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 (Figure 1), is pleased to provide an update on drilling from its ongoing regional drilling campaign, with promising results received from targets proximal to its flagship Ikkari discovery and Pahtavaara mill (figure 2).
Ikkari has a maiden National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate of 49 million tonnes ("Mt") at 2.5 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") for 3.95 million Inferred ounces (see Sept. 13, 2021 press release)1 and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is planned for completion in H2 2022.
Highlights
Ikkari North (0.5km north of Ikkari)
Blind (i.e. without base of till anomaly) drilling of new geophysical target intersected:
- #122154 - 2.6 m of 11.7g/t Au from 8.4 m and 5 m of 9.8g/t Au from 246 m
- #122148 - 16 m of 1.1g/t Au from 58 m
Further results from Heinä Central (1km north of Ikkari)
- #122044 - 7 m of 6.9g/t Au and 0.8% Cu from 83 m, 8 m of 2.2g/t Au and 1.7% Cu from 98 m, and 60 m of 0.7g/t Au and 0.2% Cu from 250 m
- #122064 - 14 m of 2.4g/t Au and 0.3% Cu from 319 m
- #122130 - 36 m of 0.5g/t Au and 0.5% Cu from 142 m
Sisnakka (10km south of Pahtavaara mill)
- #122114 - 2 m of 6.4g/t Au from 58 m and 1 m of 7.4g/t Au and 1.7% Cu from 128 m
James Withall, CEO of Rupert Resources commented "In a little over three years this previously untested district has delivered a multi-million ounce gold deposit along with a number of smaller potential satellites. In parallel to advancing Ikkari through to PEA this year, we continue to apply our geological understanding of the area to improve our exploration model and methodology with the goal of making further discoveries of scale. Ikkari North is hidden mineralisation that has no surface expression and was discovered using a new deep geophysics survey. Sisnakka, 10 km from the Pahtavaara mill, has been identified as part of a program targeting regional mineralising structures in similar geological settings."
An updated resource and accompanying preliminary economic assessment on the Ikkari discovery will be completed in H2 2022. Approximately 75,000 m of drilling is budgeted for the next twelve months targeting resource additions through satellites or extensions to Ikkari and elsewhere on five regional target areas on Rupert's c.735 km2 land package (Figure 1). Follow-up drilling has been completed or is underway at Jeesiö and Sikavaara over BoT anomalies with assays pending for both. Elsewhere the first season of summer fieldwork is close to completion at Kuusajärvi where reconnaissance BoT is planned, subject to issuance of exploration licences.
Ikkari North
The target at Ikkari North was identified from an IP geophysical survey conducted across Ikkari, and extended to the north to include Heinä Central. The survey identified a strong north-dipping chargeability anomaly that comes to surface approximately 500m to the north of the Ikkari mineralisation. Several drill holes have been completed, targeting the anomaly at depth due to restricted access to the near-surface target in wetter summer conditions. Broad, 100-200 m wide intersections of a carbonate-altered and brecciated stack of fine-grained Savukoski sediments between undeformed mafic intrusive bodies have been observed.
The breccia zone contains variable amounts of disseminated and semi-massive pyrite, especially around intercalated units of sediments. Assays and observations of visible gold grains, indicate that these pyrite zones are variably mineralised with gold and importantly, contain higher grade zones (e.g. #122154 - 5 m of 9.8g/t Au from 246 m) associated with silica-sericite alteration and quartz veining that is confined to siltstone units within the larger brecciated domain. Further, the drilling intersected shallow mineralisation (e.g. #122148 - 16 m of 1.1g/t Au from 58 m and #122154 - 2.6 m of 11.7g/t from 8.4 m) in a similar but narrower geological setting.
The strongest part of the IP anomaly occurs close to surface (Figure 3), and will be drill tested this winter as ground conditions allow.
Sisnakka
At Sisnakka, a first phase of drilling targeted multi-element base of till anomalies, with a significant base metals component (up to 3000 ppm Cu). Hole #122114, targeting a structure highlighted by a steep magnetic gradient, intersected 4 m of 3.2 g/t Au from 58 m, including 1 m of 10.10 g/t Au, within a brecciated structural zone comprising silica-albite altered intercalated sediments with pyrite, as well as a very narrow massive chalcopyrite(+gold) vein confined in a deformed and altered Savukoski ultramafic unit (1 m of 7.38 g/t Au and 1.74% Cu from 128 m).
Results are pending for eight follow up holes, targeting extensions of the zone and associated structures in the area.
Heinä Central
Further drilling at the Heinä Central target has been focused on delineating mineralisation to be included in a preliminary resource estimate (to be published in H2 2022 as part of the Ikkari preliminary economic assessment) and incrementally extending the mineralized zone. Significant new results show depth extent in the main part of the deposit with #122064 intersecting 14 m of 2.4g/t Au and 0.3% Cu from 319 m (250 m vertical), including 2 m of 4.5g/t Au and 1.2% Cu.
To the east, mineralisation in #122130 (36 m of 0.5g/t Au and 0.5% Cu from 142 m, including 2 m of 1.7g/t Au and 2.0% Cu) indicates some continuation of the zone in this direction, with strong copper grades offset from gold. Step out drilling to the east does indicate that the mineralization is narrowing and weakening, and further focus will be on tracing the down-plunge extent.
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, folded structural zone that is related to decoupling along lithological contacts and localised folding.
Source: https://rupertresources.com/about-the-project/