Canadian-focused explorer Ardiden (ASX: ADV) has reported further gold assays from ongoing diamond drilling at the Astoria deposit within its Rouyn gold project in Québec.
The company has completed eight holes for 7,088 metres of a total 15,000m campaign and identified extensive mineralised halos to confirm a large-scale hydrothermal system along the Rouyn corridor.
The halos are seen as characteristic of strong, long-lived fluid flow along major structural corridors and support the interpretation of a laterally and vertically-extensive mineralised system.
Importantly, the results indicated the mineralisation forms part of a broader, continuous system with high-grade shoot development, where the consistency of grade and thickness across multiple holes supports the potential for “meaningful and sustained resource growth”.
Gold Assay Highlights
Best assays to date have been 29.15 metres at 4.96 grams per tonne gold from 56.65m including 6m at 20.78g/t, 11.85m at 2.64g/t gold from 99.55m including 4.45m at 4.44g/t, and 5.95m at 3.46g/t gold from 3.8m.
Best halo intersections were 35.5m at 0.66g/t gold from 82.5m, 88.8m at 0.61g/t gold from 73.2m, and 43m at 1.09g/t gold from 69m.
The results confirm the presence of high-grade plunging gold shoots and broad, continuous mineralised envelopes that remain open along strike and at depth and highlight strong potential for continued growth at Astoria.
Drilling intersected multiple zones of gold mineralisation across several holes, with grades and widths comparable to established underground operations across the regional Abitibi Greenstone Belt.
Key outcomes included the intersection of gold mineralisation beyond previously-defined drilling areas, as well as continuity across multiple drill holes and grades equal to or above the current resource grade of 3.28g/t.
Consistent High-Grade Mineralisation
Managing director Andrew Stocks said the latest results confirm the presence of consistent high-grade gold mineralisation within the Astoria project area.
“The combination of high-grade intersections and broad mineralised envelopes highlights the scale of the system and supports our interpretation of a large, structurally controlled gold system,” he said.
“With drilling ongoing, we see strong potential to continue expanding mineralisation along the Rouyn corridor.”
Following its merger with Lac Gold, Ardiden holds a 100% interest in both Rouyn and the Pickle Lake gold project in Ontario.
