VANCOUVER, Nov. 13, 2017 /CNW/ - Eldorado Gold Corporation ("Eldorado" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Company's exploration activities completed to date in 2017. Highlights from the period include:
- Lamaque resource upgrade and resource expansion drilling: over 31,000 metres of drilling at the Triangle deposit completed since the July acquisition of Integra Gold Corporation ("Integra"). Drilling has affirmed the quality of the current resource and highlights the upside potential of the Lamaque project, including intercepts from the C7 zone of 25.44 grams per tonne (g/t) Au over 3.5 metres and 7.47 g/t Au over 4.4 metres.
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Peter Lewis, Eldorado's Vice President, Exploration stated, "The results to date from the 2017 exploration programs reflect the quality of both our brownfields programs and new projects, and bode well for extending the life of our current operations while strengthening our internal growth pipeline. We are particularly pleased by the strong results from the Lamaque project, where we have identified high-grade vein intercepts outside of the previously defined resources, and we look forward to expanding our exploration programs to new targets on the property."
Presented below are project updates for several of the principal 2017 exploration programs. Summary tables of drillhole intercepts from these programs are included in Appendix 1, including estimates of true thicknesses of mineralized zones and cuts of high-grade assays where appropriate.
Lamaque Project, Canada
On July 10, 2017, Eldorado completed the acquisition of Integra and its flagship Lamaque project in Val d'Or, Quebec. Eldorado continued the 2017 drilling program initiated by Integra with over 80,000 metres drilled year to date on the Triangle deposit, Plug 4, and Lamaque deep targets.
Six surface drill rigs are currently active at the Triangle deposit, where we have drilled over 31,000 metres since July. A majority of the drilling consisted of resource conversion holes targeting the upper parts of the C2 and C4 zones, and definition drillholes within the C2 bulk sample area. To date, the C2 bulk sample program has included development on four levels (Figure 1) from which 20,992 tonnes have been processed at the Camflo mill. The definition drilling, underground mapping of the C2 zone, and average head grade for the processed material (7.10 g/t Au) all confirm the validity of the geological and resource models. Au recovery from the processed material has been 95.52%.
The remaining resource expansion holes targeted extensions of the main C zones and their splays. This drilling has locally expanded the limits of the C2, C4, and C5 zones and both extended and confirmed the continuity of high-grade splays associated with the main C zones. These zones were not included in the previous Integra resource model.
Notable intercepts of these splays include:
- 9.57 g/t Au over 7.14 metres true thickness in hole TM-16-180AW03M01 (C3 splay)
- 7.30 g/t Au over 4.56 metres true thickness in hole TM-16-114BW01M02 (C4 splay)
- 8.08 g/t Au (capped at 30 g/t Au) over 4.62 metres true thickness in hole TM-16-180AW02 (C4 splay).
At deeper levels, new intercepts correlated with the C5, C6, C7, and previously unrecognized deeper zones demonstrate the significant upside potential of the Triangle deposit beyond the existing resource areas. Examples include:
- 11.83 g/t Au (capped at 30 g/t Au) over 3.50 metres true thickness in hole TM-15-037W02M02 (C7)
- 7.77 g/t Au (capped at 30 g/t Au) over 6.88 metres true thickness in hole TM-15-032W02 (C6)
- 10.62 g/t Au (capped at 30 g/t Au) over 6.02 metres true thickness in hole TM-15-032 (C6 Splay)
- 7.49 g/t Au over 7.10 metres true thickness in hole TM-15-032W01M03 (new zone)
Drilling is now shifting to focus on other targets within the Lamaque project area. The Company expects to drill approximately 15,000 metres for the remainder of the year.