast along strike of the mine shaft. The structure also hosts historic shafts B43 and B45, which further enhances the potential (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 illustrating the soil (VLF) grid and locations of historic shafts, including Roy.
Drilling
The planned 1,000 metre diamond drilling programme is nearing completion.
Drilling to date has consistently intersected the targeted mineralised package (see Figure 2), which comprises altered tonalite and deformed chloritic schist with quartz veining and sulphide mineralisation. Based on current drilling, the structure has now been traced over more than 250 metres of strike, and could extend beyond 350 metres once the final holes of the programme are completed.
The consistent intersection of this mineralised package across multiple drill holes provides encouraging evidence of structural continuity within the Roy prospect.
Figure 2 boxes of core from a drill hole drilled on the new azimuth of 110o, showing the potentially mineralised ‘package’ of altered (variously quartz veined) tonalite on the margins of deformed chloritic schist containing / alternating with quartz veins and veinlets.
The observation of visible gold in the core is considered extremely significant, (see Figure 3). The gold grains and micro veins are scattered throughout a small area of the quartz vein. There are several, possibly 5, distinct areas in the core sample that have gold grains (see Figures 4-8).
Figure 3 showing visible gold grain in one quartz vein.
The gold is intimately associated with a lead mineral, galena, which appears a slightly metallic grey in the images.
This association could prove valuable as a pathfinder going forward in expanding the soil sampling grid.
Figure 4 showing visible gold grains in one area of the quartz vein.
Figure 5 showing visible gold grains in another area of the quartz vein.
Figure 6 showing visible gold in separate area of the quartz vein.
Figure 7 showing visible gold grains in a separate but associated area of the quartz vein.
Figure 8 showing visible gold grains in another area of the quartz vein.
EGS has a portable XRF machine and it ‘analysed / probed’ a very small area of the core including an area of the gold grains and galena. The machine repeatedly confirmed the presence of both gold and lead, conforming beyond doubt that the visually identified gold is indeed gold.
The EGS team will now have a renewed diligence in looking for further evidence of visible gold in other core samples from the mineralised package.
Qualified Person
The technical disclosures contained in this announcement have been drafted in line with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards and guidelines and approved by Marc J. Sale, who has more than 30 years in the gold exploration industry and is considered a Qualified Person owing to his status as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Glossary of Technical Terms
|
Term |
Definition |
|
Au |
Chemical symbol for gold. |
|
Assay |
Laboratory analysis used to determine the concentration of metals within a rock sample. |
|
Diamond Drilling |
A drilling method that uses a diamond-tipped drill bit to recover a cylindrical core of rock for geological examination. |
|
Drill Core |
Cylindrical sections of rock recovered during drilling which allow geologists to examine rock types and mineralisation. |
|
Galena |
A lead sulphide mineral (PbS) that can occur in hydrothermal mineralised systems and may be associated with gold mineralisation. |
|
Mineralisation / Mineralised |
The presence of economically important minerals within a rock formation. |
|
Mineralised Structure |
A geological feature such as a fault, shear zone, or vein system that hosts mineralisation. |
|
Outcrop |
Exposure of bedrock at the Earth’s surface. |
|
Quartz Vein |
A vein composed primarily of quartz that forms when mineral-rich fluids fill fractures in rock; these veins can host gold mineralisation. |
|
Strike |
The length or horizontal direction of a geological structure or mineralised zone. |
|
Sulphide Minerals |
Minerals containing sulphur combined with metals such as iron, lead, or copper; commonly associated with gold deposits. |
|
Visible Gold |
Gold that can be observed with the naked eye within a rock sample or drill core. |
|
XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) |
A non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of rocks and minerals. |
For Further Information:
Engage with us by asking questions, watching video summaries, and seeing what other shareholders have to say. Navigate to our Interactive Investor hub here:
https:www.firstclassmetalsplc.com
For further information, please contact:
James Knowles, Executive Chair
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07488 362641
Marc J Sale, CEO
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07711 093532
AlbR Capital Limited
David Coffman / Dan Harris
Website: www.albrcapital.com
Tel: (0)20 7469 0930
Axis Capital Markets (Broker)
Lewis Jones
Website: Axcap247.com
Tel: (0)203 026 0449
First Class Metals PLC – Background
First Class Metals listed on the LSE in July 2022 and is focused on metals exploration in Ontario, Canada which has a robust and thriving junior mineral exploration sector. In particular, the Hemlo ‘camp’ near Marathon, Ontario is a proven world class address for gold exploration, featuring the Hemlo gold deposit owned by Hemlo Mining Corp., (>23M oz gold produced), with the past producing Geco and Winston Lake base metal deposits also situated in the region.
FCM currently holds 100% ownership of seven claim blocks covering over 250km² in northwest Ontario. A further three blocks are under option and cover an additional 30km2.FCM is focussed on exploring for gold but has base metals and critical metals mineralisation. FCM is maintaining a joint venture with GT Resources on the West Pickle Lake Property a drill-proven ultra-high-grade Ni-Cu project.
The flagship properties, North Hemlo and Sunbeam, are gold focussed. North Hemlo has a significant discovery in the Dead Otter trend which is a discontinuous 3.5km gold anomalous trend with a 19.6g/t Au peak grab sample. This sampling being the highest known assay from a grab sample ever recorded on the North Limb of Hemlo.
In October 2022 FCM completed the option to purchase the historical high-grade past-producing Sunbeam gold mine near Atikokan, Ontario, ~15 km southeast of Agnico Eagle’s Hammond Reef gold deposit (3.3 Moz of open pit probable gold reserves).
FCM acquired the Zigzag Project near Armstrong, Ontario in March 2023. The property features Li-Ta-bearing pegmatites in the same belt as Green Technology Metals’ Seymour Lake Project, which contains a Mineral Resource estimate of 9.9 Mt @ 1.04% Li2O. Zigzag was successfully drilled prior to Christmas 2023 and results have now been released.
The Kerrs Gold property, acquired under option by First Class Metals in April 2024, is located in northeastern Ontario within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, one of the world’s most prolific gold-producing regions. The project holds a historical inferred resource of approximately 386,000 ounces of gold, underscoring its potential as a meaningful addition to FCM’s expanding gold portfolio. Kerrs Gold complements the Company’s exploration strategy and provides exposure to a well-established mining district. FCM is currently reviewing plans to advance the project and further unlock its value.
The significant potential of the properties for precious, base and battery metals relates to ‘nearology’, since all properties lie in the same districts as known deposits (Hemlo, Hammond Reef, Seymour Lake), and either contain known showings, geochemical or geophysical anomalies, or favourable structures along strike from known showings (e.g. the Esa project, with an inferred Hemlo-style shear along strike from known gold occurrences).
For further information see the Company’s presentation on the web site:
www.firstclassmetalsplc.com
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements which are based on the Company’s expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as ‘aim’, ‘anticipate’, ‘target’, ‘expect’, ‘estimate’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘goal’, ‘believe’, or other words of similar meaning. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source
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