Auteco Minerals makes new gold discovery at Pickle Crow Project

Auteco Minerals Ltd (ASX:AUT) (OTCMKTS:MNXMF) has discovered new shallow high-grade gold at the Pickle Crow Gold Project in Canada, with shallow broad zones of mineralisation pointing to the potential for open pit mining.

Auteco is on target to secure 80% ownership through an earn-in agreement with First Mining Gold Corp (TSE:FF) (OTCMKTS:FFMGF) (FRA:FMG) by the end of the year.

The company now plans to conduct further drilling at the new prospect, dubbed Carey, to determine the continuity of mineralisation between historic drill holes to the north and south of the initial intersections.

Carey prospect

Shallow high-grade gold results from drilling at Carey include:

• 20.4 metres at 5.3 g/t gold from 102.7 metres, including 2.2 metres at 39.3 g/t;
• 13.8 metres at 2.0 g/t from 29.8 metres;
• 16.5 metres at 2.2 g/t from 160.6 metres;
• 6.5 metres at 4.6 g/t from 86.5 metres; and
• 4.5 metres at 3.5 g/t from 54.3 metres.

Auteco executive chairman Ray Shorrocks said the company’s latest 45,000-metre resource definition and exploration drilling program had been a huge success.

“The high grades and the substantial widths of the new mineralisation highlight the potential for highly beneficial bulk mining methods to be used, either as wider stopes in an underground setting or as an open pit,” he said.

“We will now complete the resource update in parallel with starting the new drilling program, ensuring we maximise the opportunity to generate newsflow and create value for shareholders.”

The news was also shared with Proactive in an interview with chief operating officer Darren Cooke:

More good news

Auteco has also extended the known high-grade gold mineralisation in the Shaft 3 and Shaft 1 areas of Pickle Crow, including the following results:

• 4.9 metres at 7.5 g/t from 483.2 metres (New structure);
• 3.3 metres at 8.0 g/t from 836.4 metres (80-metre extension of structure);
• 4.6 metres at 7.5 g/t from 183.5 metres (80-metre extension of structure);
• 1.3 metres at 21.4 g/t from 82.1 metres (80-metre extension of structure); and
• 0.6 metres at 42.9 g/t from 320 metres (80-metre extension of structure).

Next steps ahead of resource update

Auteco will update the resource estimate at Pickle Crow in July with the existing inferred resource estimate standing at 1 million ounces grading 11.3 g/t gold.

The company has approved an additional 50,000 metres of drilling in light of the Carey, Shaft 3 and Shaft 1 results.

Mapping, outcrop sampling and the acquisition of detailed ground magnetics is in progress on the regional tenure outside of the current resource; assay results returned from rock chip samples of outcropping veins at the Springer prospect returned results up to 145.7 g/t gold.

Auteco has also engaged leading environmental consulting firm Wood PLC to coordinate and conduct activities relating to Advanced Exploration permitting with the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and commenced preliminary discussions with a number of engineering firms to conduct assessments of processing and mining infrastructure inherited with the Pickle Crow project.

- Daniel Paproth

Story by ProactiveInvestors