Harte Gold finds new gold zone 
at Sugar

Harte Gold (TSX: HRT; US-OTC: HRTFF) has made a gold discovery halfway between the Sugar and Wolf zones at its Sugar project in northern Ontario.

The latest discovery lies within a 28-metre envelope of anomalous gold between 150 and 450 metres deep. The discovery hole returned an intercept of 13.85 grams gold per tonne over 1.2 metres from 450 metres downhole, and 25.40 grams gold over 1.2 metres from 491 metres downhole.

A second drill hole averaged 14.84 grams gold over 1.1 metres from 324.4 metres downhole, including 38.70 grams over 0.4 metre from 324.8 metres downhole. An earlier drill hole — drilled two months ago — returned 2.47 grams gold over 0.3 metre from 140 metres below surface.

The discovery lies in a 2.3 by 1.5 km area between the Sugar and Wolf zones, and mineralization is characterized by quartz veining, fuchsite and tourmaline not seen before in the Sugar zone deposit, the company says.

The Sugar zone is a high-grade, 50,000 oz. gold deposit that is open at depth and on strike, with mineralization 1,000 metres deep.

Harte Gold’s Sugar project in northern Ontario. Credit: Harte Gold.

“The section we drilled these holes on is 500 metres north of the Sugar zone’s northern boundary and 1,000 metres south of the Wolf zone,” Harte Gold’s president and CEO Stephen Roman told The Northern Miner via email about the discovery. “The entire greenstone belt we are on is prospective, and more than one deposit will be found.”

Roman said the discovery “validates the use of geophysics to find targets and the incredible potential to find more ounces on the property.

“As found elsewhere in the Hemlo area gold mines, as you drill deeper, it gets better,” he said.

In October, the junior added a second drill and increased its program to 15,000 metres.

“Harte is off to an excellent start in this new zone, given that the grades reconcile well to the existing [top-cut] resource grade of 8.05 grams gold per tonne, mineralization begins at approximately the same horizon and depth as Sugar and Wolf, and grades, based on the limited drilling to date, appear to increase at depth,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Mike Kozak said in a research note.

“Should the Sugar and Wolf zone end up continuous [and expand the discovery in both directions], Harte would target multimillion ounces across the property.”

The company says it will keep drilling its three target areas for the rest of the year, and update the National Instrument 43-101 early in the new year to incorporate more ounces found, Roman confirmed.

At the same time, Harte is continuing its 70,000-tonne advanced exploration bulk sample, which has been underway since April at its Sugar zone. The company expects a permit before year-end for another 30,000 tonnes of the bulk sample. Underground ramp development to access the south end of the Sugar zone deposit has been underway since October.

The ore from the bulk sample will go 80 km to Barrick Gold’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: ABX) Hemlo mine and mill, on the north shore of Lake Superior. Under the contract with Barrick, Harte’s ore must average 5 grams gold per tonne or higher, and so far, Harte has fulfilled the requirement.

In addition to Barrick, the Sugar project is within 80 to 100 km of two other operating mines — Richmont Mines’ (TSX: RIC; NYSE-MKT: RIC) Island Gold mine and Wesdome Gold Mines’ (TSX: WDO) Eagle River mine. Goldcorp’s (TSX: G; NYSE: GG) Borden Lake project is also just 100 km from Sugar.

Cantor Fitzgerald’s Kozak says that “given the relatively short mine lives of these operations … Harte’s Sugar zone is an extremely strategic asset to these much larger companies. While we believe that Harte will prove up a resource base large enough to support a stand-alone mine and mill (1 million oz. gold), given its location and superior grade, the company represents a likely takeover candidate in the next 12 to 24 months by up to four potential suitors.”

The Sugar zone contains an indicated resource of 980,900 tonnes grading 10.13 grams gold per tonne (uncapped) or 8.72 grams gold (capped) for 319,300 oz. gold (uncapped), or 275,000 oz. gold (capped).

Inferred resources add 580,500 tonnes averaging 8.36 grams gold (uncapped), or 7.03 grams gold (capped), for 156,000 oz. gold (uncapped), or 131,300 oz. gold (capped).

At press time, Harte traded at 27.5¢ per share within a 52-week range of 7¢ to 34.5¢.

Kozak has a 40¢ target price on the stock.