Chase Mining extends Lorraine gold diamond drilling after encouragement from first four holes

Chase Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:CML) has extended the diamond drilling program at the Lorraine Gold Project in Quebec, Canada, after receiving encouraging results in the first four holes. The original Footwall Contact Target Zone (FCTZ) and the newly discovered silica-carbonate alteration zones were intersected in all four holes prompting the decision to drill two new holes. Chase’s original program to drill four diamond holes targeting gold in the former Lorraine Nickel Mine was already extended with the holes significantly deeper than planned to a total of 1,971 metres. Visible gold This was due to the silica-carbonate alteration zones and associated minor visible gold along with breccia zones intersected in Hole CM-20-02. The presence of fine-grained visible gold in this hole at 459.8 metres in a 10-metre zone of strong silica-carbonate alteration with only minor sulphide content, allows for the visual correlation with the description of a historic high-grade intercept. This underground hole, U-6-76, from around 1967 returned 1-metre at 53.47 g/t gold and 12 g/t silver. The final task in the current four-hole program was to deepen Hole CM-20-01 to 489 metres from 368.5 metres and as a result, additional alteration zones were intersected. Gold mineralisation, along with silver and possible copper, was reported from historic sampling and limited drilling associated with the 6-Level development of the nickel mine. Deeper zone intersected Besides intersecting the original FCTZ in all four holes, the four holes also intersected the additional deeper veining and brecciation and importantly intense siliceous alteration zones below the FCTZ. The drilling was designed to test around 20 metres above and below the 6-Level pierce points of the FCTZ on sections about 40 metres apart to provide information for future resource drilling. Detailed logging of the core and mark-up for cutting and sampling is in progress and once this has occurred and the drilling program is completed, all samples will be sent to the laboratory for assaying ASAP. Locality plan for the current drill program. Two new holes An additional hole (CM-20-05) is underway specifically trying to pinpoint the historic reported very high-grade gold zone localised on the 6-Level drift. This hole will also be continued around 100 metres into the footwall to further test the deeper silica-carbonate alteration zones. An additional hole, CM-20-06, will then be drilled about 300 metres west of the current CM-20-05 drill pad. This hole will target continuation of FCTZ at shallow depth and drill on to test the footwall basalt sequence to the west of the mining void and the 6-Level drive. Historic underground drilling here (hole U-6-93) intersected 1.5 metres at 1.72 g/t gold in ‘altered basalt’ with quartz-carbonate-epidote veins with disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite. The discovery of deeper footwall alteration zone/s including minor visible gold, which is separate to the original contact target footwall shear zone, has opened additional potential for gold mineralisation to be hosted at Lorraine.