Kenorland Minerals begins drilling at O’Sullivan

Feb 2, 2024

2024-02-02 11:05 ET – News Release

 

Mr. Zach Flood reports

KENORLAND MINERALS ANNOUNCES THE COMMENCEMENT OF DRILLING AT THE O’SULLIVAN PROJECT, QUEBEC

Kenorland Minerals Ltd. has commenced diamond drilling at the O’Sullivan project, located in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Quebec and held under an option agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd.

Q1 2024 winter exploration program budget

A total budget of $1.71-million has been approved by Sumitomo for the winter 2024 exploration program. The maiden drill program will include up to 4,150 metres of diamond drilling, comprising six drill holes as an initial test of the Pusticamica North target identified through systematic exploration carried out over the previous three years. The proposed drill plan will test a number of interpreted structure orientations and coincident geophysical features within the mapped northeast-trending deformation zone. Kenorland is operator of the project, and drilling activities are expected to conclude mid-February.

Pusticamica North target area

During the 2023 exploration campaign, the company completed detailed magnetic, ground electromagnetic (EM) and induced polarization (IP) surveys followed by detailed mapping covering the Pusticamica North target area, as well as a regional-scale lake sediment geochemical survey, and an airborne versatile time-domain electromagnetic (VTEM) survey. The geophysical surveys covered the coherent gold-in-till anomaly along the northern shore of Lac Pusticamica, associated with strong deformation along a major felsic intrusive-volcanic contact. The drill program was designed to test a 1.6-kilometre strike length of the northeast-trending deformation zone along a significant inflection in the granitoid margin, coincident with interpreted east-west structure intersections. Drill holes were targeted to cross chargeability and magnetic anomalies and where their margins coincide with discrete modelled Maxwell Plate EM anomalies, interpreted as near-vertical, subparallel structures in the deformation zone. Drilling is planned to cross up to one kilometre of width in this favourable structural and lithological setting, prospective for orogenic gold.

About O’Sullivan project

The O’Sullivan project covers 27,979 hectares of mineral tenure within the Abitibi greenstone belt along the Casa Berardi deformation zone (CBDZ). The CBDZ is one of the primary structures that controls orogenic gold mineralization in the belt and hosts the active Casa Berardi mine that has produced over 1.9 million ounces of gold since 1988, with recent proven and probable reserves of 1.7 million ounces (Dec. 31, 2019). Other major deposits along the CBDZ include the Douay gold deposit (2.35 million oz Au inferred and 422,000 oz Au indicated) as well as the Nelligan gold deposit, having a 3.2-million-ounce inferred resource (Oct. 22, 2019). The O’Sullivan project covers approximately 15 kilometres of strike length along the southern margin of the CBDZ where the deformation zone intersects volcanic rocks of the Stoughton-Roquemaure and Kidd-Munro assemblages.

The project is located approximately 50 kilometres east of the city of Lebel-sur-Quevillon and 150 kilometres northeast of Val d’Or, Que. Local infrastructure includes a power transmission line transecting the property, a railway line approximately five kilometres to the north of the project and an extensive network of logging roads throughout the property.

The project is currently under an option agreement with Sumitomo, whereby Sumitomo can earn an initial 51-per-cent interest in the project by incurring an aggregate of $4.9-million in mineral exploration expenditures on or before the third anniversary of the option agreement (of which $1.2-million are guaranteed expenditures within the first three years). Kenorland will act as operator of the project in return for a management fee equal to 15 per cent of the total expenditures during the first earn-in period.

Following the earning of a 51-per-cent interest, Sumitomo has the option to earn an additional 19 per cent (for a total of 70-per-cent interest) by delivering a National Instrument 43-101 compliant feasibility study on the project disclosing mineral resources in the measured and indicated categories of not less than 1.5 million ounces of gold (or gold equivalent) within an additional seven years. Once Sumitomo has earned a 70-per-cent interest, Kenorland will have the option to forego a minority joint venture interest and immediately vest a net smelter return royalty interest of 4 per cent on the project. In the event of joint venture participation, any party which dilutes to below a 10- er-cent interest will exchange its joint venture interest for a net smelter return royalty of 3 per cent (subject to a 1-per-cent buyback for $1-million).

Exercise of top-up right with Sumitomo

Kenorland also announces that, further to the investor rights agreement dated Nov. 5, 2021 (the IRA), between the company and Sumitomo, Sumitomo has issued to the company its intent to exercise its top-up right and retain its 10.1-per-cent interest in the company.

An aggregate of 67,409 common shares will be issued at a price of 76.96 cents per share for aggregate consideration of $51,877.97 in accordance with the IRA, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. A copy of the IRA is available on the company’s SEDAR+ profile.

Qualified person

Cedric Mayer, MSc, PGeo (OGQ No. 02385), qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Kenorland Minerals

Kenorland Minerals is a well-financed mineral exploration company focused on project generation and early-stage exploration in North America. Kenorland’s exploration strategy is to advance greenfields projects through systematic, property-wide, phased exploration surveys financed primarily through exploration partnerships, including option to joint venture agreements. Kenorland has agreed to exchange a 20-per-cent participating interest for a 4-per-cent net smelter return royalty on the Frotet project in Quebec which will then be 100 per cent owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. The Frotet project hosts the Regnault gold system, a greenfields discovery made by Kenorland and Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada in 2020. Kenorland is based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

We seek Safe Harbor.

https://www.kenorlandminerals.com/

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