National Post (National Edition)
Thunder Gold - The right project, the right time, the right team
Potential for a large-tonnage, ‘Tier One’ deposit has geologists eyeing Tower Mountain project with interest
With the shift in the global economy, more eyes are returning to exploration opportunities in Canada and to northwestern Ontario in particular, long recognized as a premium district for significant gold discoveries.
Historical exploration in this region focused on highgrade, narrow vein gold deposits, similar to the world class mines of the Red Lake camp. Exploration companies often ignored lower-grade gold mineralization, considering it to be uneconomic. However, the discovery, development, and operational successes of the Malartic (QC) and Detour Lake (ON) mines – Canada's largest gold producers – changed that perspective. Both mines featured a mineral resource greater than 10 million ounces, annual production of more than 500,000 oz of gold and more than 10-years of mine life (the industry accepted criteria for a `Tier One' asset). Both mines currently produce over 700,000 ounces of gold annually, from ore averaging less than 1.0 gram per tonne of gold – and their success has changed the way junior companies are approaching exploration in Canada.
This shift in focus towards large-tonnage, lowgrade opportunities has already led to the discovery and development of two new open pit opportunities in northwestern Ontario: the Greenstone project near Geraldton and the Springpole project, 100 kilometres west of Red Lake; both multi-million-ounce, large-tonnage, low-grade gold deposits, being developed as largetonnage, low-grade open pit mines.
With forty years of industry experience, Wes Hanson, President and CEO of Thunder Gold, recognized the opportunity offered by the company's flagship asset, Tower Mountain, located just 50 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, ON. “I immediately recognized the large-tonnage, low-grade potential of Tower Mountain, a result of my many years of experience in the US and South America where these type of deposits underpin the world's largest gold producers. What is particularly exciting at Tower Mountain is that we currently estimate 90 per cent of the historical drilling does not test the most prospective geophysical targets identified to date yet these holes have returned anomalous gold grades over several hundreds of metres.”
“We currently interpret Tower Mountain to be an Intrusion Related Gold Deposit (IRGD), which is a highly desirable model for Tier One gold discoveries,” Hason says. “Historical drilling to-date has established anomalous gold grades over a broad area measuring approximately 1,500 metres in length x 500 metres in width, to a depth of over 400 metres from surface.”
This area parallels the western edge of a semi-circular alkalic intrusion, which we believe controls the gold mineralization. A total of 183 holes (39,066 metres) of drilling, indicate broad intervals of gold mineralization ranging from 0.10 to 1.00 g/t, persistent over several tens of metres of cored length and often extending over several hundreds of metres in several holes. A number of holes terminate in mineralization, suggesting potential at depth in addition to the remaining, undrilled perimeter of the intrusion.
“Our current exploration model,” Hanson continues, “is that the gold mineralization forms a 500-metrewide halo surrounding the alkalic intrusion and this represents a significant opportunity, as more than 80 per cent of the circumference surrounding the intrusion is undrilled. Historical surface sampling has identified 26 anomalous zones of gold mineralization within the interpreted halo, most of which coincide with the perimeter of the intrusion. Induced Polarization (IP) surveys have highlighted chargeable anomalies coincident with the drilled mineralization and appear to be an excellent exploration vector. As a result, we have expanded our IP coverage over the remainder of the halo surrounding the intrusion, which should be completed by the end of January 2023. This expanded IP dataset will be evaluated to isolate and prioritize drill targets for a Q1, 2023 drill campaign.”
According to Hanson, the fact is that Thunder Gold is unknown to most investors. “It represents a low-cost, low-risk opportunity for investors seeking long-term exposure to gold,” he explains. “The exploration opportunity at Tower Mountain offers significant potential upside leverage should exploration confirm the geological model, providing early investors with significant re-rating potential through, prudent, fiscally responsible, targeted exploration. Our plan is to speak through the drill bit, demonstrating potential surrounding the core intrusion.”
“We have re-logged the historical drill holes to a standardized legend to facilitate geological interpretation. Metallurgical sampling demonstrates robust gold recovery from direct cyanidation and also indicates that the mineralization is not `acid-generating'. Whole rock geochemistry and petrography are ongoing and our expanded IP survey is nearing completion. We are planning a 3,500-metre drill program in Q1, 2023 to test the best IP targets identified in the expanded survey. This drill campaign is fully funded.”
Hanson believes Thunder Gold offers investors a low-cost opportunity to acquire an initial interest in an asset with a large gold endowment, in a premium mining jurisdiction with world class access and infrastructure. He added, “We do not need a road, a camp or power infrastructure, as all that is already in place. Our environmental impact is minimal; we are simply utilizing existing infrastructure. As a result, our all-in discovery costs per ounce should be materially lower than our peers. There are simply too many positive factors to ignore and that is why I chose to join the team at Thunder Gold.
“I believe Thunder Gold offers investors the right project, at the right time with the right team. Now is exactly the right time to be investing in gold exploration when the gold price starting to show strength. Supply-demand fundamentals and the depletion of current gold reserves by mining should stimulate price appreciation in the long-term. Having an asset with demonstrated discovery potential coinciding with that inflection point will provide shareholders with an attractive exit point on their low-cost investment. I am pleased to note that over the past several months, insiders have been increasing their position in Thunder Gold, underpinning our confidence in this exciting opportunity.”
“Our focus in the coming months will be to demonstrate the upside discovery potential at Tower Mountain. We have an updated geological model, expanded IP coverage, initial metallurgical recovery data, all of which will be used to isolate targets for our fully funded, first-quarter 2023 drill program. Our long-term objective is to demonstrate that Tower Mountain offers investors a Tier One gold discovery opportunity. This is an exciting time for Thunder Gold investors and our team is looking forward to meeting the challenges ahead.”