Integra cuts high grade at Lamaque

It has been a promising six months for Vancouver-based explorer Integra Gold (ICG-V). The company has completed a 30,000-metre diamond drill program at its wholly owned Lamaque gold project located in the Val-d’Or gold camp in northwestern Quebec, and continues to augment its management team with industry veterans.

Lamaque is located in Quebec’s “valley of gold,” which hosts a number of large-scale, past and present gold mines.

Integra’s four mining concessions incorporate a portion of the historic Lamaque gold mine, which produced 4.6 million oz. gold from 1935 through 1985, and they sit 6 km northeast from Agnico-Eagle Mines’ (AEM-T, AEM-N) Goldex gold mine.

Integra released a resource estimate in 2011 that tallied 800,800 indicated tonnes grading 6.33 grams gold per tonne for 163,000 contained oz. gold, as well as 2.3 million inferred tonnes of 6.91 grams gold for 518,643 contained oz. gold.

Integra is undergoing a technical review by the British Columbia Securities Commission, specifically targeting the resource estimate at the company’s Triangle zone.

Integra stated on Aug. 15 that none of the cited reporting deficiencies are material to the resource, and anticipates an updated release in the first quarter of 2013. Integra anticipates no recalculation or audit of its resource statements.

The company is focused on four main targets in 2012 — No. 4 Plug, Triangle zone, No. 6 Vein and Parallel zone — in a bid to increase its resource base and establish promising secondary targets.

Integra’s primary target has been the high-grade No. 4 Plug, where the company is completing 20,000 metres of diamond drilling this year. The No. 4 Plug contains 50% of Integra’s current gold resource, hosting 1 million inferred tonnes averaging 9.43 grams gold for 316,000 contained oz. gold. The company has cited geological similarities between the No. 4 Plug and the adjacent Main Plug, which historically produced 3.6 million oz. gold.

On July 19, Integra released bonanza-grade results from its drill program at the No. 4 Plug. The company published five holes after completing 14,600 metres of drilling at the target, with highlights including: 29 metres averaging 22.8 grams gold in hole 4-12-06, with a bonanza cut of 1 metre grading 945 grams gold; 2 metres carrying 25.1 grams gold in hold 4-12-07B; and 3 metres averaging 22 grams gold in hole 4-12-04.

Much of Integra’s drilling at the No. 4 Plug has been targeted at increasing depths, with the majority of intersections occurring between 400 metres and 800 metres, though the company has cut grades as high as 23 grams gold within 30 metres of surface.

“These latest results confirm the suspicion that the mineralization is similar to that of the adjacent Main Plug,” senior vice-president of exploration Hervé Thiboutot comments. “Mineralization in these intrusive plugs is unique in that the high-grade veins occur in clusters, potentially allowing for more cost-effective bulk-mining methods.”

Thiboutot joined Integra in early March and brings over 29 years of experience to the company, including a 24-year stint with Placer Dome, and a project-management role with Goldcorp (G-T, GG-N) during the feasibility stage at the gold major’s Éléonore project in Quebec’s James Bay region. According to a company statement, Thiboutot has been a major contributor in co-discovering over 20 million oz. gold during his career.

Integra has cuts promising hits at other earlier-stage targets. On Aug. 31, the company released final assays from a 4,000-metre program at its Vein No. 6 target located 600 metres west of the Main Plug. Integra cut high grades within 200 metres of surface at No. 6, including 5 metres averaging 20.15 grams gold in hole 6-12-12A 2 metres of 13.04 grams gold in hole 6-12-06 and 1 metre of 18.25 grams gold in hole 6-12-11.

“These are exceptional gold intersections, near surface and within six hundred metres of one of Quebec’s most successful gold mines,” president and CEO Stephen de Jong comments.

The No. 6 Vein will not be a part of Integra’s pending resource upgrade because the company is focusing on zones that have sufficient results to complete technical updates in the near-term.

“Having secondary targets of this quality speaks to the long-term potential at Lamaque,” Jong argues.

Outside of the No. 4 Plug, Integra has two more zones slated for resource updates: Triangle and Parallel. The Triangle zone contains 220,788 inferred tonnes averaging 18.73 grams gold for 133,000 contained oz., while the Parallel zone has 660,000 indicated tonnes carrying 4.8 grams gold for 101,800 contained oz. gold.

Mineralization at Triangle starts at surface and is open at depth, while the Parallel zone remains open along strike and demonstrates potential continuity with Integra’s Forestel zone, 1 km east.

Integra completed 15 diamond drill holes at Triangle, with preliminary results released in early March featuring 10 metres averaging 4.71 grams gold in hole 12-06, including a higher-grade cut of 38 grams over 4 metres.

A 31-hole program was completed on Parallel in early January, with Feb. 2 results including 3 metres averaging 29.5 grams gold in hole 11-19; 10 metres grading 19.16 grams gold in hole 11-24; and 1 metre of 44.5 grams gold in hole 11-06.

With grades in hand, Integra has had little problem securing equity financing. The company completed an oversubscribed, brokered private placement on Aug. 21 worth US$3.3 million by issuing 8.8 million flow-through units at 31.5¢, and 1.95 million non-flow-through units at 27¢. The company announced it would add 10,000 metres to its 2012 program and focus on its historic, high-grade No. 5 Plug target.

Integra’s shares have traded in a 52-week range of 18¢ and 46¢. The company bounced off quarterly lows in mid-July, gaining 5¢ over the past five weeks en route to a 27¢ presstime close.

Integra has 74 million shares outstanding for a $20-million market capitalization, with 36% of the company held by insiders and 9.5% held by China’s Shandong Gold Mining.