Brought to you by Bulls N’ Bears
Doug Bright
Olympio Metals has wasted no time showing its hand at its Bousquet gold project in Quebec, delivering a maiden diamond drilling program that has landed more than 100 significant gold intercepts that confirm the company is onto something big along the legendary Cadillac Break.
And the market agreed, blasting Olympio’s shares up as much as 125 per cent in early trade to 13 cents on massive turnover of 64 million shares – its busiest day in more than a year.
The Cadillac Break is a major regional-scale fault structure in North America, more than 300km long. It is famous for hosting a myriad of massive gold deposits, comprising a total historical resource of more than 110 million ounces.
The headline numbers from the drilling speak for themselves. Standout hits included 6.4 metres at 6.54 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 183 metres, 7.9m at 6.2g/t from 138 metres and 1.5m running a whopping 54.2g/t from 235.5 metres at the Paquin prospect.
‘The Bousquet project provides us with exposure to a quality gold project in a renowned mining area that still has significant regional upside.’
Olympio Metals managing director Sean Delaney
The 32-hole diamond drilling campaign focused on the southern portion of the project and has already defined three main east-west trending gold corridors at the Paquin, Amadee, Decoeur and CB-1 prospects. Together, the results paint a picture of an extensive, fertile gold system with potential for multiple deposits and likely significant depth extensions yet to be tested.
Along the east-west trend that hosts the Paquin and the nearby Amadee prospect, drilling has now linked the two areas into a continuous 1.3-kilometre-long zone of gold mineralisation that remains open along strike and at depth.
Notably, drilling to date along that trend has only tested to a maximum depth of around 150 metres vertically, while historical drilling at Paquin Deeps has already shown the system extends to at least 430 metres below surface, suggesting that Olympio has barely scratched the surface.
Geologically, the company believes gold mineralisation has been concentrated in more open dilation zones along folded shear structures, giving rise to multiple high-grade shoots within broadly mineralised envelopes. Early interpretation points to at least seven distinct gold lodes at Paquin alone, with further sampling of historical core underway to close up gaps in historical drilling carried out decades ago.
The Decoeur and Decoeur Extension prospects have also delivered a pleasant surprise. Drilling of four holes has extended gold mineralisation along the North Bousquet Fault to a strike length of 1.7 kilometres. One hole intersected 14.5m at 1.96g/t gold from 355.5 metres, showing the system remains mineralised to at least 290 metres vertical depth and is still wide open along strike and down dip.
Olympio Metals managing director Sean Delaney said: “We are very pleased with the results from our thirty two hole diamond drilling program at Bousquet completed last year. The maiden program at Bousquet South has highlighted three main structural trends through Decoeur, Paquin and CB-1. Each of these structural trends has successfully demonstrated multiple significant gold intercepts, confirming that Bousquet South is a large gold system with multiple deposit potential.”
Meanwhile, the company’s separate CB-1 target, centred about 750m northeast of Paquin, has emerged as a third key structural corridor. Drilling of five holes has identified multiple gold-bearing zones associated with a fold hinge. Best results included a significant high-grade intercept of 1.3m at a respectable 12.2g/t gold from 218.2 metres, putting a solid confirmatory stamp on the historic CB-1 discovery intercept of 2.9m going at 5.70g/t gold from 63.26m. The company now believes at least three fertile structures are present in this area alone.
What really adds spice to the company’s story is the location. Olympio’s Bousquet project straddles the Cadillac Break and is just 15 kilometres west of major operating mines, including Agnico Eagle’s 15.8 million ounce La Ronde complex and Iamgold’s 2.4 million ounce Westwood mine. It is also less than 3km east of Hecla Mining’s 1.8 million ounce Hosco deposit, placing Olympio firmly in world-class gold territory.
With around 80 per cent of the Bousquet project area – which covers a 10-kilometre strike of the Cadillac Break and related structures – still unexplored, Olympio has plenty of scope to develop and expand.
The company’s next phase of drilling will focus on firming up the dimensions and grade continuity of the high-grade zones within the main lodes, while continuing to build a robust structural model to guide future exploration.
For a company still in the early stages of unlocking Bousquet’s potential, its maiden drilling has delivered a powerful first impression, suggesting its Cadillac Break address could prove to be very valuable real estate.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
