Exciting Results from Geophysical Surveying at Renforth’s Surimeau Property
Despite snow cover during the winter months at Renforth Resources’ (CA:RFR – $0.07 & US:RFHRF – $0.06 & GER:9RR – €0.04) 100% owned Surimeau property, the Company was not sitting idle. An expansive geophysical survey was completed in March utilizing an airborne drone to target a large portion of the property. The entire Victoria West structural corridor was the main focus of this program. Electromagnetic (EM) and Magnetic (mag) sensors were deployed in the data collection.
As with most considerations involving Surimeau, the scope of this geophysical program was enormous. Renforth ordered the broad survey over the full target area extending more than 20km laterally, plus a chunk of several kilometers to the north to cover a portion of the LaLonde target. The closely spaced flight pattern to capture this data extended for a combined linear distance of roughly 935 kilometers.
Renforth is continuing with planning for the next drilling program along the Victoria West structural corridor. Interpretation of the survey data may generate an immediate benefit if targets selected lead to new discoveries. The start of the next round of drilling may be underway as early as next month. Timing will depend on how quickly the snow cover melts to allow access to the interior of the property.
Prior to commencing drilling work, Renforth is also planning to complete additional prospecting in the vicinity of EM anomalies defined by the survey. There are also pegmatite showings that will be sampled to investigate the potential for lithium, which is another battery metal that is currently in high demand. If the preliminary fieldwork yields positive lithium values, this potential could develop into yet another driver of resource value at Surimeau.
Analysis of Geophysical Data Expected to Generate New Exploration Targets
The completion of a detailed aerial geophysical survey is one of the most cost-effective exploration techniques available for a larger property. Consider time and expense involved with drilling efforts at Victoria West so far. This work confirmed a broad zone of continuous mineralization along several kilometers of the structure last year.
Drill core data is essential for validation of a compliant resource and eventually there may be many tens of thousands of meters of drilling involved to further define the system along strike and to depth. However, the geophysical survey is able to provide data for a much larger segment of the property within days. This data can provide greater confidence to select the next round of drilling targets.
EM survey technology enables interpretation of underlying geological structures down to about 50m below surface. Data generated from this portion of the program effectively outlines the ultramafic rock unit hosting nickel sulphide alteration. Initial review of this data has confirmed EM anomalies throughout the length of the structure.
Meanwhile the mag survey is more effective to illuminate VMS systems. The company has already encountered VMS mineralization bearing enriched based metals content including copper and zinc. It is very encouraging then that the entire Victoria West structure is also clearly delineated by the mag signature. Differing rock units often generate mag highs or lows signatures. The variance of mag anomalies generated between sections can be interpreted as another targeting vector.
Comparison of mineralization observed through surface samples and drill core calibrates the geophysical signature where these anomalies are indicated. New areas for investigation further along the system may then be highlighted where similar geophysical anomalies are outlined. The survey appears to confirm that as work continues, more of the interwoven ultramafic and VMS systems will be encountered.
Confidence Builds for LaLonde Target Area Potential
It is certainly promising that the technology outlines greater potential for Victoria West. This target has been the focus so far for Renforth. With every round of exploration completed, project geologists learn more about how the structural geology is related to the endowment of mineralization. Expectations remain very positive therefore for the untested targets elsewhere at Surimeau, given that more than 50kms of structural corridors have been interpreted so far at 6 distinct target areas.
The survey data also highlights strong discovery potential for the LaLonde target. Historical drilling work completed by a previous operator encountered copper and other base metals at LaLonde. However, the discovery was not followed up beyond this small cluster of drill cores. Renforth believes there is a similar system in this area to what has been outlined so far at Victoria West. The Company directed the EM survey to include a much wider area around the historic drilling zone, covering roughly 2.2km of strike length of the LaLonde target.
The data from this portion of the survey illuminates attractive targets extending far beyond the zone from the historic drilling work. A pattern of magnetic highs in close proximity to EM anomalies was observed, suggesting that ultramafic and VMS style systems may be present. This may ultimately lead to the discovery of additional near surface mineralization at LaLonde to build on the emerging deposit at Victoria West. The option to run additional geophysical surveys to cover other portions of the property area later may prove to be even more powerful as this first round is analyzed and validated through results in the field.
Conclusion
Analysis of the geophysical survey results provide a very encouraging outlook as exploration resumes at Surimeau. The structural corridor extending from Victoria West through to the Colonie target is clearly defined in both EM and mag survey data. This suggests that similar attractive zones of ultramafic and VMS style mineralization will continue to be encountered further along the system. And the untested targets further to the north at LaLonde now appear to have greater appeal as the same geophysical signature was illuminated to confirm the historical drill data.
The added incentive for a possible lithium discovery hosted in pegmatites outcropping on the property is another catalyst to build discovery value. Combined with leverage to important battery metals such as nickel and copper, the overall resource endowment of Surimeau is enormously attractive. The market value of these critical metals is trending higher and this too will likely attract more speculative interest towards Renforth as discovery success is achieved.
Renforth has delivered superb results during the last couple of years at Surimeau and Parbec. The innovative approach to utilize effective techniques to advance exploration has been a part of that success. Modern aerial drone surveying technology employed at Surimeau may provide a key analytical breakthrough. With so much untested property area remaining to be explored, the option to highlight important structural targets using EM and mag sensing represents a powerful strategic advantage as work resumes in the field. Smallcaps Recommendation: BUY.
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