Orford Mining (TSXV:ORM) has reported the discovery of two new quartz vein gold systems—named Gerfaut East and Central Intrusive—and a new copper showing in the Esperance area on its Qiqavik gold property. The drilling was conducted in several project areas across the property, which spans more than 40 kilometres and hosts high-grade gold occurrences at surface. In 2023, Orford’s work focused on drilling, geophysics, and prospecting in various areas of the belt, including Gerfaut East, Central, Annick, and Eric. A total of 34 Rotary Air Blast (RAB) holes were drilled, covering 2,435 meters, and 32 line-km of ground Induced Polarization (IP) surveys were completed. The company is awaiting results for the majority of the 2,620 samples taken from drilling and the 233 surface samples collected.

David Christie, President and CEO of Orford commented in a press release: “The expertise of our field crews has been rewarded with new gold and copper discoveries on the vastly underexplored Qiqavik property. The ability of our team to continue to make new discoveries illustrates the high prospectivity of the Qiqavik property and how underexplored it remains.”

The Gerfaut East vein system has been located within a north-northeast trending structure that can be traced for over 400 meters along strike. It is characterized by sulfide-bearing quartz veins, which outcrop up to 15 meters in length and contain minerals such as galena, chalcopyrite, and pyrite. These veins are found in a felsic intrusive corridor known to host gold-bearing quartz. Six RAB drill holes were completed in this area, intersecting quartz veins within the top 50 meters of drilling. Assay results for these drill holes are still pending, though some surface grab samples have shown gold concentrations up to 32.3 grams per tonne (g/t Au).

The Central Intrusive vein system is defined by a series of subparallel east-west shears with ankerite alteration and sulfide veins up to 2 cm in width. These veins contain minerals like galena, pyrite, and arsenopyrite, and are found in local granodiorite boulders. Three holes were drilled in the Central Intrusive area that intersected altered granodiorite containing minor sulfides. Assay results from grab samples and drilling in this area are also pending. Previously collected grab samples in nearby areas have reported gold concentrations up to 30.8 g/t Au.

In the Esperance area, a new zone of semi-massive sulphide with up to 5% chalcopyrite has been identified, hosted in a sheared basalt. This new mineralization outcrops discontinuously over an area of 10 meters by 25 meters and lies 200 meters south of the main Esperance trend. Four channel samples were collected from the exposed mineralization, which covers a width of 5.0 meters. Airborne EM conductors suggest the mineralization may extend eastward for an additional 250 meters. Assay results for these channel samples are pending.

Highlights from the results are as follows:

• New gold-bearing quartz vein system discovered at Gerfaut East.  Surface grab samples returned up to 32.3 g/t Au (Figure 2).  Drill results pending.
• New style of sulphide rich vein mineralization discovered in the Central Intrusive Zone.  Surface and drill assays pending.
• New mineralized zone discovered south of the Esperance Gold-Copper trend.  Channel sample assay results pending.