Monthly Summary
We are pleased to end the month of May having just reported one of the best drill intercepts to date in the 45-year history of the Douay project. As we announced last week, hole DO-21-282X at the Nika Zone, which was drilled during our maiden JV Winter 2021 drill program with Agnico, intersected 132 metres of 1.58 g/t gold. This was within a broader mineralized envelope grading 1.28 m over 195 metres equivalent to the length of nearly two American football fields. This new intercept was located more than 60 metres east of the original Nika discovery hole that was drilled by Maple Golds technical team just three years ago. That discovery hole (DO-18-218 intersected 50 metres @ 1.77 g/t Au), along with several additional widely spaced holes, supported a new Nika conceptual pit and contributed 109,000 Inferred ounces (3.6Mt grading 0.94 g/t Au) to our December 2019 resource estimate -- accounting for just 4% of the overall resource. The wider and shallower zone of nearly continuous gold mineralization encountered in this latest hole will allow us to: Improve the grade and quality of the Nika pit-constrained Inferred resource; Expand the Nika resource beyond the current conceptual pit, which bottomed at ~220 metres; Test geological and structural interpretations that link the Nika Zone mineralization to the western part of the Porphyry Zone; and Define high-potential drill targets in sparsely drilled areas both within and beyond the current >1 km strike extent of the Nika Zone, including deepening several previously drilled holes that we now know were too shallow. With the Nika Zone still open in multiple directions, results like this underscore the upside that remains within our 6 km by 2 km resource area, not to mention the broader regional potential across the entire Douay land package. The results also demonstrate what a collaborative approach to exploration with one of the best technical teams in the business can uncover. Our strong partnership with Agnico is returning early dividends this latest hole at Nika is a stellar follow up to the positive results from the first hole of the Winter 2021 program, which was drilled at the 531 Zone and returned 15 m of 3.8 g/t Au and 5 m of 2.98 g/t Au. With 20 more holes from the drill campaign still to be released, as well as pending results from the JVs data digitization and 3D modeling work at Joutel, we should continue to see steady news flow this summer. Other highlights from the month: Michael Gray of Agentis Capital initiated research coverage on Maple Gold on May 18. Mr. Gray was previously the Head of Canadian Mining Equity Research at Macquarie and is consistently ranked as one of the top mining research analysts in the industry. To access the report, please see the analyst coverage section below. The JV completed Phase I of digitization work on approximately 250,000 metres of historical drilling data at the Joutel Project. We are now into Phase II of the process, where 3D modelling work is expected to identify remaining mineralization at the past-producing Telbel mine as well as new drill targets to guide upcoming drill campaigns. Visual Capitalist released an excellent Infographic on the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, highlighting its rich history, current mining activity and future exploration potential and what makes it one of the best places to look for gold in the world. You can view the full infographic below this message. As always, I would like to thank you for your interest in, and support of, the Maple Gold story. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us through our IR department or our Social Media channels. It feels like we are just getting started and we will have more exciting news to share with you in the coming weeks and months!