Matador Mining Ltd (ASX:MZZ, OTCQX:MZZMF)’s comprehensive fieldwork over the northern summer has proved fruitful, defining multiple drill-ready targets at Malachite, a large and untested exploration project on the Cape Ray Shear Zone (CRSZ) in Newfoundland, Canada.
During the geological fieldwork program, the company covered more than 22 kilometres of strike at Malachite and Grandys.
Previously untested terrain
Extensive geological mapping and rock sampling, prospecting and till sampling yielded the structurally controlled diamond drill targets, thought to contain coincidental gold grain and gold and multi-element geochemical anomalies not previously identified in historical data.
The results of the work completed have increased the company’s understanding of the geology structures and potentially gold-bearing second and third-order faults splaying off a major structural bend along the multi-million-ounce CRSZ.
A) Malachite field mapping B) New sulphide-bearing quartz vein C) Sulphide-bearing quartz boulder from within the CRSZ D) Vein located in the footwall of the CRSZ (assays pending for all).
This work has led to the development of the most comprehensive and detailed geological interpretation of the area to date and reinforces the company’s confidence in the Malachite area.
Multi-million-ounce corridor
Follow-up extensional and infill surface sampling continues to demonstrate high gold grain values within the vast, 60-square-kilometre Malachite area.
One of these gold grain samples returned 1,201 gold grains, 97% of which were pristine, reinforcing interpreted proximity to a gold source and delivering a high-priority walk-up drill target.
Malachite is in the centre of the company’s contiguous 120-kilometre-long CRSZ tenements.
It sits on a major structural bend along this multi-million-ounce corridor, which also hosts Marathon Gold’s 5.1 million ounces of gold and Matador’s current 837,000-ounce gold mineral resource.
The area is considered geologically prospective with several large arrays of interpreted faults and shear zones splaying off the CRSZ and wrapping around multiple intrusions and other prospective host rocks.
“Vast, remote and largely underexplored”
Matador managing director and CEO Sam Pazuki said: “The follow-up activities at Malachite and ensuing results have increased our confidence in discovering potentially large gold systems within our extensive tenement package along the Cape Ray Shear.
“The Malachite area is vast, remote and largely underexplored and during the summer months in Canada, our exploration team covered a large area with comprehensive fieldwork.
“The decision to pivot to a greenfields exploration focus was made in May 2022 and by June 2022 the team had mobilised swiftly and safely to carry-out the necessary geological mapping, prospecting, sampling and testing to identify specific areas to direct diamond drilling.
“The results of the fieldwork from this exploration campaign have exceeded my expectations. It has confirmed the structural complexity of the area including confirmation of shearing coincident with a major structural bend of a known multi-million-ounce gold structure, and identification of several cross-cutting structures splaying off this same structure.
“Essentially, it presents the right geological setting for major gold discoveries.
“As we wait for additional assays, the team has been preparing to commence inaugural drilling at Malachite which is expected to start in the coming weeks.”