Stelmine Secures Minuapan for Further Exploration

Stelmine states that 69 km² (100% STH) of Minuapan property was acquired through staking. The decision was made in response to exploration work conducted in 2023 that revealed geochemical anomalies that may indicate the existence of a new, 10 km-long mineralized zone 45 km southwest of the gold-bearing Mercator corridor.

There are a number of reasons to investigate this new zone and stake out more claims, including:

1. Historical data as:

• EM anomalies produced by an aerial survey conducted by Falconbridge in 2000, indicated the presence of a mineralized zone
• A 0.6 g/t Au showing reported by Falconbridge in 2000
• The presence of multiple pluri-metric Iron Formation layers found by Falconbridge in 2000 and Selmine in 2023.

2. Stelmine results:

Six zones were found as a part of the 2023 exploration effort, which sought to identify expansions to the Meridian zone. One of these, Minuapan, in particular, produced intriguing outcomes that helped secure the property:

• 15 kg of samples were required until the heavy mineral concentration (HMC) contained up to 15 gold grains producing 219 ppb Au
• Grab rock samples from irregular boulders and outcrops produced abnormal amounts of As (896-4800 ppm As) and Au (0.24-0.47 g/t Au).

The prospectivity of a mining property is often assessed using five criteria. When three of these requirements are met, more research is usually necessary. The following five conditions are presented by Minuapan: 

• A notable geophysical signature (EM-MAG-IP) 
• Complex structural patterns (regional faulting, folding) 
• The exposure of geological units with the potential to contain the desired commodity 
• Grab rock samples containing anomalous concentrations of the desired commodity 
• Anomalous concentrations of the desired commodity in the secondary environment (ex: lake sediments, tills).

Additionally, the 2023 exploring campaign's results suggested that the gold mineralization on the Mercator site might extend. Out of the 31 analyses obtained from channel sampling of the Baloo show, 12 had gold values of more than 0.1 g/t, with the highest value coming in at 1.41 g/t.

Silicate Iron Formations resembling those found in the Meridian Zone, which is situated 2.7 km south, are exposed by the Baloo showing. In addition, a geophysical survey finished in the summer of 2023 revealed low resistivity (<500 Ohm/m) and strong chargeability (>30 mv/V) anomalies at depth.

This new zone needs further work done on it to find more mineralized outcrops that would warrant deeper explorations.

Stelmine has identified new high-potential gold zones linked to Iron Formations with composition and geophysical signals comparable to Meridian IF while investigating metasedimentary terranes beyond the gold-bearing Meridian Zone on the Mercator.

This information supports the high finding potential of precious and base metals as well as essential minerals and validates the Company's choice to explore the understudied Opinaca metasedimentary sub-province in the Caniapiscau district.

Source: https://www.stelmine.com