MONTREAL, Sept. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Troilus Gold Corp. (("Troilus" or the "Company", TSX:TLG, OTCQX:CHXMF, FSE: CM5R)) is pleased to announce positive drill results forming part of a 1,866-metre exploratory drill program on its newly discovered "West Rim" VMS (Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit) target, located within 150 metres of the North Reserve Pit Shell (Zones 87, J & X22) (see Figure 1) at its Troilus Project, located in northcentral Quebec, Canada. The West Rim drill program was designed to test various geophysical anomalies and collect geological data that will inform the next phase of drilling.
West Rim Highlights:
WR-24-003 returned 1.66 g/t AuEq (1.64 g/t Au, 0.92 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu) over 20m including 3.10 g/t AuEq (3.07 g/t Au, 1.62 g/t Ag, 0.01 % Cu) over 8m starting at 87 m downhole (See Figures 1 and 2).
WR-24-004 returned 1.08 g/t AuEq (1.05 g/t Au, 0.90 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu) over 11m including 7.13 g/t AuEq (7.03 g/t Au, 4.50 g/t Ag, 0.01 % Cu) over 1m starting at 27 m downhole (See Figure 1).
Justin Reid, CEO of Troilus Gold, commented, "We are very pleased with the results from our initial phase of drilling at the West Rim target. Our team is actively reviewing the data from this phase to refine our targeting strategy for the next round of drilling, set to commence in the coming weeks. The characteristics of the West Rim target are highly promising, and our primary exploration objective here is to identify and add higher-grade ounces that could be incorporated early in the mine plan. With the scale of this prospective trend (~4km), which remains largely unexplored, and its proximity (~150m) to the planned North Reserve Pit as defined in the recent Feasibility Study (see press release, May 14, 2024*), we believe this target has the potential to enhance the mine model and deliver on our objective."
*The completed NI 43-101 technical report associated with the Troilus Project Feasibility Study ("FS") can be found on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under the Company's issuer profile or on the Company's website at www.troilusgold.com.
West Rim Zone
The West Rim Zone was discovered as part of a site-wide 25,000m drill program at the Troilus Property that returned 32m of 0.74 g/t AuEq including 1.37 g/t AuEq over 11m in hole X22-24-080 (see press release May 30, 2024, and hole location in Figure 1). The results reported represent the first batch of assays from follow-up drilling, or four of the six holes from Phase 1 drilling, totaling 1,866m.
The West Rim target is an exhalative stratigraphic horizon hosted within felsic to intermediate metavolcanic rocks along the north-west margin of the Troilus intrusion. This prospective sequence can be traced for more than 4 km from the hanging wall of the J Zone, continuing through the West Rim toward the Southwest hanging wall. The eastern boundary of the Troilus intrusion has been extensively explored, and reserves defined within the Z87 and SW Pits align along this eastern boundary. The western boundary of the diorite (West Rim) has been left un-explored and remains open to further drilling (see Figure 1).
WR-24-003 returned 1.66 g/t AuEq over 20m including 3.10 g/t AuEq over 8m and WR-24-004 returned 1.08 g/t AuEq over 11m including 7.13 g/t AuEq over 1m. Both holes were drilled along the margins of magnetic anomalies and show characteristics of volcanogenic stringer-style mineralization and alteration (See Figure 2). Phase 2 drilling will focus on the core of magnetic anomalies, as the mineralization is magnetic due to the presence of semi-massive pyrrhotite. These Phase 2 targets are interpreted as centres of volcanic activity, capable of producing high-grade gold and base metal deposits.
West Rim Zone Geology
The West Rim horizon is hosted within a sequence of basaltic andesite, andesite and dacite, often at the transition zone between the last two. The mineralized zone shows a clear metallic zonation, with gold-rich zones (together with copper and silver) flanked by more Zn-rich zones along strike and up in the stratigraphy (to the NW). Sulfide mineralization consists of disseminated, stringers veins, and small lenses of massive pyrrhotite, pyrite with accessory sphalerite and chalcopyrite transposed into the dominant foliation and metamorphosed to amphibolite grade. The alteration signature is characterized by a sericite-garnet-silica zone in the hanging wall of the ore zone and a chlorite-biotite-sericite zone in the footwall (See core photo in Figure 2). This pattern has been observed and logged throughout the horizon and shows a distinctive lithogeochemical signature. In addition, mineralization and alteration increases toward WR-24-003, and toward an interpreted feeder structure and exhalative center. Higher grades appear to be linked to higher magnetism due to an increase in pyrrhotite content. A magnetic anomaly located in the center of the exhalative zone is our next priority drilling. The polymetallic zoned mineralization, intermediate to felsic volcanic host rocks, and zoned alteration is consistent with a gold-bearing Volcanogenic Massive Sulfides system, which increases the prospectivity of the area to find larger and richer ore zones along strike and at depth.
Figure 1. Plan Map of the Troilus Deposit Showing West Rim Target, Current and Previously Reported Drill Holes
Figure 2. Zonation in alteration centered on the mineralized zone (WR-24-003: 1.66 g/t AuEq over 20m, incl. 3.10 g/t AuEq over 8m)
Table 1. Phase 1 West Rim Drill Results
Hole
From (m)
To (m)
Interval (m)
Inside/Outside of FS Pit Shell
Au Grade (g/t)
Cu Grade (%)
Ag Grade (g/t)
AuEq Grade (g/t)
WR-24-003
87
107
20
