TomaGold and Quinto jump on Monster Lake gold hits

VANCOUVER — After a few high-grade gold hits, TomaGold’s (LOT-V) share price is up almost 200% since mid-February, while its thinly traded joint-venture partner on the project, Quinto Real Capital (QIT-V), is up an astonishing 1,850%.

TomaGold is exploring its Monster Lake gold project near Chibougamau, Que., in an effort funded by Quinto. The property has seen drills before, but none of the earlier owners tested Monster Lake’s three main showings below a 125-metre depth.

TomaGold thought the property had a lot more gold to offer, so last winter the company drilled a deep hole into a showing known as Zone 52. The core returned 5.7 metres grading 237.6 grams gold per tonne.

News of the intercept sent TomaGold’s shares soaring, though only temporarily. More importantly, the intercept attracted a joint-venture partner with money to spend. In November Quinto signed on to earn an initial 50% stake in Monster Lake by spending $6 million over the next four years. And results from the first drill program on Quinto are making the Monster Lake deal look good from every angle.

This time around TomaGold is testing the 325 zone, a sheared tuff unit with gold-bearing quartz veins. The first three holes, reported in late February, all returned double-digit gold values over several metres.

Three of the next six holes followed suit. Investors piled into the stock, boosting TomaGold shares from 11.5¢ to 34¢ in two weeks, which translates to a 196% gain.

The numbers are pretty stellar. The best result from the first three holes was 42 grams gold over 7.2 metres, starting 288 metres down hole 95. Nearby, hole 93 cut 33.6 grams gold over 5.9 metres from 217 metres depth, and hole 94 returned 11.5 grams gold over 5.3 metres from 187 metres downhole.

The next results included three major intercepts. Hole 98 cut 5.7 metres averaging 26 grams gold; hole 99 hit 6 metres of 32.6 grams gold; and hole 101 returned 3.5 metres carrying 48.9 grams gold.

“The news for TomaGold continues to be excellent,” TomaGold president and CEO David Grondin says. “These new holes have confirmed that the high-grade gold zone is open along strike on three drill sections fifty metres apart, as well as at depth.”

TomaGold had planned a 2,500-metre drill campaign for this winter, but results from the first set of holes prompted the company to add another 1,000 metres to its drill plans.

Grondin also pointed out that drill core from Monster Lake regularly contains trace chalcopyrite, sphalerite and semi-massive pyrrhotite, accompanied by intense black chlorite alteration, which suggest a volcanogenic massive sulphide-type environment. The gold mineralization identified to date is associated with dark quartz-sulphide veins within a shear zone 3 to 10 metres wide, within a basaltic unit.

Monster Lake is 44 km southwest of the town of Chibougamau. It is accessible by road, and a high-voltage power line passes near the property. Mapping, trenching and more than 30,000 metres of diamond drilling by previous operators outlined a 4 km long mineralized corridor at the site.

Quinto is earning an initial 50% stake in Monster Lake by funding $6 million in exploration over four years. Quinto also gave TomaGold 1 million shares and will pay its partner $350,000 in staged payments. Once it has completed its initial earn-in, Quinto can acquire an additional 20% interest by spending another $4 million on the project within three years, either directed at further exploration or at a feasibility study.

The Monster Lake gold hits have also boosted Quinto’s share price. The company has 11 million shares outstanding, and Quinto shares are thinly traded. Nevertheless, the first set of Monster Lake results sent Quinto from 4¢ to 23¢ in a day for a 460% gain. Over the next two weeks Quinto edged upwards, reaching 64¢ by the time the second set of results came out. The drill holes added another 14¢ to Quinto’s share price, bringing it to 78¢.