GOLD EXPLORATION: Agnico makes new discovery at Meliadine

NUNAVUT – Toronto’s Agnico-Eagle Mines has discovered a new zone of gold mineralization at tis Meliadine project 28 km northwest of Rankin Inlet. The Normeg zone lies on the west end of the Wesmeg deposit. Drilling returned assays of 8.4 g/t Au over 12.9 metres, 10.0 g/t over 6.2 metres, and 5.8 g/t over 13.6 metres. Agnico believes the Normeg zone likely has a strike length of 500 to 700 metres and that it extends from surface to at least 380 metres.

Additional drilling at Wesmeg outlined good grades and thicknesses at shallow depths: 7.7 g/t Au over 4.2 metres at 7.0 metres depth, 6.2 g/t over 8.0 metres at 88.0 metres depth, and 4.8 g/t  over 8.9 metres at 26.0 metres depth.

This year’s budget at Meliadine is $20.7 million for drilling known deposits plus $9.6 million for regional exploration. Besides the new discovery, the company confirmed the Pump zone has two distinct branches. The zone has an inferred resource estimate of 775,000 tonnes at 5.4 g/t Au.

The Tiriganiaq zone has been the target of both drilling and bulk sampling. Drilling returned a number of intersections that confirmed or exceeded the current reserve grade (7.2 g/t Au) over significant thicknesses. Hole M11-1370 yielded 10.4 g/t over 12.1 metres and M12-1504 yielded 15.9 g/t over 2.8 metres. The bulk sample, approximately 4,600 tonnes from lateral development on two levels, returned 13.5 g/t Au, confirming the grade estimate of reserves in the two largest zones.

Details of the Meliadine project are posted at Agnico-Eagle.com.