Durango Resources Inc. (TSX.V: DGO) (OTCQB:ATOXF) (FSE:86A1) field team are headed to their Discovery project in the Frotet-Evans Archean Greenstone Belt soon to poke around for more good gold discoveries. Decent assay results could put the company’s shares in proper business.
Although the mining exploration and project development pipeline seems to be frozen over by a long Canadian winter, the early summer thaw has melted off at least some of the post-Covid-19 greenfield aversion. A growing number of drill rigs are leaving the sheds, and enough of them are poking holes in the ground to make the pundits smile.
There are several junior exploration ventures in Canada that could have even the most conservative punters fall over their feet if they looked hard enough. At CAD $0.06 per share, Durango Resources Inc. (TSX.V: DGO) is no longer a guest at the table and is cooking up a storm in the Frotet-Evans Archean Greenstone Belt in the company of names like Kenorland Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:KLD) (FSE:3WQ0) and Troilus Gold Corp. (TSX:TLG; OTCQX: CHXMF). In a volatile market, this exciting, little known gold camp in Quebec might just be the magic cure for post-Covid-19 blues.
With the first half of 2021 dominated by incessant talk about the great post-pandemic-recovery, vaccines, variants, and buoyant commodity markets, the constants have continued to be gold and volatility. Gold has been solid, and although a recent dip had some investors scratching their heads, the short and medium-term outlook for gold remains bullish. In fact, at current spot prices, right now would probably be the best time to go sniffing around for bargains on the venture exchange.
Durango targets the Frotet-Evans Greenstone Belt
There are more than a handful of junior exploration companies in Canada plying their trade and looking for funding. Although drill operators are still lethargic, there has been a slight uptick in gold exploration activity in the last year. The Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada, traditionally a prolific gold mining region, has been a prime target for several exploration companies, including Durango. Durango is testing the waters at Windfall Lake adjacent to Osisko Mining (TSX:OSK) and Bonterra Resources (TSX.V:BTR).
However, it is the less known Frotet-Evans Archean Greenstone Belt, further north of Abitibi, that looks almost more interesting. There has been a clear uptick in exploration drilling, and mergers & acquisitions in this part of the world lately. Leading the charge is Troilus Gold, Kenorland and Durango. Of the three, Troilus has by far the largest landholding after acquiring UrbanGold, another pioneer explorer in the Frotet-Evans Greenstone Belt earlier this year. In terms of drilling, Kenorland has released some excellent results not too long ago, which bodes well for any junior explorer scratching around for gold reserves. Thus, Durango finds itself in good company in this neck of the woods, just as they do at Windfall Lake, which is a little further down south.
Durango has not done extensive drilling at their Discovery deposit yet, but from initial grab samples gathered from the surface, it appears that Discovery could eventually play in the same league as its neighbours’ gold projects. Both Troilus and Kenorland have made significant progress in developing their assets during the past year or so. Keep in mind though, that Durango’s exploration team has been focused almost exclusively on its flagship Windfall Lake project and only turned their attention towards Discovery this spring. Nevertheless, the very encouraging results announced by Troilus and Kenorland recently, should give the all-female Durango executive team a lot of hope. Durango plans to let the drill rigs loose this summer to prove up their much talked about Discovery Property.
The upside at Discovery
The Discovery Property is about 100km north of Chibougamau, Quebec. Durango’s Discovery property is about 4,200 hectares in size and covers an important geological structure in the Frotet Evans Greenstone Belt which has a history of producing gold and copper. Discovery lies approximately 60km southwest of the past producing Troilus Mine. Troilus produced more than 2M ounces of gold from 1997-2010 and has remaining indicated resources of another 4.71M ounces.
The Troilus asset was acquired in 2017, following extensive due diligence including an in-depth geological assessment as well as economic and technical analyses. Since then, the inherited indicated mineral resources have increased 142% and inferred mineral resources have increased 350%, following drilling of over 80,500 metres in the last two and a half years. The property currently hosts an estimated 4.96 Moz AuEq (177 Mt with an average grade of 0.87 g/t AuEq) and the total estimated inferred mineral resource has increased to 3.15 Moz AuEq (116.7 Mt with an average grade of 0.84 g/t AuEq).
As a result of the previous operation, the Troilus property already has well established infrastructure, including an extensive network of well-maintained roads, a substation and high-tension power lines maintained by Hydro-Quebec, a permitted tailings facility, and operating water treatment plant.
Troilus has completed approximately 55,400 metres of drilling since January 2021 and intends to continue drilling at a rate of approximately 10,000 metres per month throughout the summer.
Earlier this year the company acquired all the issues and outstanding common shares of UrbanGold Minerals Inc. (TSXV: UGM) to make it the largest real estate owner in the Frotet gold camp. In 2020 Troilus significantly expanded its land package to over 107,000 hectares. The acquisition of UrbanGold in May 2021 added another 35,000 hectares to the Troilus property.
Kenorland delivers high-grade intercepts
Meanwhile, Kenorland’s Regnault gold discovery, part of its Frotet Project, and close to Durango’s Discovery project, continues to deliver high-grade gold intercepts, indicating the robust nature of the whole system. Assays from Kenorland’s recently completed 8,591m diamond drill program at Regnault shows extremely positive results. Continued exploration drilling at Regnault since early 2020 has indicated a gold system hosting high-grade mineralisation along multiple structures within a growing footprint, which is now approximately two kilometers by 500 meters. The company, along with its joint venture partner, Sumitomo Metal Mining, aims to expand on the known mineralisation and then target additional gold bearing structures within the Regnault trend.
Marcy Kiesman, CEO of Durango, says the company will look at getting similarly successful results when they go out prospecting in the Frotet-Evans-gold belt. “Last summer Kenorland had a great discovery on their claims, and we’re planning to follow in their footsteps,” Kiesman said in an interview.
Discovery becomes more interesting
The Discovery project has become increasingly interesting, especially after Troilus took over UrbanGold. Troilus is now Durango’s immediate northern neighbour.
Durango redirected their field team from Windfall Lake and sent them on a bit of a tour on the way home. As a result of the wet, harsh winter this year no one has been out on site and management wanted to make sure that all the roads and other necessary infrastructure is in tip top shape before they undertake what should be an exciting exploration program.
Meanwhile the team back home has done some off-season work and mapping from their computers. “We wanted to make sure that all our results correlate so that we can start doing stripping and some drilling this summer to see what lies below the surface,” says Kiesman. Durango has received all the necessary permits for the areas they deem as priority at the Discovery project. These licenses are valid until 31 March 2022.
On a previous field visit, Durango’s exploration team found six and seven grams per tonne gold in some quartz veining at surface. The same quartz veins hosted in basalt which characterise the Kenorland property, are present at Discovery. This could be an indication of the type of results Durango can expect.
Drilling costs money, and the question is always of how well Durango will be funded for their various drilling programs happening at almost the same time. According to Kiesman the program Durango has just completed at Windfall Lake is completely funded, but that the company might look at raising a bit more as they are also looking to drill a few holes at their NMX East Lithium project.
“We’ll drill the NMX East at the same time as the Discovery program to save on mob and demob costs as the two projects are close to each other. NMX East Lithium is located slightly to the north of Discovery. We do have warrants outstanding and if all works well we can get those warrants exercised and then we won’t have to worry about money for a long time, otherwise we may go back to the market and raise some money this summer,” says Kiesman. The warrants are exercisable at between CAD $0.12- and CAD $0.15 per share.
Although it has been a bit of a grind in the Canadian mining industry during winter, there has been a great awakening with the onset of summer. Durango’s all female team puts their money where their mouths are and invests in their own company while trying to make some great new discoveries. “If you want everybody else writing cheques, you better be writing your cheques first. I don’t expect people to be writing a cheque if I’m not willing to do the same thing,” says Kiesman.
Durango is as good as a genuine early-stage exploration company gets. If the assay results from Discovery’s summer exploration program are any good and Durango’s warrants are exercised, the share price should head north of CAD $0.30 at which time the Company is in proper business.
To learn more about Durango Resources, click here.
