On December 20, 2024, Maple Gold Mines Ltd. announced that, the Company has completed its previously announced joint venture restructuring transaction through which it has obtained legal title to, and a 100% ownership interest in, the multi-million-ounce1 Douay Gold Project and past-producing, high-grade Joutel Gold Project located along the Casa Berardi-Douay Gold Trend in Québec, Canada.
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Summary:
Gold mineralization on the Property includes a large, disseminated, pyritic, quartz-poor, structurally controlled style of mineralization. Collectively, this style of mineralization is best described as forming part of the Intrusive-Related Gold System (IRGS). The mineralized zones within and surrounding the locally porphyritic syenitic intrusive complex are likely related to the corresponding intrusive-hydrothermal system, and are predominantly controlled by rock permeability, created either by rheological contrasts between the different lithologies and their associated alteration and/or by deformation zones, particularly along lithological contacts.
Douay West Zone
The Douay West (DW) Zone is located five to thirty metres north of a graphitic fault zone. The mineralized zone extends over a strike distance of approximately one kilometre and trends 100°. The zone is composed of several sub-parallel bodies that trend from 90° to 100°, and dip from -55° to -65° to the south. The drilled thickness of each of the individual bodies ranges from less than one metre up to 65 m.
Gold bearing mineralization is associated with pyritized and altered zones (albitized, silicified, carbonatized, hematized) within mafic volcanic rocks and at the contact of a gabbroic intrusive. Leaching, albitization, carbonatization, and pyritization are the dominant alteration and mineralization patterns. Sericitization and/or ankeritization and weak hematization are present. Visual estimates of 1% to 30% pyrite of various types do not provide a direct estimate of expected gold grade.
Porphyry Zone
The Porphyry Zone hosts high tonnage, lower grade, structurally controlled gold mineralization. It is not a porphyry-style deposit type but may instead be an Intrusive-Related Gold System (IRGS). The Porphyry Zone has an overall trend of 100° to 110° over a strike distance of 3.5 km. The overall width is approximately 500 m. It is composed of east-west to east-southeast oriented, subparallel mineralized lenses, with each lens typically tens of metres with some over 100 m thick. The lenses dip to the south at -60° to -65°.
North West Zone
The Northwest (NW) Zone has an overall east-southeast trend over a strike distance of approximately 900 m. The overall width is approximately 400 m not including what is now called the Nika Zone. It is composed of sub-parallel mineralized lenses trending 95° to 100°, with each lens typically approximately 100 m to less than 900 m long.
The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -50° to -65°, separated by less than one metre to 100 m intervals of barren rock. The lenses ranged from a drilled width of less than one metre to 40 m, with an average drilled width of 11 m. The NW Zone is underlain by a mixed basalt-syenite sequence. Carbonatization and epidote are the main alteration types seen in this area. Secondary silicification and chloritization occur.
Nika Zone
The Nika Zone has an overall east-southeast trend over a strike distance of 840 m. The overall width is 350 m. It is composed of several individual sub-parallel to joined, or multi-limbed, lenses trending 100°, with each lens typically 100 m to 1,900 m long. The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -70° to -85°, separated by less than one metre to 70 m intervals of barren rock. The lenses ranged from a drilled width of less than one metre to 60 m, with an average drilled width of 8.5 m. The Nika Zone is underlain by a mixed basalt-syenite sequence, including some thick syenitic dykes that are well mineralized.
Zone 20
Zone 20 occurs south of the central part of the Porphyry Zone, has an overall trend of 125° over a strike distance of 600 m and a width of 300 m. Significant volumes of syenitic rocks mixed with somewhat less basalts. Zone 20 is composed of sub-parallel sub-continuous lenses trending 125°, with each lens typically 100 m to 500 m long. The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -45° to -50°, separated by less than one metre to 60 m intervals of barren rock. The lenses range from one metre to 40 m wide, however are usually less than 10 m to 20 m wide.
Zone 10
Zone 10 has a trend of 90° to 115° over a strike distance of 600 km. The overall width is 200 120 m. It is composed of several sub-parallel mineralized, sub-continuous lenses trending 90° to 110°, with each lens typically 100 m to 500 m long. The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -65° to -85°, separated by one metre to 70 m intervals of barren rock. The lenses range from a drilled width of one metre to 60 m, with an average drilled width of 10 m. Zone 10 is underlain by mixed basalt with multiple interflow sedimentary horizons and only minor syenite, mainly present in the western portion.
Higher grade mineralization within Zone 10 is characterized by:
1. Intense brecciation: intense fracturing, brecciation, shearing, and fault gouge are all present, and are interpreted to mostly reflect formation of a fault breccia.
2. Pyritization: The high grade gold zone contains up to 15% pyrite, compared to 1% to 3% in the surrounding rock.
3. Silicification/sericitization: The rock is pervasively silicified and sericitized overprinting the composition and textures of the protolith.
4. Felsic unit: fingers of what appear to be syenitic injections or feldspathic alteration are noted immediately below the high grade zone. Pyroclastic fragments are also present, which are indicative of felsic volcanism.
531 Zone
The 531 Zone has a trend of 90° to 105° over a strike distance of approximately 500 m. The overall width is 300 m. It is composed of several sub-parallel mineralized, sub-continuous lenses trending 90° to 105°, with each lens typically 100 m to 500 m long. The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -60° to -75°, separated by one metre to 70 m intervals of barren rock. The lenses ranged from a drilled width of one metre to 60 m, with an average drilled width of 11 m.
The area is underlain by a mafic to ultramafic sequence with multiple interflow sedimentary (argillite and chert) horizons. Two styles of gold mineralization can be distinguished:
1. Anomalous to low gold grades (100 ppb Au to 700 ppb Au) are associated with abundant (5% to 15%) pyrite as disseminations or aggregates.
2. Gold grades dicrease from 1.5 g/t Au to over 10 g/t Au, when discrete (one to five metre thick) structural features such as brecciation, strong fracturing, and/or shearing intersect syenite-contaminated.
Main Zone
Several of the highest gold drill intercepts at Douay were obtained here. The Main Zone has an overall trend of 105° over a strike distance of 850 m. The overall width is 350 m. It is composed of several sub-parallel mineralized, sub-continuous lenses trending 90° to 100°, with each lens typically 100 m to 500 m long. The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -75° to -80°, separated by five metre to 200 m intervals of barren rock. The lenses ranged from a drilled width of less than one metre to 49 m, with an average drilled width of 7.5 m. The grade shells were modelled considering composites of =0.1 ppm Au.
Central Zone
The sparsely drilled Central Zone (CZ) is located north of the Porphyry Zone and east of the NW and Nika zones. It extends over a strike distance of at least 1.4 km, with an overall trend of 100°.
Continuous mineralization consists of narrow, sub-parallel, and stepped bodies over a strike distance of approximately 1,000 m and a width of 80 m to 330 m. The mineralized bodies dip to the south at -60° to -80°, separated by less than one metre to 100 m intervals of low grade to barren rock. Mineralization consists of 1% to 5% disseminated, patchy and fracture-controlled pyrite, in intervals up to 20 m wide, mostly in silica-sericite-Fe-carbonate-pyrite altered pyroclastic rocks, but also associated with quartz-feldspar stockwork veinlets in felsic feldspar porphyry dykes.