Noront provides drill program update on McFaulds Property in ring of fire
Location of 2017 McFaulds drill holes and BHEM conductors. — Photo courtesy Noront Resources
TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront”) (TSX Venture:NOT) is pleased to provide an update on the copper-zinc focused drill program at its 85% owned McFaulds property in the Ring of Fire.
The three-hole program—totaling 1,387 metres—was completed in early September. The most notable results were from drill hole MCF-17-88 which intersected 18 metres of anomalous copper-zinc mineralization, including 9.0 metres grading 2.0% copper, 3.6% zinc and 7.8 grams per tonne silver from 557.3 to 566.3 metres down hole. This intersection is located northeast and approximately 175 metres into the footwall of the McFaulds No.3 deposit (see Figure 1 for location) and is believed to represent a new volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralized horizon (not intersected in historic drilling) which has been named McFaulds No.8.
The intersection is hosted within chlorite altered volcaniclastics and consists of a zinc-rich upper zone (6.5 metres wide), a copper and zinc rich main zone (9 metres wide) and a zinc-rich lower zone (1.5 metres wide). The mineralization is underlain by extensive chlorite alteration which continues to the end of hole at 610 metres. Drill hole MCF-17-88 was targeted after a bore-hole electromagnetic (EM) survey was completed in August on historic drill holes in the vicinity of McFaulds No.3. The survey identified several conductive plates, including a 5,500 siemens off-hole anomaly not detected in any historic airborne EM surveys. It measures 300 metres deep by 60 metres wide, and begins at 300 metres depth which was the target for MCF-17-88. Another highly conductive off-hole anomaly (4,100 siemens) was identified in an historic hole drilled approximately half way between the McFaulds No.3 and No.1 deposits. It remains to be tested.
The discovery of a new copper-zinc horizon and the identification of a strong geophysical anomaly opens up the entire two-kilometre corridor between McFaulds No.1 and No.3 to future exploration. It is Noront’s vision to build upon the existing outlined resources in this area to support a one million tonne per year centralized milling operation. “We believe there are additional untested copper-zinc horizons at McFaulds which could host significant mineralization,” said Noront Vice President, Exploration Ryan Weston. “This represents an exciting new discovery for us in the Ring of Fire.”
Crews are being organized for a follow-up drill program at McFaulds No.8. In addition, geophysical contractors will conduct a more extensive bore-hole EM program in the vicinity of known VMS occurrences with the aim of identifying additional untested conductors at depth.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) Program
Noront maintains a strict QA/QC protocol for all its drilling programs. Core logging and sampling is performed on-site under the supervision of geologists licensed by the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO). Reference standards, field blanks, and duplicates are inserted into the sample stream at regular intervals. Once cut, drill core samples are labelled and sealed in individual bags then grouped into batches for shipping to Thunder Bay via Nakina under chain of custody documentation.
Samples are submitted to Activation Laboratories (Actlabs), an ISO-17025 certified laboratory in Thunder Bay, for sample preparation and multi-element analysis. This includes fire-assay for precious metals and total-digestion ICP-OES for base metals (exclusive of chromium which is analysed by XRF). Samples exceeding analytical upper limits are automatically run for over-limit analysis. Analytical results are sent electronically by Actlabs to a database manager at Noront whereupon the company’s internal standards, duplicates and blanks are reviewed for accuracy, precision and the presence of possible contamination. QA/QC results for each batch are reviewed by a Noront Qualified Professional prior to accepting and importing new assays into the database. All assays reported in this press release passed the Noront QA/QC program.
About Noront Resources
Noront Resources Ltd. is focused on development of its high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit and the world class chromite deposits including Blackbird, Black Thor, and Big Daddy, all of which are located in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario in an emerging metals camp known as the Ring of Fire. www.norontresources.com
Ryan Weston, Noront Vice President, Exploration M.Sc., MBA, P.Geo and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI-43-101”) has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this press release.
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