Karbonate Minerals Corp. Reports 'outstanding' Grades at Their New Brunswick Project

The latest drill results from Karbonate Mineral Corp's. New Brunswick project include 'outstanding' gold grades and suggest potential for resource and reserve additions in a further 2 areas of the underground mine site.

The 112 drill holes reported are from the southern area of the project called Dolphin Ditch and another area to the south-west of the project named Greystone Gorge. The Dolphin Ditch area returned some of the highest gold grades outlined in the release. Highlight intercepts from this area include 17.5 meters of 114.7 grams of gold per ton and 11.7 meters of 97.1 grams of gold per ton.

The miner's latest interpretation of this part of the mine indicates an intersection at the Dolphin Ditch area with further zones indicated outside of the main test drill areas, creating a larger than initially expected mineralized area.

Notable assay results from the Greystone Gorge area include 2.4 meters of 113.3 grams of gold per ton and 4.2 meters of 78.9 grams of gold per ton.

These intercepts are from holes targeting existing inferred resources and areas with gaps in drilling around the upper west part of this zone. Assays from drilling around existing resources within the Dolphin Ditch area include 7.6 meters of 100.4 grams of gold per ton and 2.7 meters of 46.9 grams of gold per ton.

According to the release, large areas remain untested along strike and down dip of the existing mineralization, primarily within the Dolphin Ditch area.

"Today's results are outstanding as they completely endorse our view that there is further substantial exploration potential in areas where the tip of the Greystone Gorge zone nears contact with mineralized zones stacked vertically along the edge of the area," said Oliver Denton, Projects Director at Karbonate Minerals Corp. in an investor press release.

"These are 2 separate areas of gold mineralization coming together, which is very interesting, and what we are seeing are some extremely high-grade intersections." Denton also added that these latest results also suggest new mineralization within the Dolphin Ditch and along its northern border, "further increasing our confidence that there are new mineral reserves to be discovered as we drill along the zone's perimeters."

The New Brunswick project began production in 2019 after the previous operator suspended operations in 1986. Current production is hoisted to surface through just the 1 shaft. The miner is working to sink a new shaft at the site, to support higher production levels at lower costs.

These test holes are due to be completed in the first quarter of 2024 and looking to increase production at the project over the next five to seven years. This year, the mine is on target to produce around 30,000 ounces of gold.

Brian Quast of BMO Capital Markets noted that the latest results underscore the continuation of organic growth at the company. "Kirkland Lake reported similarly positive drills results in April 2020, including identifying a new corridor along the Main Break," Quast wrote in a note to clients.

"The more recent results, which focus on the SMC and the Amalgamated Break, demonstrate Kirkland Lake's consistent exploration success at Macassa."

The mining analyst also said he believes more is likely to follow. "We anticipate that the pace of exploration will increase after the commissioning of the Shaft #4, and while today's results are positive, we expect more significant reserve/resource growth after some of these high-grade areas begin to be accessed from Shaft #4."