Lavras Gold (TSXV:LGC) recently announced significant follow-up drilling results at their Fazenda do Posto discovery within the LDS Project in southern Brazil. This discovery, initially reported in August 2023, has now been further validated in terms of gold grades, widths, and continuity, with potential for resource expansion in several directions.

Lavras Gold President & CEO Michael Durose commented in a press release: “We are very pleased to validate the Fazenda do Posto gold discovery with this scissor hole, which cross cuts the earlier hole that returned 340 m at 1.1 g/t gold. While it is still early in the drilling program, we are delighted to have intercepted another very long and continuous zone of gold mineralization starting at a shallow depth and running for over 200 metres. This is a unique bulk tonnage near-surface gold system characterized by remarkably continuous gold mineralization within an episyenite host rock. A higher-grade core of gold mineralization is beginning to develop based on the limited drilling we have completed so far. Drilling is ongoing and we look forward to additional drill results as we begin to unravel this new gold discovery.”

The Fazenda do Posto discovery, situated about 150 meters west of the Lavras Gold Butiá Gold Deposit, shows promising proximity to the Butiá deposit, which itself holds an NI 43-101 gold resource of approximately 500,000 ounces and is open for expansion.

Drill hole 23FP006, a focal point of this announcement, was aimed at exploring the northeastern extension of Fazenda do Posto. It was positioned roughly 210 meters northeast of the initial discovery hole, 23FP002, and yielded continuous gold mineralization starting at a depth of 31 meters for a span of 230 meters. Detailed assay results have been tabulated and disclosed for this hole.

This discovery signifies a potential critical mass of gold mineralization in the area, further advancing Lavras Gold’s goal of developing a bulk tonnage open pit gold mine. Despite challenges such as record rainfalls impacting drilling site access and causing delays, the company has expedited efforts to define the new discovery’s geometry and grade distribution. To date, two drill rigs have completed over 3,000 meters of drilling across 14 holes at Fazenda do Posto.

The drilling results from Fazenda do Posto, located along the western edge of the Lavras do Sul intrusive complex and near the town of Lavras do Sul, are highly encouraging. Four drill holes totaling 1,520 meters have been completed, each yielding varied results. These include 23FP001 encountering modest gold values, 23FP002 confirming gold mineralization to a vertical depth of approximately 390 meters, and 23FP003 and 23FP004 showing significant mineralization and hydrothermal alteration respectively.

Looking ahead, Lavras Gold aims to further explore and define the Fazenda do Posto discovery and the Butiá Gold Deposit. The medium-term goal is to prepare a preliminary economic study for a potential gold mining project, supported by ongoing regional exploration within the broader 22,000-hectare LDS Project.

The overall success of the LDS exploration program has been noteworthy since Lavras Gold went public in April 2022. This includes completing a regional drone magnetic survey, ongoing soil geochemistry programs, and the reinterpretation of the Caneleira Gold Discovery. New gold mineral systems have been identified at various locations within the property, indicating a significant upside for continued exploration and development.

Highlights from the results are as follows:

• Hole 23FP006 includes 65 metres at 1.9 g/t gold and including 10 metres at 3.0 g/t gold
• Hole 23FP006, a scissor hole that cuts across discovery hole 23FP002, confirms the lateral continuity of gold mineralization for about 180 metres in a northeast direction and starting at a drill hole depth of 31 metres.
• The vertical extent of gold mineralization at the Fazenda do Posto discovery has been traced for 330 metres.
• Vertical Hole 23FP003 drilled 58 metres grading 1.0 g/t gold starting at a drillhole depth of 80 metres within a larger gold mineralized interval of 214 metres.

• Three drill holes – FP002, FP003 and FP006 have returned significant gold assay results displaying continuous gold mineralization over very long intervals. The gold mineralization typically occurs within a brick-red coloured episyenite. The gold is usually associated with fine grained disseminated pyrite and/or arsenian pyrite and usually occurs with iron-rich dark green to black chlorite. Grey-white carbonate vesicles are typically associated with the gold mineralized zone. Photos showing examples of mineralized episyenite are shown in Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6.
• Gold mineralization has been traced over a northeast-southwest extent of about 180 metres, and a vertical distance of 330 metres. Gold mineralization starts at a vertical depth of about 26 metres in the northeast area, as defined by drill hole 23FP006, and approximately 100 metres depth as defined by drill hole 23FP002.
• A higher-grade core of mineralization appears to be developing in the centre of the deposit, flanked by lower to moderate gold grades along the margins.

TABLE 1. Summary table of metre-by-metre drilling assay results from drill hole 23FP006 on Fazenda do Posto target.

Notes

• Assumes 0.25 g/t gold cut-off grade, no top cut.
• The Company has been targeting larger intersections of greater than 0.25 g/t gold. Intersections that are lower than this threshold may provide exploration insight and may therefore be disclosed.
• Intervals represent drill core interval; true widths have not been determined at this time.

TABLE 2. Summary of Drill hole Assay Results for Fazenda do Posto target.

 

 

The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.