Defiance cuts high grade at depth

Reverse-circulation drilling has cut some high-grade intersections beneath the Piment Central deposit on Defiance Mining‘s (DM-T) Tasiast gold project in Mauritania.

Drilling beneath the Piment Central pit (Pit S3) traced the northernmost of two known high-grade shoots to a vertical depth of 230 metres. Among the results, highlights include:

— 12 metres (from 247 metres below surface) grading 7.3 grams gold per tonne in hole 647;

— 9 metres (from 240 metres) grading 18.2 grams gold in hole 650; and

— 11 metres (from 224 metres) of 10.7 grams gold in hole 652.

The three remaining holes generally returned around 4.4 grams gold over widths of 4 and 11 metres.

Defiance says the shoot stretches over at least 150 metres of strike and remains open at depth. Also, grades appear to increase as widths decrease with depth.

The latest round of drilling also tested a “hump,” situated between the two high-grade shoots in the centre of Pit S3. The holes confirmed low-grade and patchy mineralization. The area divides the pit into two sub-pits at depth requiring an additional ramp. Still, Defiance says the drilling may allow it to move some inferred resources to the indicated category.

Meanwhile, five holes were sunk to test an anomaly 2.5 km north of Piment North-South Extension. Highlights include hole 664, which returned 9 metres (from 28 metres) grading 4.2 grams gold, and hole 665, which cut 6 metres (from 56 metres) of 6.9 grams gold.

Several condemnation holes along a pyrite band at the proposed waste dump site confirmed the lack of economic mineralization.