VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2021 / GATLING EXPLORATION INC. (TSXV:GTR)(OTCQB:GATGF) (the "Company" or "Gatling) is pleased to announce that drilling in Zone 2 at the Fernland deposit has intersected 200.7 m of 1.5 g/t Au, the highest metal factor to date at the Larder gold project in Ontario. Importantly, hole GTR-21-111 was drilled 150 m west of drillhole GTR-20-089, which intersected 170.0 m of 1.5 g/t Au and further contributes to the rapidly growing gold zones at the Fernland deposit. The ongoing 25,000 m program will continue to focus on zone definition drilling before it transitions to testing the connection of mineralized zones at depth.
Jason Billan, President and CEO for Gatling, commented, "Approximately 9,000 m of drilling at Fernland has been completed during the ongoing 25,000 m drill program, yielding consistent grades over long intersections across all three zones, which combine for nearly 1 km in strike length. To date, our exploration team continues to see our Fernland deposit deliver drill results which have exceeded our expectations both from a size as well as grade perspective, laying the groundwork for this deposit to form a near surface component while remaining open at depth. The deeper gold targets will be tested during the remaining 4,500 m at Fernland, as we target high-grade chutes further at depth and plunging south-east towards Cheminis underground infrastructure that is located just 200 m away at a depth of 310 m below surface."
News Highlights
- Drilling is Rapidly Expanding the Mineralized Footprint, Grade and Continuity at Fernland. The Fernland deposit has three main zones - all of which continue to expand in size, grade and continuity. The current program has tested downhole continuity and thicknesses of lenses in each zone (Figure 2 & 3). Results confirm a substantial amount of near surface gold mineralization between Zone 1 and 2. These two zones have a total strike of approximately 550 m with a vertical depth component of 180 m. GTR-21-111 has added both higher grades at surface as well as continuous gold mineralization at depth.
- Strong Near Surface Gold Mineralization within all Three Zones at Fernland. Drilling at Fernland continues to encounter gold mineralization concentrated within the upper 150 m such as 29.0 m of 2.4 g/t Au, 18.1 m of 2.2 g/t Au, and 18.6 m of 4.7 g/t Au. Drillhole GTR-21-111 further substantiates this model intersecting 23.7 m of 6.1 g/t Au starting in the first assayed sample at 3.3 m downhole. The distribution and size of the zones beginning at surface are increasing the likelihood of an excellent starter style deposit at Fernland.
- High-Grade Intervals Within the Widespread Zones. GTR-21-111 has two high-grade zones (Table 1) - both of which line up down plunge with the high-grade gold zones in drillhole GTR-20-89 (Figure 4). This connection between the holes, 150 m apart, gives strong prospectivity for gold mineralization at depth.
Table 1. Drill Hole Highlights
| Hole ID | From
(m) | To
(m) | Length
(m) | Au
(g/t) | Rock Type | Zone |
| GTR-21-111 | 3.3 | 204.0 | 200.7 | 1.5 | Mafics and Ultramafics | Fernland - Zone 2 |
| Including | 3.3 | 27.0 | 23.7 | 6.1 | South Volcanics | Fernland - Zone 2 |
| Including | 159.0 | 163.0 | 4.0 | 11.6 | South Volcanics | Fernland - Zone 2 |
| | | | | | | |
Figure 1. Larder project long section showing the new gold mineralized zones identified from recent drill results and target areas for the 2021 drill campaign.
Figure 2. Geological plan map of the newly defined zones at the Fernland Deposit with multiple mineralized lenses at each zone and recent drill hole traces.
Figure 3. Level plan showing multiple gold zones and gold mineralization from surface down to 100 m below surface at the Fernland deposit.
Figure 4. Fernland long section showing the location of recent drill results, new mineralized zones, and gold contours connecting Fernland mineralization with Cheminis.
About Gatling Exploration
Gatling Exploration is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing the Larder Gold Project, located in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt in Northern Ontario. The Larder property hosts three high-grade gold deposits along the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break, 35 km east of Kirkland Lake. The project is 100% controlled by Gatling and is comprised of patented and unpatented claims, leases and mining licenses of occupation within the McVittie and McGarry Townships. The 3,370 ha project area is positioned 7 km west of the Kerr Addison Mine, which produced 11 million ounces of gold. All parts of the Larder property are accessible by truck or all-terrain vehicles on non-serviced roads and trails.
QA/QC
Drill core is logged and sampled at the Larder Gold project site. Core samples from the program are cut in half, using a diamond cutting saw with half sent for assay at SGS lab in Cochrane, Ontario. The other half is secured and retained on site. All samples are analyzed for gold using standard Fire Assay-AA techniques. Samples returning greater than 5.0 g/t gold are analyzed utilizing standard Fire Assay-Gravimetric methods. Certified reference standards and blanks are routinely inserted into the sample stream as part of Gatling's quality control/quality assurance program.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Nathan Tribble, P. Geo., VP Exploration of Gatling Exploration, and a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Jason Billan, President and CEO
Gatling Exploration Inc.