Matador Mining appoints new CEO, reports strong quarterly drilling results from Cape Ray gold project
Matador Mining has announced new high-grade gold hits outside of its existing mineral resource in Newfoundland, Canada.
Gold explorer Matador Mining (ASX: MZZ) has appointed Canadian industry professional Sam Pazuki to the role of chief executive officer to help advance its flagship Cape Ray gold project in Newfoundland.
Mr Pazuki has degrees in engineering and finance, and is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario.
He has experience in strategy, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and investor relations.
Mr Pazuki will join Matador after nearly 10 years with dual-listed OceanaGold Corporation (ASX: OGC) which he helped establish as a global mid-tier producer.
He built a global shareholder register, was instrumental in the company’s expansion into North America and became its primary interface with capital markets.
Most recently, he has held the role of senior vice president (corporate development).
Prior to Oceanagold, Mr Pazuki acted as an advisor to major mining companies including BHP (ASX: BHP) through his role with Ernst & Young’s Advisory Services practice in Toronto.
He has also held roles in business development and asset management for multinational energy giant Enbridge, which boasts a market capitalisation of more than $100 billion.
Advancing Cape Ray
Matador executive chairman Ian Murray said Mr Pazuki’s network and expertise will help advance the Cape Ray project and expand the company’s shareholder base in North America.
“Sam has the specific skills and attributes we require to take Matador through its next phase of growth, and he complements the strong exploration team we continue to build in Newfoundland,” he said.
“I look forward to working with Sam as we execute our strategy and continue to create value for all our stakeholders.”
Mr Pazuki will take up his new role in May and will be based in Toronto, Ontario.
Mr Murray will continue as executive chairman to facilitate a seamless management transition, before moving into a non-executive chairman role.
Largest exploration program
Matador’s December quarter saw a continuation of the largest exploration program in the history of the Cape Ray project.
The program aims to expand known gold deposits and define new greenfield exploration targets across the large but underexplored landholding.
During the period, results were received for 11 holes of an 18-hole diamond core program designed to test strike extensions of a high-grade discovery at the Window Glass Hill Granite margin target, south of the Window Glass Hill mineral resource.
Two standout holes intersected thick zones of gold mineralisation with highlights of 32 metres at 2.6 grams per tonne gold from 14m including 2m at 28.9g/t, and 18m at 1.2g/t gold from 146m including 2m at 5.4g/t.
Big Pond drilling
First-pass diamond drilling of three out of six high-priority anomalies at the Big Pond target was completed during the quarter, concurrent with a systematic power auger basement core sampling program.
Two of the holes intersected notable gold mineralisation associated with a structural target interpreted from magnetics data, and will be prioritised for follow up work.
Best results were 1m at 2.3g/t gold from 39m; 3m at 2.1g/t gold from 55m including 1m at 4g/t; 3m at 2.8g/t gold from 64m including 1m at 4.3g/t; 1m at 1.9g/t gold from 26m; and 1m at 6.7g/t gold from 34m.
Malachite Lake sampling
North of the Malachite Lake target area, Matador’s backpack drill sampling crews completed a broad, first-pass surface till sampling program covering a large area of unexplored ground.
Results are expected to be received in time to design follow-up work during the June quarter.
Benton exploration
The first systematic exploration of the Benton target commenced during the period with the completion of an initial power auger basement sampling program covering approximately 35% of the area.
The program outlined multiple gold and pathfinder geochemical anomalies with several coincident high-priority structural targets identified for follow-up drill testing.
Five preliminary reconnaissance diamond holes were also drilled to test historic till boulder gold anomalies prior to receipt of the power auger assay results.
This program did not return any significant intercepts.
Window Hill infill work
Infill drilling at the Window Glass Hill resource continued to deliver good intercepts, confirming the presence of strong gold mineralisation from surface and delivering on Matador’s aim of improving the resource classification confidence and inventory.
The company completed 28 holes of a 46-hole program during the period, with the remainder scheduled for the summer season.
Significant intercepts to date have comprised: 3m at 3.1g/t gold from 38m including 1m at 6.9g/t; 5m at 1.6g/t gold from 56m including 1m at 3.7g/t; 4m at 4g/t gold from 109m including 1m at 13.5g/t; and 2m at 3.1g/t gold from 139m including 1m at 3.1g/t.
Other results were: 17m at 1.4g/t gold from 24m including 1m at 8.8g/t; 7m at 1g/t gold from 51m including 1m at 4.2g/t; and 8m at 3g/t gold from 97m including 1m at 6.9g/t.
“The grades and widths of significant intercepts are consistent with the existing wider-spaced drilling,” the company said.
“This, combined with comparable vein orientations obtained from the orientated diamond core, reinforces our confidence in the geological model and the interpreted gold lode geometries, grade and continuity.”