Manhattan fires up first drill blitz at Canadian gold play in 30 years
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Murray Region
Manhattan Gold Corporation has launched a comprehensive exploration program at its Hook Lake project in Nunavut, Canada, launching a 4,000-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign, marking the first modern drilling at the site in more than 30 years.
The campaign is being run by a recently revamped board funded by a new $3 million war chest and led by newly appointed non-executive chairman Gavin Rezos, the founding chairman of the hugely successful Vulcan Energy Resources.
The company’s main action is the Jaws prospect, which hosts a 3.4 million tonne non-JORC historical foreign estimate grading 2.38 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for approximately 285,000 ounces.
The new drilling aims to confirm impressive historical drilling results since 1988, including a heavy hit of 52.78 meters at 3.38 g/t gold from 89.22 m and an eye-catching 46.22 m higher grade core at 3.80 g/t gold. Other outstanding vintage catches include 16m at 5.04g/t gold and 15.2m at 4.50g/t gold.
‘We operate in a well-endowed greenstone belt with minimal modern exploration, although it is home to many mining companies.’
Eric Sondergaard, technical advisor to Manhattan Gold Corporation
Gold mineralization at Jaws is a common deposit style known as an orogenic system and is typically found in ancient volcanic ‘greenstone’ belts.
The yellow metal is hosted in quartz veins within the volcanic rocks of the Kaminak Group and is subsequently altered by mineral-rich fluids. It is also associated with a mixture of sulphide minerals, including arsenopyrite and pyrite.
Manhattan says historic drilling was largely directed to the northwest, and he believes that orientation may have led to exaggerated intercept widths. The company’s new program will drill shear holes to the southeast to cut the mineralization at a better angle and test its true thickness, while also checking for gold mineralization that may have been missed.
Remarkably, the Jaws mineralization remains open in all directions with a potential strike length of 3.3 kilometers and has only been tested to a shallow vertical depth of approximately 190 m.
Eric Sondergaard, technical advisor to Manhattan Gold Corporation, said: “The Hook Lake project will see more exploration work this year than at any time in the last 30 years; we believe this level of interest is warranted given Nunavut’s potential to become the next major gold region.”
The campaign is also preparing to conduct initial practice tests of other highly ranked candidates. Rock fragment sampling at Manhattan’s pristine Quantum and Lotus targets in 2025 yielded eye-catching results. Quantum achieved 16.75 g/t gold and 1485 g/t silver, while Lotus achieved 8.01 g/t gold and a spectacular 2660 g/t silver.
The drilling will also test the nearby Specter mine; The study, last performed here in 1974, will evaluate the persistence of shallow copper-zinc-gold-silver massive sulphide lenses. Historic drilling at Specter yielded a mouth-watering 10.51m of polymetallic hits at 2.91 per cent copper, 6.7 per cent zinc, 95.67 g/t silver and 1.04 g/t gold.
In addition to the upcoming drilling, Manhattan says it is conducting a multifaceted surface exploration campaign. The two-plane aeromagnetic survey was restarted and expanded in April to include 81 square kilometers of new claims drilled 30 km west of Hook Lake, with the data set to feed into targets for future drilling.
A project-scale sampling program will also be completed in the Vesper-Jaws-Omega area to search for mineralization hidden beneath shallow glacial cover. Additionally, the company will conduct channel sampling on newly acquired claims to investigate the historical results of an 8m by 40m outcrop containing a top of 17.14 g/t gold at 0.3m.
The 665-square-kilometre Hook Lake project is located within the underexplored but highly promising Rankin-Ennadai greenstone belt, the second largest of its kind in Canada. The belt is home to major operations such as Agnico Eagle’s 6.7-million-ounce Meliadine mine 225 kilometers to the northeast, indicating the region has the potential for further significant gold deposits.
Operating in Canada’s northern reaches requires a strong social license, and Manhattan seems to have problems on that front. The company signed a 20-year mineral exploration agreement with the Kivalliq Inuit Association and the local Hamlet of Arviat, granting the company access to 338 square kilometers of Inuit-owned land.
Going further, the company obtained drilling and water permits for an initial seven-year period. At the same time, the government of Nunavut provided direct financial support of A$255,000 through the Explore, Invest, Grow exploration grant program.
With a new board of directors, fresh cash, local deals, and exercises that finally launch a project full of historical data and untested high-grade targets, Manhattan appears to have all the pieces for an intriguing exploration story.
If the drill bit can confirm the promise seen at the surface and in old drilling records, this new Canadian chapter could very quickly become interesting for the company.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
