New Found Gold increases Queensway drill program to 500K metres

New Found Gold (TSXV:NFG; NYSE-A:NFGC) has announced the expansion of the exploration program at its 100%-owned Queensway project, located on the Trans-Canada Highway, 15 km west of Gander, N.L. 

To date the company has completed approximately 80% of its current 400,000-metre diamond drill program at Queensway. Approximately 60,000 metres of drill core is pending assay. With 319,000 metres of drilling completed to date, the company is aiming for 181,000 metres of core production during 2023.

During 2022, New Found drilled 184,911 metres of core, equating to 3,555 metres of core production per week, while operating about 14 drill rigs. This expanded drill program is fully funded out of the company’s current cash and marketable securities balance of $90 million. 

According to the company, exploration drilling will include a hybrid of targeted drilling, aimed at expanding existing zones and identifying new zones in highly prospective areas, as well as grid drilling aimed at testing open swaths of prospective strike along main fault structures, with a strong emphasis on the west side of the Appleton fault zone (AFZ). 

Drilling is also planned for the parallel JBP fault zone (JBP) at Queensway north, the newly optioned VOA ground to the north, and at Queensway South.

New Found COO Greg Matheson said JBP and Queensway cover several known gold prospects, structures and prospective geological environments in the region. 

“[JBP] parallels the AFZ and remains underexplored, despite the presence of high-grade gold found on surface and in drilling,” he said. “At Queensway South, we see the potential for additional gold discoveries along the southern extensions of both the AFZ and JBP faults, which extend for over 90 km. Recognizing our success rate to date, and acknowledging the size of this canvas, we are excited to continue to aggressively pursue further potential high-grade gold discoveries at Queensway.”

The company’s exploration expansion comes about six weeks after it announced that new drilling expanded its Keats West discovery inside the Queensway project. 

The Vancouver-based explorer, along with Labrador Gold (TSXV: LAB; US-OTCQX: NKOSF), Exploits Discovery (TSXV: NFLD) and investors such as Eric Sprott are part of a burst of exploration of the AFZ, an area that proponents say could eventually rival regions like the Abitibi gold belt in northern Ontario and Quebec, and northwest British Columbia’s Golden Triangle.