Rupert Resources Ltd ("Rupert" or the "Company"), a company advancing the multi-million-ounce Ikkari gold deposit and new regional discoveries at the company's 100% owned Rupert Lapland Project in Northern Finland, is pleased to announce new drill results that strengthen our Ikkari resource, demonstrate the potential for a satellite deposit, and introduce a high-grade copper component to mineralization in the district.
Rupert announced on September 13, 2021 a National Instrument 43-101 inferred mineral resource estimate of 49 million tonnes ("Mt") at 2.5 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") for 3.95 million ounces1. Rupert is well-funded to maintain momentum: the Company has contracted rig capacity capable of drilling a budgeted 90,000 metres ("m") to the end of 2022. Approximately 60% of drilling will be focused on upgrading and expanding the Ikkari resource estimate, with the remainder allocated to a regional program targeting potential satellite orebodies and new discoveries of scale.
Highlights
Heinä Central
- New drilling demonstrates both the satellite potential at Heinä Central, located 1 kilometre (km) north of Ikkari, and highlights associated high-grade copper ("Cu") potential with multiple intervals including copper grades in excess of 1% (tables 1 and 2a) .
- High-grade copper: Hole #121088 returned 1.0 g/t Au and 1.6% Cu over 56 m from 131m (101m vertical), including 2.4 g/t Au and 3.9% Cu over 10 m.
- High-grade gold: Potential indicated by Hole #121116 which intersected 40.3 g/t Au over 6.7m, including 259 g/t Au over 1m from 104 m
- Previously reported metallurgical work indicates potentially straightforward processing.
Ikkari
- Six new drill holes from Ikkari (tables 1 and 2b) strengthen the resource on tighter drill spacing with high-grade gold underground potential indicated by drill hole #121115, which returned 7.7 g/t Au over 30 m from 457 m (375m vertical).
- Circa 20 holes pending
James Withall, CEO of Rupert Resources commented "In a very short-time frame, we have clearly demonstrated our technical understanding in delineating what is becoming a significant mineralized district. Leveraging our exploration methodology, we have advanced from discovery to delineation of a baseline resource of scale at Ikkari in a very efficient timeline, and our regional program continues to show the district's scale through growing discoveries and identifying new targets. The results reported today from Heinä Central show increased grade and down-hole widths at depth, and highlight its potential to contribute to the critical mass attained by Ikkari."
Ikkari and Heinä Central are two of six discoveries identified and drilled to date that are located on a 5 kilometres ("km") long highly prospective section of a 20 km regional domain-bounding structure, located within the 595 km2 Rupert Lapland Project. The six discoveries were made within one year (Q2 2019 to Q2 2020).
Heinä Central
Recent drilling from the regional program has been focused on the Heinä Central discovery, located 1km north of Ikkari (figure 1), as part of an ongoing definition drilling program.
Previous limited drilling at Heinä Central intersected not only broad intervals of gold mineralization, but also copper. The copper component has the potential to add significant value to the asset as we further progress our understanding.
Previously reported copper results from late 2019 and January 2021 include:
- 1.5% Cu and 3.3 g/t Au over 10.6 m from 84 m, including 12.3g/t Au over 2.0 m and 1.8% Cu over 6.0 m (#119062)
- 1.3% Cu and 1.0 g/t Au over 20 m from 225 m (#120116)
- 0.8% Cu & 0.4 g/t Au over 37.5 m from 154 m, including 2.7% Cu & 0.9g/t Au / 5 m from 166 m (#119049)
- 0.3% Cu and 1.2 g/t Au over 57.9 m from 127 m (#120114)
- 0.5% Cu and 1.4 g/t Au over 31 m from 64 m (#119044)
New Drill Results
The current drill program at Heinä Central comprises a series of drill traverses 40m apart, which is designed to explore the extent and grade of the main mineralised zone (figure 2). The new results continue to demonstrate the potential for economic gold and copper mineralisation over broad zones.
Higher gold grades are associated with silica-sericite-pyrite alteration and often contain disseminated visible gold e.g. hole #121090 5.1g/t Au over 12 m, including 15.7g/t Au over 3 m. Shallower intercepts e.g. hole #121095 2.0g/t Au and 1.0% Cu over 13.3 m from 49.9 m (40 m vertical) indicate that the Heinä Central mineralisation outcrops beneath till cover.
The mineralised system remains open to depth, with the broadest intercept recorded in the deepest hole #121088 1.0g/t Au and 1.5% Cu over 56 m from 131m (figure 3). The broad intercept reported here may represent the merging of several lenses. As previously reported (see release 19 January 2021), preliminary metallurgical investigation indicates that conventional flotation can recover up to 90.4% of the gold and 99.5% of the copper.
Results presented here are from the first of the new drill sections and have delineated several north-dipping, gold-bearing zones of massive to semi-massive sulphides that include a significant chalcopyrite-associated copper component, as a broader halo to the gold mineralised zone. Sulphide zones form lens-like breccias with rounded clasts of pre-existing quartz-carbonate veining.
Results are pending for adjacent sections and further drilling will include testing the down-dip extent.
Ikkari Program
New drilling at Ikkari has been limited by seasonal access constraints. Deeper step outs and infill through the high yielding core of the deposit is planned once freezing has improved ground conditions and optimal drilling angles are possible. Six new holes are released today. These new intercepts all fall outside the open pit shell as modelled for the September 2021 resource and show the potential for high-grade underground potential. Circa 20 holes from Ikkari are pending.
Highlights include
- # 121115 which contained three mineralised intercepts:
- 2.8 g/t Au over 15 m from 385 m (320 m vertical),
- 7.7 g/t Au over 30 m from 457 m (375 m vertical) and
- 13.5 g/t Au over 3 m from 532 m (435 m vertical).
- #121104K intersected 5.7 g/t Au over 14 m from 540 m (480 m vertical).
- #121093 intersected 1.9 g/t Au over 36 m from 402 m (347 m vertical)
In the past year, the majority of drilling has been weighted to advancing Ikkari to a maiden resource estimate. New regional targets continue to be identified through the ongoing base of till sampling program and these are being followed up with reconnaissance diamond drilling. At Heinä Central, the drilling focus has been on delineating extent and grade of the mineralised zone. Similar drill programs are planned at Heinä South during the winter drilling season.
Geological Interpretation
Ikkari and Heinä Central were discovered using systematic regional exploration that initially focused on geochemical sampling of the bedrock/till interface through glacial till deposits of 5m to 40m thickness. No outcrop is present, and topography is dominated by low-lying swamp areas.
The Ikkari deposit occurs within rocks that have been regionally mapped as 2.05-2.15 billion years ("Ga") old Savukoski group greenschist-metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks, part of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt ("CLGB"). Gold mineralisation is largely confined to the structurally modified unconformity at a significant domain boundary. Younger sedimentary lithologies are complexly interleaved, with intensely altered ultramafic rocks, and the mineralized zone is bounded to the north by a steeply N-dipping cataclastic zone. In general, alteration and structure appear to be sub-vertical, with lithologies generally dipping ~70 degrees north.
The main mineralized zone is strongly altered and characterised by intense veining and foliation that frequently overprint original textures. An early phase of finely laminated, grey ankerite/dolomite veins is overprinted by stockwork-like irregular siderite ± quartz ± chlorite ± sulphide veins. These vein arrays are often deformed with shear-related boudinage and in situ brecciation. Magnetite and/or haematite are common, in association with pyrite. Hydrothermal alteration commonly comprises quartz-dolomite-chlorite-magnetite (±haematite). Gold is hosted by disseminated and vein-related pyrite.
Multi-phase breccias are well developed within the mineralised zone, with early silicified cataclastic phases overprinted by late, carbonate- iron-oxide- rich, hydrothermal breccias which display a subvertical control. All breccias frequently host disseminated pyrite, and are often associated with bonanza gold grades, particularly where magnetite or haematite is prevalent. In the sedimentary lithologies, albite alteration is intense and pervasive, with pyrite-magnetite (± gold) hosted in veinlets in brittle fracture zones.
At Heinä Central, the multiple sulphide zones identified (25 to >50% pyrrhotite + chalcopyrite + pyrite) are hosted by cataclastic quartz-dolomite breccia within a sedimentary sequence that includes interbedded siltstone and carbonaceous shale. This sequence is intruded by mafic dykes, and intermediate intrusives are also present. Brecciation is associated with a broad, complex structural zone that is related to decoupling along lithological contacts and localised folding.
About the Rupert Lapland Project
The Rupert Lapland Project is located in the epicentre of the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, Northern Finland, where the company has made six new discoveries including the high quality Ikkari Project with an inferred mineral resource estimate of 49 Mt at 2.5 g/t gold for 3.95 million ounces1. The Rupert Lapland Project also holds the permitted Pahtavaara mine and mill (on active care & maintenance) within a regional land package of some 595km2. The Company acquired the project for USD $2.5 m in 2016 and is undertaking exploration both at the existing mine and across the region to demonstrate the potential for significant economic mineralisation. The Ikkari deposit and five other discoveries are located in a structural corridor that lies between Kittilä Group allochthon to the north and the younger Kumpu Group basin to the south. The mineralised area is dominated by large E-W to ENE trending faults which have controlled broad to isoclinal folding within the sediment-dominated (Savukoski Group) rock package. A complex network of cross cutting structures has focused multi-stage fluid flow, with gold mineralisation associated with massive to fine-grained disseminated sulphides and concentrated at favourable structural intersections.
Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports
Dr Charlotte Seabrook, MAIG, RPGeo., Exploration Manager of Rupert, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the accuracy of scientific and technical information in this news release.
Samples are prepared by ALS Finland in Sodankylä and assayed in ALS laboratories in Ireland, Romania or Sweden. All samples are under watch from the drill site to the storage facility. Samples are assayed using fire assay method with aqua regia digest and analysis by AAS for gold. Over limit analysis for >10 ppm Au is conducted using fire assay and gravimetric finish for assays over >100 ppm Au. For multi-element assays, Ultra Trace Level Method by HF-HNO3-HClO4 acid digestion, HCl leach and a combination of ICP-MS and ICP-AES are used. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted at appropriate intervals. Approximately five percent (5%) of the pulps and rejects are sent for check assaying at a second laboratory.
Base of till samples are prepared in ALS Sodankylä by dry-sieving method prep-41 and assayed for gold by fire assay with ICP-AES finish. Multi-elements are assayed in ALS laboratories in either of Ireland, Romania or Sweden by aqua regia with ICP-MS finish. Rupert maintains a strict chain of custody procedure to manage the handling of all samples. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication.
Source: https://rupertresources.com/