Ardiden Limited (ASX: ADV) ('Ardiden' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce it is systematically advancing its 1,088km2 Pickle Lake Gold Project with; receipt of Mines Department Permitsfor its Dorothy-Dobie prospect; a new drill turning at Esker; increase in the gold Project size and continued excellent First Nation (FN) relationships.
Ardiden's strategic gold landholding is located in the well-endowed Uchi Geological sub-province in North-western Ontario, Canada.
Commenting on the progress, Ardiden Managing Director and CEO Rob Longley said: 'We are extremely pleased to report the receipt of the new drill permit at Dorothy-Dobie, which is a reflection of Ardiden's professionalism and good standing in the region. We are also pleased to share that a new drill rig has arrived at Esker. The new drill contractor is staffed for both day and night-time drilling. Additionally, we have expanded the land ownership of our strategic gold package, which is highly prospective for Tier-1 Discoveries'.
'Our goal during the remainder of 2022 is to unearth the discovery potential at Pickle Lake as we attack the targets with the drill bit. The 7,000m of drilling on the Western Hub at Esker and Dorothy-Dobie is underway. Our drill rigs then have the option to return to permitted Eastern Hub areas at Kasagiminnis and South Limb to round out the fully funded 2022 drill program. Great Bear tangibly demonstrated World Class discovery success nearby at Red Lake, culminating in a C$1.6B acquisition deal with Kinross prior to a JORC Resource even being announced. With a neighbour who experienced this level of success, we believe we are well placed for an exciting future ahead for ADV shareholders. Meanwhile, our Lithium JV continues to deliver significant value, at no cost to Ardiden.'
Ardiden has received a three-year exploration permit from the Ontario Mines Department (MDMNRF) to work on the Dorothy-Dobie area which surrounds Barrick's Golden Patricia Mine. This will ultimately provide full access and flexibility to exploration campaigns along the Western Hub's highly prospective +50km Bear Head Fault Zone (BHFZ).
Lake Gold Project Size With Barrick, Newmont and Evolution all significant landholders in the Pickle Lake and Red Lake area, Ardiden has staked additional claims to increase its Pickle Lake Gold Project's size by 25% to a commanding 1,088km2 (108,800 hectares).
The new diamond drill contractor arrived on site this week and has setup at Esker to accelerate our 4,000m programme. Gold mineralisation at Esker is associated with the northwest-southeast trending 'Bear Head Fault Zone' (BHFZ), which extends over a strike length of at least 50km and includes the historic Golden Patricia Gold mine (Barrick Gold). With both Esker and Dorothy-Dobie areas now fully permitted, Ardiden has flexibility to move drill rigs along a 30km section of the BHFZ along the Western Hub. Historical data recently uncovered from the Tonsil Gold Prospect has highlighted new drill target areas along the Dorothy-Dobie trend of gold mineralisation underlying the drill targets within the gold exploration Project
On 15 April, it is likely that First Nation Communities will commence a traditional hunting period close to the Esker Gold Prospect. Drilling will therefore relocate north to the Dorothy-Dobie Permit area where drill pads and access is already being prepared. The initial Missinaibi drill rig, which completed its first hole at Esker in February, has since experienced significant technical and staffing issues and they have requested a break to review their rig capacity and operational setup. Ardiden remains committed to First Nation business enterprises such as Missinaibi under its ESG principles and is assisting where possible for Missinaibi to better prepare its drill rig and workforce for the conditions at Pickle Lake and associated operational logistics. However, the new drill contractor has arrived well prepared and fully staffed for both day and nightshift operations and is well set to accelerate the Western Hub drill programmes of 4,000m at Esker and 3,000m at Dorothy-Dobie.
The Company confirms that it is not aware of any other new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements referred to above, and that all material assumptions and technical parameters have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Person's findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcements.
Email: info@ardiden.com.au
Ardiden is focused on systematic gold exploration at its Pickle Lake Gold Project in the well-endowed Uchi Geological Subprovince of north-west Ontario, Canada. The Company's 1,088km2 (108,800 hectare) District-Scale Gold Project is the largest continuous gold land holding at Pickle Lake, where Barrick, Newmont and Evolution all hold significant gold mine and exploration assets. Pickle Lake produced over 3 Moz of gold up to 1997 and has remained vastly under-explored since. Ardiden's strategic landholding is situated on the same geological belt as Red Lake, the 'Uchi' Subprovince, which has produced over 30Moz of gold to date and where new Tier-1 gold discoveries are still being made, such as Great Bear Resource's Dixie Project, which is currently completing a CAD$1.6 billion acquisition by Kinross. In addition to its Gold Project, Ardiden has a free carried 20% interest in a Lithium Joint Venture with Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1). Ardiden's free carry is until the earlier of completion of a positive Bankable Feasibility Study or a GT1 Decision to Mine. In addition, under the JV, each party retains off-take / marketing rights in the same percentage as their respective JV interest. Ardiden also owns a 6.47% equity holding of GT1 currently valued at over $10.5M2
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