Gowest Gold (CVE:GWA, OTC:GWSAF) is a Canadian junior explorer that is developing the 100% owned Frankfield East gold deposit, and nearby claims that are all located within the prolific Timmins gold camp, in northern Ontario. The camp has produced nearly 70 million ounces of gold from more than 50 gold mines, and remains highly prospective for development of additional gold resources.
The Frankfield Gold Project contains 42 claims covering 2,444 hectares, and is located about 42 kilometres north east of Timmins in the southwest part of Tully Township. Access is by a 15 kilometre all weather road that connects to Highway 655. The property covers an extension of the Pipestone Fault as well as a cross fault from Porcupine Destor Fault Line.
A NI 43-101 compliant updated resource statement was recently prepared by ACA Howe International Ltd for the Frankfield East gold deposit. This study analyzed assay data from 201 drill holes over a strike length of 750 metres and depth of 800 metres, for an Indicated Resource of 1,621,000 tonnes at a grade of 6.68 g/t Au, for 348,000 ounces of gold; and an Inferred Resource of 4,342,000 tonnes at a grade of 6.01 g/t Au, for 838,900 ounces of gold. The cut off grade was set at 3 g/t, and the minimum thickness of gold mineralization at 2 metres.
Mineralization within the Frankfield East Gold Deposit consists of a vertically plunging system that contains a Main Zone and surrounding parallel structures that extend into the host rock and away from the Main Zone, with the parallel mineralized structures become less contiguous as the distance from the Main Zone is increased. Frankfield East has now been further defined by fresh drilling that confirms a strike length of 900 metres and depth of over 1,000 metres, and exhibits high potential for additional gold resources at greater depth.
Many gold deposits have been developed within the Timmins Gold Camp and along the Abitibi Gold belt that containing significant gold resources at greater depth including the Bell Creek and Hoyle Pond Mines that host gold resources at depths of up to 1,500 metres, and are located about 20 kilometres from Frankfield East and lie along fault lines that are within close proximity of the Project Area. Bell Creek currently hosts 1.44 million ounces and the Hoyle Pond Mine has produced in excess of 2.5 million ounces of gold since 1985. The historic Macassa Mine at Kirkland Lake produced gold from depths as great as 2,200 metres.
The consultants also confirmed that a number of shallower mineralized gold zones within the resource area were excluded from the estimate because the drilling density was insufficient to calculate a resource status, and only included about 55% of the identified mineralization down to a depth of 1,000 metres. These zones are now the target of in fill drilling down to a depth of 350 metres for expansion and upgrade of resources to the Measured and Indicated category.
Shallow zones within the resource envelope carry very high grades, and include GW10-95 with 3.5 metres at 10.80 g/t Au from 44.0 metres, and GW10-106 with 4.7 metres at 13.40 g/t Au from 57.4 metres, indicative of rich ore that could be accessed in the early stage of mining operations.
Drilling results released in mid July confirm that resources may be significantly increased and that the deposit remains open at depth. This included the deepest hole drilled to this date at GW11-155, which was aimed at resource expansion, and recorded an intersection of 7 metres at 9.1 g/t Au at a depth of 1,082 metres, and also 2 metres at 5.4 g/t Au at a depth of 1094 metres.
A number of holes were drilled in the first half of this year that were aimed into unexplored areas, encountering mineralization with typical widths of 5 to 7 metres in most holes, and confirm the high prospectivity of the Project Area. Multiple parallel zones were also identified in the majority of the drill holes that were aimed into Frankfield East, and shallow drilling across the surface strike length of Frankfield East extended the mineralized strike line from 750 metres to 900 metres.
Drilling continues to test the limits of the deposit strike length, provide detail for initial mine planning activities, and to retest historic drill holes that were not properly sampled for gold mineralization.
The Company has also launched a comprehensive geophysical and geochemical survey program across the entire Project Area that is aimed at identifying additional property wide targets for drilling in the coming winter season. Planning has also been completed for a second phase of drilling at the Texmont Deposit, which is located less than 1,000 metres to the west of Frankfield East. This drilling will be aimed at defining the size and orientation of the gold bearing structures that were identified in earlier exploration.
Management have stated that many indicators are pointing to the presence of a multi-million ounce gold resource at Fairfield East, and are close to completing a Preliminary Economic Assessment to confirm operating parameters for a mining operation. Gowest is also considering the use of custom milling facilities, with mills located at Bell Creek, Kidd Creek, Black Fox and Dome Mine, that are all within 50 kilometres of Frankfield East.
Peer group comparisons can be made with Abitibi based Northern Gold Mining (CVE:NGM) hosting resources of 984,000 ounces of gold and capitalized at $35.2 million, and Harte Gold (TSE:HRT) hosting 400,000 ounces of gold and capitalized at $46.5 million. Gowest currently hosts 1.187 million ounces of gold and carries a much smaller market capitalization of $22.26 million, which totally discounts the potential for Frankfield East to grow into a multi-million ounce resource, and ignores the fact that the bulk of the currently defined resource is contained within high grade structures.