First 30 Drill Holes All Intersect Gold Mineralized Zones at Eagle Mountain

Eagle Mountain map with historic and planned drill holes

Eagle Mountain map with historic drill holes and planned infill and expansion holes.

Stronghold Metals (Z – $0.35) announced impressive analytical results for 20 additional holes from its ongoing 15,000 metres drill program at the Eagle Mountain gold project in Guyana. Holes intersected mineralized veins with gold values between 0.5 and 9.1 grams per ton and as thick as 24 metres.

In total, ACME Analytical Laboratories Ltd has delivered results from 30 complete holes and 1 partial hole to date, totaling 6,017 metres. It’s very encouraging, and rare, that all these holes intersected gold mineralization of meaningful widths and grades (see table below). Even more intriguing is that 9 of these holes are step out holes, drilled outside the known mineral resource zone. Indicating that Stronghold will most certainly be able to expand its current NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate of 733,500 ounces of gold for Eagle Mountain.

Eagle Mountain Project History

The Eagle Mountain property comprises an area of approximately 5,050 Ha (12,480 acres) in central Guyana, about 200 km southwest of the capital Georgetown.

Since at least 1884, alluvial gold has been exploited in the Eagle Mountain area, from which total production is estimated at over 1 million ounces. Actual exploration work started around 1947, but it was only after Omai Gold Mines Ltd., which became part of IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG) in 2006, acquired the project license that exploration work commenced in full.

In October 2009, an in-house technical report by IAMGOLD produced an Inferred Mineral Resources estimate of 733,500 ounces of gold, based on 197 drill holes, totaling 24,203 metres.

One year later, Stronghold and Omai Gold entered into an Earn-In and Joint Venture Agreement, whereby Stronghold was granted the right to acquire a 95% interest in the Eagle Mountain Property in return for a combination of cash, Stronghold common shares and work expenditures. The remaining 5% of the property is owned by the government of Guyana.

After Stronghold acquired the project license, it authorized A.C.A. Howe International to prepare an independent resource audit of the internal Eagle Mountain mineral resource produced by IAMGOLD in 2009. After reviewing all data, including the drill hole database, visiting the site and reviewing sampling procedures, Howe found IAMGOLD’s resource estimate reasonably accurate and NI 43-101 compliant.

New Drill Program

Mid April 2011, Stronghold commenced a new diamond drilling program designed to increase the size of the gold resource and to move a significant part of that resource from an inferred to an indicated category.

The program has the following objectives:

  • Twin historic holes. This is a technique whereby a hole is drilled in close vicinity of an already existing hole to verify the results of the original hole. In this case, historic holes will be twinned from which there is no or unreliable data to add that gold mineralization to the resource estimate;
  • Infill drilling where not enough drilling has been conducted in the past. This is done both to bring some parts of the property, where they already know there’s gold present, into compliancy and to upgrade the inferred resources to indicated resources;
  • Step out drilling in areas where there hasn’t been drilled before to expand the already known mineralized zone; and
  • Exploration drilling on the other side of Eagle Mountain. Currently, all work has been performed on the north-west side of Eagle Mountain. Alluvial miners, however, have found gold on the other side of the hill (about 100 meters high) as well. So there’s a possibility that the ore zones continue underneath the hill all the way to the other side. If current drilling results actually confirm gold presence there, it moves the Company into another category, as it may double the project’s current resource estimate.

To date, 38 holes have been completed, representing 6,017 meters of diamond drilling. Results from thirty complete holes, including 9 step out holes, and one partial hole have been received from the lab with all of them intersecting gold mineralized veins. These results exceed all projections and expectations.

Conclusion

Drilling 31 holes and hitting gold in every instance is very exceptional. It confirms that Eagle Mountain is rich in gold and that gold veins extend beyond the historically known zones. More results are expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months from the Company’s ongoing 120 holes/15,000 metres drill program.

Currently, Eagle Mountain has a mineral resource estimate of 733,500 ounces of gold. Based on these first 30 holes, it’s safe to say that this estimate will be increased. If you haven’t bought shares of Stronghold yet, the current weakness in the market is an ideal time to do so.

Mr. Yannis Tsitos, the President and CEO of Stronghold Metals, conducted an update audio interview earlier this week. It can be listened to here.

Hole
Number
Area From
(meters)
To
(meters)
Interval
(meters)
Gold Grade
(g/t)
EMD11-44 Kilroy (I) 58.50 88.50 30.00 1.30
EMD11-45 Kilroy (I) 58.50 88.50 6.00 1.00
EMD11-47 Kilroy (I) 58.50 174.00 22.50 1.13
EMD11-48 Kilroy (I) 58.50 99.00 4.50 1.37
EMD11-49 Camp (T) 58.50 112.50 15.00 3.85
EMD11-50 Camp (I) 58.50 67.50 9.00 3.07
EMD11-51 Dead Stop (I) 58.50 70.50 16.50 1.14
EMD11-52 Turtle Pond (I) 58.50 42.00 6.00 1.30
EMD11-53 Turtle Pond (I) 58.50 90.00 10.50 2.45
EMD11-54 Ounce (I) 58.50 97.50 15.00 2.52
EMD11-55 Ounce (I) 58.50 88.50 30.00 1.30
EMD11-56 Ounce (SO) 58.50 88.50 6.00 1.00
EMD11-57 Zion (I) 58.50 174.00 22.50 1.13
EMD11-58 Zion (I) 58.50 99.00 4.50 1.37
EMD11-59 Zion (I) 58.50 112.50 15.00 3.85
EMD11-60 Ounce (T) 58.50 67.50 9.00 3.07
EMD11-61 Ounce (I) 58.50 70.50 16.50 1.14
EMD11-62 Ounce (I) 58.50 42.00 6.00 1.30
EMD11-63 Saddle (SO) 58.50 90.00 10.50 2.45
EMD11-64 Saddle (SO) 58.50 97.50 15.00 2.52
EMD11-65 Saddle (SO) 58.50 88.50 30.00 1.30
EMD11-66 Saddle (SO) 58.50 88.50 6.00 1.00
EMD11-67 Saddle (SO) 58.50 174.00 22.50 1.13
EMD11-68 Saddle (SO) 58.50 99.00 4.50 1.37
EMD11-70 Saddle (SO) 58.50 112.50 15.00 3.85
EMD11-71 Saddle (I) 58.50 67.50 9.00 3.07
EMD11-72 Saddle (SO) 58.50 70.50 16.50 1.14
EMD11-73 Saddle (I) 58.50 42.00 6.00 1.30
EMD11-74 Saddle (I) 58.50 90.00 10.50 2.45
EMD11-75 Zion (I) 58.50 97.50 15.00 2.52
EMD11-76 Zion (I) 58.50 88.50 30.00 1.30
Significant drill intercepts from the first 31 holes received back from the lab (EMD11-74 only partial). Source: Company press releases.
Note 1: (I) = Infill; (SO) = Step Out and (T) = Twinned.
Note 2: Rows with a grey background were announced on August 15th, 2011.
Note 3: The average gold grade of productive open pit mining systems in the Guyana Shield region is between 1.0 and 1.5 g/t Au.

Stay current with what we write about your favorite small cap stock and discover new exciting companies. Sign up for our newsletter now. It’s free!

For important disclosures, please read our disclaimer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.