The Canadian mining stock on the verge of a breakout

Gold companies are back in focus as investors watch the commodities’ price rise, up 11 per cent this year, on track to return to US$2,000 per ounce.

Natural resources have also gathered investor interest, especially given their role in powering our industries, fuelling economic growth, and shaping the future of our ever-evolving world.

SLAM Exploration (TSXV:SXL) is a dynamic and innovative mineral exploration company and project generator that has a compelling investment case tied to both of these stories.

This article delves into SLAM Exploration’s journey, highlighting its commitment to resource exploration, cutting-edge technologies, and sustainable practices.

As a project generator, the company has been quite successful as far as getting partners at the early stage of projects.

With a portfolio of gold, silver, base metal, and rare earth element properties, this company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of exploration and evaluation properties in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario.

Exploration excellence

With a strong focus on mineral exploration in North America, SLAM utilizes extensive geological knowledge and advanced exploration techniques to identify and develop promising prospects.

The company has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the mining industry, having discovered several high-quality deposits contributing to the expansion of its mineral resources.

The Shadow Lake Gold Project

The Shadow Lake gold project is 30 kilometres west of Saint John, New Brunswick. The property is composed of six claims covering 37.8 square kilometres along a 20-kilometre stretch of granitic and sedimentary rocks associated with the Fundy fault zone.

The property is host to seven recent gold discoveries made in 2021 by previous workers.

The Fundy Fault Zone is the name for a series of regional fault structures cutting through SLAM ’s Shadow Lake, Rogers Lake, and Jake Lee claim groups. The discovery of gold mineralization in the vicinity of these faults is similar to recent gold discoveries by New Found Gold Corp. (TSXV:NFG) along the Appleton and JBP faults as well as other structures in Newfoundland.

The company’s president and CEO, Michael Taylor, said in an interview with Stockhouse Editorial that he praised the fact that the team is starting out from a known gold deposit and new discoveries that have not been followed up on.

“There’s no drilling around them, not even soil surveys. It has a good chance of paying off,” Taylor said.

Visible gold

SLAM acquired the Shadow Lake gold property in June 2023 after company geologists reported the presence of visible gold in two grab samples collected from the LLP vein near the west end of the property.

SLAM paid C$15,000 cash and issued 100,000 shares at $0.05 per share for the property. The company will issue 1.4 million more shares and make cash payments of C$230,000 over a period of four years from signing the agreement to earn a 100 per cent interest.

These two samples returned assays of 31.50 g/t gold and 9.93 g/t gold respectively. Previous workers reported a grab sample grading 54.9 g/t gold from this vein which was traced over a strike length of 150 metres.

In July 2023, the company reported assays from the project ranging up to 31.5 g/t gold from grab samples collected from a vein.

Previous workers reported six additional gold occurrences including a grab sample grading 70.4 g/t gold at a site 15 kilometres east of the LLP vein. Assays are pending on 14 samples collected from multiple sites during a second visit by SLAM’s advance scout team. The company has commissioned a soil geochemical survey on two grids to test the strike potential of these gold veins.

In a news release, CEO Taylor said exploration of similar structures in New Brunswick is generating gold discoveries.

“The company has already identified a 20-kilometre gold generating fault system at Shadow Lake. This acquisition expands SLAM ’s mineral holdings to 1,377 claim units covering a 37.7 square kilometre spread along these fault zones with the possibility for an emerging gold district.”

Net smelter royalties

The Shadow Lake Property is subject to a royalty of 2 per cent Net Smelter Return (NSR). The company may purchase one half of the royalty for C$1 million at any time and the remaining half of the royalty for C$2 million at any time.

This means potential earnings, which are the best way for the company to get to a positive revenue with less risk to shareholders. Owning a mine has many risk factors, but with multiple projects where the company has retained royalties, it means they have many “irons in the fire” than just what the team is raising and spending on its own projects.

If any one of these other companies that SLAM has royalties into are successful in advancing those projects, those royalties become very valuable. This is the long-term goal of SLAM to generate revenue, beyond just being a miner.

The Menneval Gold Project

The company’s flagship Menneval Gold Project has eight mineral claims composed of more than 572 claim units covering 123.9 square kilometres in northwestern New Brunswick. Its properties include Birch Lake, Eighteen Mile and Ferguson Brook, Flume Ridge Gold, Jake Lee Gold, McNair, Mount Uniacke, Mt. Blair, Mt. Victor, Patapedia, Gold Brook, Pug Hole, Miminiska and the Opikeigen properties.

Visible gold was reported in core samples from four of the 11 diamond drill holes in a 646-metre program.

Out of the 11 holes, 10 intersected quartz veins mineralized with fine pyrite, limonite and goethite over core lengths from 0.10 of a metre to 2.30 metres. The company drilled five holes in Zone 18 and six holes in the Maisie vein. All five Zone 18 holes intersected quartz veins over core lengths ranging from 0.10 to 0.35 of a metre.

These holes were drilled in the vicinity of previously drilled intervals with visible gold reported and grades ranging up to 162.5 g/t gold over 0.2 m and 56.50 g/t gold over 0.51 of a metre associated at Zone 18. This work was done back in December 2020 and January 2021.

Five of the six Maisie zone drill holes intersected quartz and quartz-siderite veins over core lengths ranging from 0.30 of a metre to 2.30 metres. These veins are mineralized with pyrite, limonite and goethite and visible gold occurs in two holes.

Revolutionizing resource exploration

In an era where technological advancements are transforming industries, SLAM Exploration has embraced innovation.

The company leverages cutting-edge tools such as 3D modeling, geophysics, and artificial intelligence to enhance exploration efficiency and accuracy. By combining traditional prospecting methods with state-of-the-art technologies, SLAM maximizes its chances of discovering economically viable deposits, reducing exploration risks, and optimizing resource extraction strategies.

Sustainable practices

The company believes that responsible resource development is the key to a sustainable future. The company prioritizes environmental stewardship and adheres to strict regulations, ensuring minimal ecological impact during exploration and mining operations. SLAM utilizes eco-friendly practices, such as employing renewable energy sources, recycling water, and minimizing emissions. By integrating sustainability into its core principles, SLAM is actively contributing towards the preservation of our planet’s precious resources.

Community engagement

The importance of fostering positive relationships with local communities is well understood by this team. Recognizing that mineral extraction can impact regions and people, the company actively engages stakeholders and invests in social and economic development initiatives.

SLAM supports local employment, education and infrastructure projects, aiming to create long-lasting benefits for the communities it operates in. Through open communication and collaboration, SLAM works to ensure that its projects align with community expectations and contribute to regional prosperity.

Future prospects

As the company continues to expand its footprint across North America, it remains committed to unlocking untapped mineral potential. Through ongoing exploration efforts, SLAM seeks to uncover new resource reservoirs that can fuel economic growth and satisfy the world’s growing demands sustainably. With a forward-thinking mindset and a passion for technological innovation, SLAM is poised to shape the future of resource exploration.

The recently staked Highway Project at Shadow Lake has known occurrences of cobalt, copper, and silver as well as gold. The team is working on advancing this asset, having assessed some samples.

CEO Taylor noted that while in-depth exploration is still pending, historical work has found traces of gold.

“It’s similar to Shadow Lake, in the same environment, really. That’s peripheral to what we’re doing at Shadow Lake, and we’d like to advance that whole goal trend there and keep our eyes open for the iron oxide, copper, gold sort of potential, just because at Highway, the previous workers had hit decent intercepts of cobalt, copper, gold and zinc.”

He called this evidence worthy of looking to deeper potential, it is how the team evaluates projects and why they stake them.

“It’s what I’d like to accomplish in the next six months,” he explained. “I’d like to expand the drilling, the targets at Shadow Lake by soil geochemistry We can begin there, we can drill there all year. I’d like to do some drilling at Menneval in the next six months.”

Conclusion

The gold market is on a comeback roll and even CEO Taylor believes it will return to US$2,000/ounce soon.

“There is a positive outlook for gold right now,” he said. SLAM Exploration stands apart as an example of a company determined to push the boundaries of resource exploration and extraction.

As the world continues to rely on natural resources, SLAM Exploration Ltd. remains at the forefront, ensuring the sustainable supply of precious minerals for generations to come. By combining cutting-edge technologies, sustainable practices, and community engagement, SLAM showcases how responsible mineral development can drive economic growth while mitigating environmental impacts.

Having already logged 60 per cent growth year-to-date, 33.3 per cent since this time last year, this is one stock to watch, and investors would be wise to deepen their due diligence into what SLAM Exploration has to offer.

This is sponsored content issued on behalf of SLAM Exploration Ltd., please see full disclaimer here.

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