Marathon advances Valentine toward prefeasibility

Infill drilling by Marathon Gold continues to build confidence in its Valentine gold project in Newfoundland as it advances towards a prefeasibility study.

In the Main zone, the company reported intercepts of up to 29 metres grading 4.64 g/t gold, including a 3-metre intercept of 18.41 g/t gold and 2 metres of 9 g/t gold. Another hole cut 25 metres grading 2.22 g/t gold, including 4 metres of 7.31 g/t gold and 3 metres of 4.24 g/t gold. And in the Main zone northeast, the company reported up to 10 metres of 3.72 g/t gold, including 3 metres of 10.66 g/t gold and 14 metres of 2.11 g/t gold.

The Main zone is 1,500 metres long and has shown good continuity along strike and to depth, where it remains open. Current drilling is focused on areas where drilling has been limited and the current resource is classified as inferred. The company says the results confirm significant new zones of gently dipping en echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold veining in the southwestern area of the planned open pit.

The current drill program, being conducted with three drill rigs, will wrap up mid-month. After that, two rigs will be moved to the Sprite zone for a 7,000-metre drill program.

An updated resource estimate for Valentine is slated for the fourth quarter. Marathon Gold is working towards a prefeasibility study in the second quarter of 2020.

A preliminary economic assessment for Valentine last May outlined an operation producing 225,100 oz. annually over a 12-year mine life. The project, 55 km south of Buchans, is expected to produce a total of 2.7 million oz. gold at all-in sustaining costs of $666 per oz.

The project’s current resource is 16.6 million measured tonnes at 2.18 g/t gold containing 1.2 million oz.; 28.5 million indicated tonnes grading 1.66 g/t for 1.5 million oz.; and 26.9 million inferred tonnes at 1.77 g/t gold for 1.5 million oz.

(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)