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Esa Project | (Au) Gold Exploration in Ontario Canada

Sunbeam (Au) Gold Exploration & Mining Project

North Hemlo (Au, Ni, Mo, Cu) Gold & Metal Exploration & Mining

Mining & Metal Exploration Projects Overview |

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Poppins

At First Class Metals, our core goal is to bring several of our projects to drill-ready status. Today, I want to focus quickly on how we’re rapidly approaching this stage at our Esa property.
 
To recap, Esa is among the most exciting opportunities in our portfolio.
 
For one thing, it’s location is great. Indeed, it sits both immediately south of our flagship North Hemlo project and 11km northeast of Barrick’s Hemlo gold mine. As a reminder, Hemlo has produced more than 21Moz of gold over 30 years of continuous operations; I’d say that very much grants it “world-class” status.
 
Perhaps more significantly, however, we also believe that Esa boasts striking geological potential. Specifically, the middle of the property is intersected by an inferred arcuate structure already confirmed to the immediate west and east of the property.
 
It’s one of three inferred structures in the Hemlo “north limb” mirroring the Hemlo trend to the south (the other two intersect our North Hemlo project). And in simple terms, this could mean that Esa is not just close to the Hemlo project, but it could also share its geological setting.

Pushing forward 
Our working theory is that the structure intersecting Esa is a Hemlo-style shear zone. These are promising sites for mineralisation because the intense sliding and deformation of rocks can create pathways for mineral-rich fluids to flow through before accumulating in trap sites.
 
So far, all of our work so has added considerable weight to this potential…

Ground exploration identified sheared metasedimentary/mafic volcanic boulders anomalous in trace elements in the area interpreted to contain the shear zone;

Ground reconnaissance identified a Hemlo look-a-like rock in the form of an angular boulder that returned anomalous gold; and

Reinterpretation of VTEM data over ESA by Paterson Grant and Watson concluded that:
The proposed shear zone trends 5km to the west and 4.5km to the east where it coincides with reported anomalous gold values
Mineralisation within Esa appears closely related to a series of N-S trending magnetic anomalies
Esa’s generic model is considered similar to the Hemlo gold deposit

So, you can imagine our excitement earlier this month when we were able to reveal that our extensive 2022 soil sampling programme had added even more endorsement to Esa’s gold potential.

📷Esa’s district setting, including the Hemlo gold mine and the arcuate subparallel inferred shears to the north

Specifically, 478 soil samples collected from 11 lines identified an intermittent 4km anomalous zone corresponding to the surface expression of the inferred shear.
 
Likewise, multiple gold and key gold pathfinder elements such as molybdenum, antimony, and arsenic were identified along with anomalous trends highlighting NE structures intersecting the shear.
 
Long story short, the results build a picture of potential gold mineralisation associated with robust structures. That’s a strong vote of confidence in our shear zone theory. As such, our goal now is to build on this further and learn more about the project’s true potential…

More soil samples are being planned to better define the potential of the structures intersecting the shear to contain and/or affect the mineralisation associated with the shear.

Further geological mapping and prospecting along the shear will take place to aid in the delineation of priority targets.

An exploration permit application has been prepared and is with the First Nations before submittal to the Crown.

All told, the plan is for this work to lead up to stripping and trenching ahead of a scout drill programme if warranted.

Time will tell if this is the result we get. But for now, we are becoming increasingly confident in Esa’s potential to host Hemlo-style gold mineralisation that can create value for our shareholders.

We’re advancing Esa towards drill-ready status…