Eastmain Completes Eau Claire Definition Drilling; Mineral Resource Update Underway
Toronto, Ontario, July 13, 2017 - Eastmain Resources Inc. (“Eastmain” or the “Company”- TSX:ER, OTCQX:EANRF) is pleased to announce the completion of the mineral resource definition drill program, including assays from the final 9 holes (3,212 m), from the Eau Claire gold deposit, located in James Bay, Québec. The completed drill program comprised 161 holes (52,420 m) within the deposit’s resource envelope to a depth of approximately 400 m (see FIGURES 1-5). The Company’s 100%-owned Clearwater Project hosts the Eau Claire gold deposit.
Drill Program Highlights:
New understanding of the High-Grade Schist (HGS) Veins’ importance to underground mining potential Improved understanding of vein development, supporting further exploration of deep targets Mineral resource work on track with SGS Geostat (mineral resource update expected Q3 2017) Additional +10,000 m drilling program in progress
Final Assay Highlights Include: Near surface (maximum vertical depth of 100 m) results: ER17-754 – 4.82 g/t Au over 3.9 m, incl. 19.9 g/t Au over 0.8 m ER17-719 – 13.9 g/t Au over 1.0 m Shallow underground (vertical depth 100 - 400 m) results: ER17-769 – 4.47 g/t Au over 9.8 m, including 16.9 g/t Au over 2.0 m ER17-769 – 20.0 g/t Au over 1.0 m
Claude Lemasson, Eastmain President and CEO, commented, “This wraps up a successful infill drilling program and concludes a transitional year with a new management team, vision and strategy for the Company. Throughout the drilling program, our team has focused on improving the quality of the deposit’s mineral resource base. By expanding the understanding of Eau Claire mineralizing controls and confirming the geological interpretation of the deposit, we now have the foundation in place for an updated mineral resource and maiden preliminary economic assessment. Looking forward at our Clearwater Project, our exploration teams will be dedicated to the growth of the Eau Claire deposit and surrounding targets.”
Exploration Objectives Successful
Objective 1: Tighter Drill Spacing to Increase Mineral Resource Confidence
Infill drilling at the Eau Claire deposit has focused on better defining two distinct gold bearing vein systems. Drill spacing was also reduced to 25 m x 25 m within the core of the known deposit to improve the data inputs for the upcoming mineral resource estimate and to provide better controls for designing the Preliminary Economic Assessment expected in Q1 2018. The current footprint of the deposit extends 1,400 m long by 500 m wide.
Objective 2: Expanding the Understanding of Mineralizing Controls
The Company’s recently completed infill program provided an improved understanding regarding the structurally-controlled Quartz-Tourmaline (QT) and High-Grade Schist (HGS) veins. In particular, the quartz-feldspar porphyry hanging-wall and volcaniclastic foot-wall (FIGURE 2) appear to represent key controls for gold enrichment zones. The controlling hanging-wall and foot-wall continue to depth, and will guide future expansion drilling programs.
Objective 3: Geological Interpretation and Extending Mineralized Envelopes
At the 450W Zone, improved definition of QT veins in certain parts of the deposit form an en-echelon grouping overall, with locally denser vein clusters. Both the overall QT vein array and the clusters appear to ‘climb downward’ steeply to the east, creating an interpreted steep SE plunge to the vein system. This orientation will be used to guide deep drilling of the deposit while the spacing of the interpreted QT vein clusters will also be tested. HGS vein dimensions were also better defined by the infill program. Potential exists to intersect these structures down-plunge to the east below the deposit, as expansion of the resource envelope.
Drilling confirmed the current geologic understanding of the QT Veins. Infill drilling has identified new vein clusters in certain areas of the deposit (FIGURE 3). Similar to the multiple vein cluster seen in surface exposure at the 450W outcrop, a second cluster set was discovered approximately 400 m southeast, at a 380 m vertical depth at the lower extent of infill drilling (see press release dated, June 1, 2017). A similar cluster is also seen at a depth of approximately 175 m to 200 m depth roughly midway between these two clusters. Within the clusters, which can extend up to 100 m in strike, the QT veins can thicken to 2-3 m in width. Additional analysis will be conducted on how these clusters of denser and higher-grade veins are distributed within the deposit and how they would relate to future development.
Infill drilling improved definition of the HGS veins, which can report high gold grades and are interpreted to cross cut the 450W suite of QT Veins (FIGURE 4). Currently, four veins in the 450W area are classified as HGS veins, with two, HGS-02 and HGS-04, being traced over substantial distances across the deposit. HGS veins are of variable width, ranging up to 13 m, and averaging 3 m in width. In addition to the quartz-tourmaline mineralization common to all gold bearing zones in the Eau Claire deposit, the HGS veins are strongly sheared/foliated and are composed of variable amounts of typical host rock alteration minerals including actinolite, biotite, carbonate and silica. Despite being limited in number, HGS Veins are observed to be, on average, thicker than the QT veins while hosting similar grade gold mineralization.
The HGS-02 vein has an identified strike extent of approximately 350 m and 330 m of dip extent. The HGS-04 vein has a strike extent of 650 m and dip extent of 300 m. Both HGS-02 and HGS-04 remain open along strike and down-dip. Additional work is currently underway to test and extend the known limits of the HGS Veins.
Final Assays from Infill Drilling Program
A total of 4 infill holes reported here tested the 850W Zone and 5 infill holes tested the 450W Zone, rounding out the mineral resource definition program (FIGURE 1). A summary of selected high grade assay results from this drilling are presented in Table 1 below. TABLE 2 represents the complete set of significant results.
