Kenorland finds gold, multielement anomaly at Chicobi

Oct 7, 2021

2021-10-06 13:06 ET – News Release

Mr. Zach Flood reports

KENORLAND MINERALS REPORTS GEOCHEMICAL RESULTS AT THE CHICOBI PROJECT AND PROVIDES EXPLORATION UPDATE

Kenorland Minerals Ltd. has released geochemical results from its third phase of its sonic “drill-for-till” geochemical sampling program at the Chicobi project, located in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Quebec and held under an earn-in option to joint venture agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. (SMMCL). The company has commenced detailed geophysical surveys in preparation for diamond drill targeting, tentatively scheduled for Q1 2022.

Kenorland, along with SMMCL, has been exploring the Chicobi project since 2019 using overburden drilling methods to sample glacial till and top of bedrock below the layer of glaciolacustrine clay that obscures vast areas of the northern Abitibi greenstone belt. To date, three phases of sonic drilling, totalling 441 drill holes have been completed across the project producing approximately 1,500 samples for gold grain counts, heavy mineral concentrate assays and till geochemistry assays. These drill campaigns have systematically screened the property from the regional scale, covering over 50,000 hectares, down to a coherent gold and multielement till anomaly (Target B) of approximately 1.5 kilometres by three kilometres in extent.

Zach Flood, president and chief executive officer, states: “We’re very excited to announce the results from our extraordinary efforts to effectively explore in what we consider the frontier of the Abitibi. The clay belt presents a unique challenge to exploration which can only be overcome by applying methods such as drill-for-till sampling, which has been effective at detecting mineral systems in other deep glacial cover environments.”

Program highlights

The company has received all assay and gold grain counts from the phase 3 sonic drill-for-till geochemical program. A coherent, gold and multielement (Cu, Zn, Ag, As, Sb) anomaly, Target B, was identified from three separate drill-for-till sampling campaigns which began with the property-wide regional survey in the summer of 2019. Detailed geophysical surveys are planned for fall 2021 to refine drill targets within the anomaly. These geophysical surveys include high-resolution drone magnetics, induced polarization (IP) and ground electromagnetics (EM). Initial diamond drill testing is tentatively scheduled for Q1 2022.

Sampling protocols

Drill-for-till programs were completed using sonic drill rigs in order to penetrate through glaciolacustrine clay into underlying glacial till. Sonic drill cores were retrieved in 1.5-metre intervals from the drill rig and transported to Kenorland’s warehouse in Amos, Que. Cores were logged for surficial material and stratigraphy information, then split down the centre. One-half of the sonic core was stored for archive purposes. The other half of the core was sent for gold grain count analysis (Overburden Drilling Management methodology), heavy mineral concentrate analysis and fine-fraction till geochemistry analysis.

Gold grain counts and heavy mineral concentrate assays

Overburden Drilling Management (ODM) received and weighed 10-kilogram till samples, and then removed a 300-gram split for archive. Samples were sieved to plus/minus two millimetres: the plus-two-millimetre fraction was logged for pebble lithology and the minus-two-millimetre size fraction was sent to a shaker table for heavy mineral concentration. After the shaker table, concentrates were micropanned for additional concentration of the heavy minerals. At this point, visible gold grains were counted by ODM staff, as well as other metallic minerals.

After gold grain counting, the panned concentrate was then sent to a heavy liquid separation using a liquid with a specific gravity (SG) of 3.3. Heavy minerals which have a density greater than 3.3 grams per cubic centimetre sink to the bottom of the chamber during this process. Greater-than-3.3-gram-per-cubic-centimetre SG minerals were then subjected to a ferromagnetic separation to remove magnetic minerals such as magnetite and ilmenite. The resulting concentrate was sent to Actlabs for induced neutron activation analysis (INAA), and a 0.5-gram split was sent for aqua regia-ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) analysis.

Till geochemistry analysis

After the sonic drill core was split, a sample of material was collected down the entire length of the 1.5-metre half-core until approximately one kilogram of material was extracted. Till geochemistry samples were sent to Bureau Veritas in Timmins, Ont., where they were dried, then sieved to minus-63 microns. A 30-gram aliquot of minus-63 micron material was digested in aqua regia and then analyzed by ICP-MS.

About the Chicobi project

The Chicobi project covers 51,257 hectares and over 45 kilometres of strike along the Chicobi deformation zone (CDZ), a major, yet underexplored structural break transecting the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario and Quebec. Along the strike length of the project, the CDZ is marked by the juxtaposition of a large sedimentary basin and volcanic packages, and “Timiskaming-type” late-basin polymictic conglomerates. The CDZ is analogous to the other major breaks that host world-class Au deposits of the Abitibi, such as the Cadillac-Larder Lake, Casa-Berardi and Sunday Lake-lower detour deformation zones, and has the potential to host significant orogenic gold and VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) mineralization.

The Chicobi project is held under an earn-in option to joint venture agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada where SMMCL has an option to earn up to 51-per-cent interest by financing $4.9-million in exploration expenditures. SMMCL then has the option to earn an additional 19 per cent by financing an additional $10-million in exploration expenditures within three years of the initial vesting period. Kenorland would then retain a 30-per-cent participating interest. If either party is diluted below 10 per cent their interest would convert to a 2-per-cent uncapped net smelter return.

Qualified person

Jan Wozniewski, BSc, PGeo, OGQ (No. 2239) is the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Kenorland Minerals Ltd.

Kenorland Minerals is a mineral exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia and based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Kenorland’s focus is early- to advanced-stage exploration in North America. The company currently holds three projects in Quebec where work is being completed under joint venture and earn-in agreement from third parties. The Frotet project is held under joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada, the Chicobi project is optioned to SMMCL and the Chebistuan project is optioned to Newmont Corp. The company also owns 100 per cent of the advanced-stage Tanacross porphyry Cu-Au project as well as an option to earn up to 70 per cent from Newmont on the Healy project, both located in Alaska, U.S.

We seek Safe Harbor.

https://kenorlandminerals.com/