- Emperor Metals’ 8,000 m drill program will focus on the open pit concept revealed during last year’s program
- Both high-grade resources of 5.8 g/t Au over 10.85 m and lower-grade bulk tonnage of 1.69 g/t Au over 25 m were intercepted in 2023
- The company intends to continue leveraging its advanced artificial intelligence models to guide targeting efforts for the upcoming drill season
- The Duquesne West Gold Property hosts a historical inferred mineral resource estimate of 727,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 5.42 g/t and an average thickness of 5.71 meters in 4.171 million tonnes* (see note at bottom)
Emperor Metals (CSE: AUOZ) (OTCQB: EMAUF) (FRA: 9NH), an advanced stage gold exploration company, has officially resumed drilling at its flagship Duquesne West Gold Property, located within the historic Duparquet gold mining camp in the Superior Province’s southern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The 8,000 m drill program at the Duquesne West Gold Project follows up on the company’s initial drill campaign in 2023, which revealed a significant open pit concept above a high-grade gold deposit (https://ibn.fm/mXzJf).
The property hosts an estimated historical mineral resource of 727,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 5.42 g/t Au. Emperor Metals has leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a reinterpretation of the existing geological model and highlight the opportunity for additional discovery of ounces by revealing previously unknown gold trends.
According to Emperor Metals CEO John Florek, the Phase II drilling program gives the company the ability to add ounces more rapidly on the project, as a result of its capability to add potentially open pitable mineralization above the existing high-grade historical resource. The company’s entire 2024 exploration program will predominantly concentrate on the open pit concept, leveraging insights obtained in 2023 and its advanced AI models to determine drilling targets.
In 2023, the company used AI to create the first 3D geological and mineralized model to guide a highly successful drilling campaign of 8,579 m. During this campaign, Emperor extended high-grade zones laterally by intercepting grades of 15.8 g/t Au over 10.85 m, but also intercepted lower grade bulk tonnage of 1.69 g/t Au over 25 m. These results are what prompted the development of a different exploration strategy, based on the potential existence of an open pit overlying the high-grade deposit.
Emperor’s 2024 strategy is thus aimed at continuing to improve the open-pit economics by expanding ounces in four key ways:
- Expanding ounces internally and externally to open-pit shells
- Expanding the footprint of high-grade lenses inside and outside open-pit shells
- Determining lower-grade bulk-tonnage incremental ounces in host rocks
- Continuing to build quality ounces internally and externally
In addition to the 8,000 m drilling program at Duquesne West, the company has also begun sampling near-surface core from the historical core library that was not assayed by previous explorers. Up to 70% of this core has not been assayed within the open-pit conceptual model. Emperor plans 8,000 additional meters of core sampling from the historic core library for this program.
By resuming drilling at its Duquesne West Gold Property, the company is reconfirming its commitment to expanding its resource base and enhancing shareholder value. Showcasing its strategic vision and operational capabilities, Emperor Metals is well-positioned to advance its exploration projects and continue to reinforce its standing as a dynamic player in the gold exploration industry.
“Emperor is well funded with approximately $4 million in working capital and will advance the Duquesne West Project towards an updated mineral resource,” Florek added. “Gold prices continue to show strength, and we are confident that everything is now in place to give our shareholders the best chance of a successful upside on this project.”
*Power-Fardy and Breede, 2011. The Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) constructed in 2011 is considered historical in nature as it was constructed prior to the most recent Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (“CIM”) standards (2014) and guidelines (2019) for mineral resources. In addition, the economic factors used to demonstrate reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction for the MRE have changed since 2011. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to consider the MRE as current. Emperor is not treating the historical MRE as current. The reader is cautioned not to treat it, or any part of it, as a current MRE.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EmperorMetals.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to EMAUF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/EMAUF
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