The 2022 drill pogramme at the Gosselin zone discovery, immediately adjacent to Iamgold's Côté gold project, in Ontario, has demonstrated the expansion potential of the deposit.
Some of the highlights include 342.2 m at 1.99 g/t gold in drill hole GOS22-105 from 206.9 m, including 101.8 m at 3.05 g/t gold from 311 m and 89 m at 2.48 g/t from 459 m.
Executive VP for growth Craig MacDougall said in a statement that the results from the programme supported the anticipated expansion south of, and below, the interpreted resource boundaries of the deposit model.
“Future drilling programmes at Gosselin will continue to target the extensions of the deposit towards the goal of defining further potential resource expansion and resource classification upgrades.
“The 2022 drilling campaign required considerable coordination between the exploration and construction teams during a period of extensive construction activities related to the development of the Côté gold project,” said MacDougall.
The 2022 drilling programme successfully outlined areas for potential resource expansion both at depth and to the south of the existing Gosselin mineral resource boundary. The areas have been tested with a limited number of widely-spaced drill holes and additional closed spaced drilling with a nominal drill hole spacing of 70 m required to support future resource block model updates. The next phase of diamond drilling has commenced to further test the identified expansion target areas. Ongoing geological and geochemical studies and refinement of the deposit model will continue to guide future delineation drilling programmes and support the regional exploration targeting strategy on the large Côté Gold project land package.
Continuing technical studies initiated in 2022 include: a sampling programme to advance metallurgical test work to evaluate comminution characteristics and gold recoveries over a range of ore types and grades; mining and infrastructure studies to review configuration options for the potential inclusion of the Gosselin deposit resources into future Côté Gold life-of-mine plans; and the collection of baseline data to support future permitting requirements.