Engineering and baseline studies begin for underground Frotet gold project

BBA Consultants has been hired to begin engineering and baseline studies in preparation for the Frotet underground gold project adjacent to the past-producing Troilus gold-copper mine 100 km north of Chibougamau, Quebec.

Kenorland Minerals (TSXV: KLD), the current operator and holder of a 4% net smelter return royalty on the project, updated recent events at the project. Frotet is 100% owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada.

BBA has been engaged to develop a scoping study that will assist with permitting an exploration decline at Frotet and a preliminary cost estimate prior to application. Development of an underground exploration decline will facilitate year-round drilling to define the Regnault gold deposit with a resource estimate anticipated by late 2025. Baseline studies are included in the contract.

The Regnault deposit is a greenfield discovery made by Kenorland and Sumitomo in 2020. Since then, 220 drill holes totalling 100,721 metres have been drilled. The property has a network of forestry road and a crossing over the Route du Nord in the southwest part of the property. A power transmission line, which served the Troilus mine, also crosses the property.

The deposit is hosted within quartz-calcite stockwork vein systems, and pyrite is the dominant sulphide mineral with gold mineralization. Visible gold has been logged in several high-grade veins.

Late last month, Kenorland reported exceptional gold grades, including:

• 24.16 g/t gold over 4.7 metres, including 261.20 g/t over 0.4 metre;
• 31.09 g/t gold over 1.9 metre, including 103.50 g/t over 0.6 metre;
• 16.11 g/t gold over 4.5 metres, including 164.70 g/t over 0.4 metre;
• 5.08 g/t gold over 11.10 metres, including 106.90 g/t over 0.4 metre;
•  17.71 g/t gold over 2.9 metres, including 153.70 g/t over 0.3 metres.

There were several other short intervals of roughly 45 g/t, 73 g/t and 22 g/t gold.