The province of Quebec has a long and rich history of gold mining and production and Vanstar Mining Resources Inc. (TSXV:VSR, OTCQX:VMNGF, Forum) is right in the thick of it thanks to its flagship Nelligan Project.
The company has a free-carried 25 per cent interest in the Nelligan Project through a joint venture with IAMGOLD, which is among the largest gold deposits in Quebec.
For context, Quebec produces about one-third of Canada’s gold, with most of it sitting along the Abitibi Gold Belt, having produced 170 million ounces of gold. The region attracts a wide range of explorers and developers, including mining giants such as Barrick Gold CorpKirkland Lake Gold Ltd. and Kinross Gold Corp.
All of this is to say that Vanstar Mining Resources sits in good company and is in a strong position to have a busy year ahead.
To kick off the new year, Vanstar Mining announced on January 12 an update to its mineral resource estimate for the Nelligan joint venture Project.
Vanstar Mining updates mineral resource estimate
In a press release, the company said that some of the key highlights of the updated mineral resource estimate includes, using a base price of US$1,500 per ounce of gold:
- 72.2 million tonnes of indicated mineral resources, averaging 0.85 grams of gold per tonne for 1.97 million ounces of gold
- 114.1 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources averaging 0.88 grams of gold per tonne for 3.24 million ounces of gold
- Mineral resources have increased by 92 per cent in tonnage, with a 15 per cent decline in gold grades for an overall gain of 63 per cent in metal content
“With the very targeted drill programs completed by IAMGOLD, we were able to achieve a 63% increase in gold resources at Nelligan, as well as improve the quality of the resources by converting some of the Inferred Resources defined in 2019 into the Indicated category,” J.C. St-Amour, president and CEO of Vanstar, said in a press release. “With the 10,000 metres drill program planned for this year by IAMGOLD we believe there is immediate expansion potential of the known resource and the exploration work achieved on the Project land provides an opportunity to test newly defined exploration targets outside of the resource area.”
The company also said that the mineral resource estimate resulted in the upgrade of nearly 2 million ounces from inferred to an indicated resource classification.
“Potential for further resource expansion appears favourable, noting that the deposit has areas within the resource pit shell, along strike and at depth that remain open for further drilling. Our exploration efforts continue to highlight the significance of this pure grass-root discovery,” Craig MacDougall, executive vice president, Growth for IAMGOLD, said in a release.
The company also said that since 2020, IAMGOLD has drilled 53 more holes for a total of 22,045 meters to expand the resource base to the west and at depth.
The investment corner
Vanstar Mining Resources presents itself as a unique opportunity in the gold space thanks in part to its partnership with IAMGOLD. Through the joint venture, the company does not need to contribute any funds in order to advance the project to production, making it a low risk exploration opportunity for investors.
With the new year now in full swing, Vanstar Mining will surely be a company to watch for as it continues to advance the Nelligan project and its other projects such as the advanced exploration Bousquet-Odyno project.
For more information, please visit vanstarmining.com
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article by The Market Herald.
