Nexus Gold Corp. [NXS-TSXV, NXXGF-OTC] said Friday it is keen to start drilling at its 100%-owned McKenzie gold project in the Red Lake area of northwestern Ontario.
The moves comes after Nexus said it has been informed by geological consultant Rimini Exploration & Consulting that its second phase of prospecting at McKenzie has now been completed.
The phase 2 prospecting program, which included approximately 60 grab and chip samples, was designed to further determine areas of interest on the property’s southern end and to continue predrill phase data compilation to help determine initial drill targets.
Back in February, 2019, Nexus announced that it had snapped up 1,345 hectares of ground in the heart of the Red Lake gold camp known as The McKenzie gold project. Prior to the acquisition, Nexus Gold had been focused on West Africa, primarily Burkina Faso.
“The acquisition of the McKenzie Gold Project adds a Canadian-based project with high-grade potential, in a marquee district, to our portfolio,” Nexus President and CEO Alex Klenman has said.
Klenman said a 2017 ground reconnaissance program resulted in a prospecting discovery, with high-grade samples, returning up to 313 g/t gold. “A new showing on the southwest corner of McKenzie Island, located on the northern portion of the project area, was also discovered during this program and returned multiple high-grade samples ranging from 9.37 g/t gold to 331 g/t gold,’’ he said.
“This new discovery lies approximately 100 metres west of a historical showing where gold values of up to 212.8 g/t gold have been reported in provincial government files.’’
The Red Lake area is about 100 kilometres from the Manitoba border and has produced over 29 million ounces of gold since 1949. It is home to Newmont Goldcorp Corp., [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE] Red Lake and Campbell underground mining and processing operations, which was expected to produce 235,000 ounces of gold in 2018, employing roughly 1,000 employees and contractors.
Investor interest in the region is being fueled in part by a significant new high-grade gold discovery at Great Bear Resources Ltd.’s [GBR-TSXV] 100%-owned Dixie Lake project, which is also located near Red Lake, Ont.
Highlight assay results from drilling in shallow zones on the Bear-Rimini target area include 12.33 g/t gold over 14 metres, including 30.90 g/t gold over 4.60 metres; and 194.21 g/t gold over 2.00 metres, including 759.38 g/t gold over 0.50 metres.
The Bear-Rimini Zone is located 2.5 kilometres northwest of the Hinge Zone discovery, which last year ignited investor interest from major players including Bay Street gold bug Rob McEwen and his company McEwen Mining Inc. [MUX-TSX].
In a news release on Friday, Klenman said the McKenzie project has become a priority for Nexus.
“The ongoing mapping, sampling and data compilation Rimini is doing for us is critical in preparing McKenzie for an initial Nexus drill program,’’ Klenman said in a press release, Friday. “McKenzie is a priority for us. It’s right in the middle of a world-class district, which prolific production and major success stories in the immediate are,” he said.
“The volume of high-grade samples and even the limited drilling done at McKenzie make it a very compelling exploration target,” Klenman added. “Drill targets are being determined now and we are eager to begin that phase of development.’’
On Friday, Nexus shares eased 7.7% or $0.005 to $0.06. The shares are trading in a 52-week range of $0.06 and 19 cents.