Troilus Gold Corp. (TLG:TSX; CHXMF:OTC; CM5R:FRA) recently published assay results from 12 drill holes outside of the Southwest Zone open-pit shell outlined earlier at its namesake Troilus gold-copper project in Quebec’s Abitibi region. The drilling highlight was hole SW-590 which hit gold mineralization not once, not twice but thrice.
At 45 meters downhole, SW-590 hit 2.48 grams per tonne gold-equivalent (2.48 g/t AuEq) over 7 meters; then it hit another 68.2 g/t AuEq over 1 meter, starting 370 meters downhole; only to follow that with another high-grade interval running 92.3 g/t AuEq over 1.1 meters at 421 meters downhole.
Hole SW-590 is located about 900 meters northeast of the Southwest Zone pit shell that was outlined in a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) done in 2020.
Another hole, SW-630, drilled high-grade 400 meters north of the same pit shell. Between 11 meters and 26 meters downhole, SW-630 averaged 3.07 g/t AuEq over 15 meters, including an interval grading 8.28 g/t AuEq over 5 meters.
Troilus has been aggressively drilling the Southwest Zone since late last year, as part of an effort to better define the extent of the zone.
A research report by Jacques Wortman, a mining analyst with Toronto-based Laurentian Bank Securities calls the most recent drill results “slightly positive” and writes that the pit shell could indeed extend northeast.
He writes: “Step-out drilling towards the (northeast) at the Southwest Zone suggests a 200-meter extension of the zone in this direction and has intersected deeper, high-grade mineralization. The initial 5-hole drill program in the Gap Zone has returned encouraging first indications.”
Making a Trip to the Gap Zone
The Gap Zone is about a 2.5-kilometer-long area between the Southwest Zone and the past-producing Z87 pit, part of the former Troilus mine.
Drillhole 4 in the Gap Zone returned 4.2 g/t AuEq over 7 meters, beginning at 93 meters downhole, while Hole 1 hit mineralization 326 meters downhole and returned 0.78 g/t AuEq over 13 meters (starting 341 meters downhole) and 0.95 g/t AuEq over 16 meters (starting 366 meters downhole).
Troilus Gold has now drilled sufficient meters to calculate an updated mineral resource estimate and prefeasibility study. The company says both should be published by mid-2022.
A Past-Producing Mine
Inmet Mining ran the open-pit Troilus gold-copper mine between 1996 and 2009. Over that span the mid-tier producer mined some 2 million ounces gold and roughly 70,000 tonnes copper. Inmet was acquired by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM:TSX; FQM:LSE) for CA$5.1 billion in 2013. Troilus Gold optioned the past-producing mine from First Quantum in 2016.
Troilus Gold is attempting to re-start the Troilus mine, which is located along the edge of the Frotêt-Evans greenstone belt, about 180 km north of Chibaugamau, Quebec.
Laurentian Bank’s Wortman gives Troilus a “buy” rating and a target price of CA$3.30 per share, while Analyst Ian Parkinson of Stifel Nicolaus Canada also gives it a “buy” recommendation and a target price of $4 per share.
Shares of Troilus Gold trades on the Toronto’s big board, the TSX, in a 52-week range of CA$1.31 and $0.66.
Roughly 60% of the company is held by institutional shareholders, including two of Quebec’s largest investment funds with a combined 12%. Management owns 8% of the roughly 200 million shares outstanding.
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1) Brian Sylvester compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He and members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. His company has a financial relationship with the following companies referred to in this article: None.
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