Zeca Souza
“Bonanza gold grades” in stockwork type veins
In September 2022, the Company announced assay results from 14 drill holes at the Zeca Souza Gold Discovery, which had never been drilled prior to this drilling program. Gold mineralization occurs in a stockwork style typically within a network of quartz and quartz-carbonate veinlets within fractured granitoid rocks (alkali feldspar quartz syenite).
Drilling here returned near-surface “bonanza gold grades” including 28.2 g/t gold over 3 metres within a broader zone of 5.8 g/t gold over 15 metres at a vertical depth of about 100 metres. All 14 holes hit at least one intercept of gold, often multiple intercepts of gold and many bottomed in gold mineralization, indicating that the mineralization could continue to greater depths. Other highlights of the results included visible gold, high grades over significant widths and in some cases elevated gold values over relatively long intervals.
Zeca Souza is an important new gold discovery that supports the Company’s thesis that there are many, some possibly connected, gold deposits at LDS. For example, there maybe a relationship between Zeca Souza and the Caneleira Gold Discovery, located about 1 kilometre southwest.
Early in the third quarter of 2023, results were announced from seven new holes at Zeca Souza, successfully expanding the area of gold mineralization. Visible gold is developing as a key feature of Zeca Souza and has been encountered in five of the 21 of the holes drilled. Some key takeaways include:
- Visible gold near surface in hole 23BT004, which returned 4 metres at 43.6 g/t gold from 31 metres. This grade of visible gold at such shallow depths is a testament to the kind of exploration potential that exists.
- Visible gold at depth in hole 23ZS018. This drillhole returned a mineralized interval of 5 metres at 2.6 g/t gold from 264 metres and included a 1 metre interval of visible gold grading 9.1 g/t gold from 267 metres.
- A long intercept of 32 metres grading 1.9 g/t gold from 126 metres in drillhole BT003. A zone of visible gold was observed in a 1.2 metre intercept grading 43.2 g/t gold, at an estimated vertical depth of 124.7 metres.
The discovery of a higher grade, potentially lower tonnage zone of mineralization at Zeca Souza could potentially significantly enhance the overall future economics of the LDS project. The objective will be to test for the continuity of these visible gold areas and possibly develop a high-grade “sweet spot” for the project.
Visible gold is a key feature encountered at Zeca Souza
