Artemis Gold (TSXV: ARTG) has released the first assay results from the resource expansion drilling program at its Blackwater mine, and the opening two holes came back strong. Both intercepts sit below the pit shell that defines Blackwater’s current reserves, which represents ground the company has only begun to test in earnest.
Highlights from the program include:
- BWDD-26-0001: 1.22 g/t gold over 259 metres from a depth of 309 metres
- Including 2.29 g/t gold over 85 metres
- BWDD-26-0003: 0.95 g/t gold over 191 metres from a depth of 163 metres
- Including 1.33 g/t gold over 93 metres
BWDD-26-0003 was pushed to 1,133 metres, the deepest hole ever drilled on the property. It ended in mineralization rather than out of it, and the company says the deposit remains open at depth. Both holes were drilled at a dip of -75 degrees. Silver and zinc values accompanied the gold in both holes.
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“These results show what an incredible asset Blackwater is,” chief executive Dale Andres said. “There aren’t many deposits around the world where it’s possible to drill more than a kilometre and intercept mineralization throughout.”
Andres added that the two intercepts are targeted for further drilling and for inclusion in the company’s next mineral reserve update, planned for later this year.
The program contemplates roughly 25,000 metres of diamond drilling under an initial $10 million budget, aimed at extending known mineralization to the north, to the northwest and below the current reserve pit. Two rigs have been turning on a two-shift rotation, and a third was mobilized recently.
Running alongside the expansion work is a separate regional exploration campaign of 15,000 to 25,000 metres, spread across roughly 150 holes and more than 30 identified prospects on the surrounding land package.
Blackwater poured its first gold and silver in January 2025 and was declared in commercial production on May 1 of that year, making it one of the newer large-scale gold operations to come online in North America.
Artemis Gold last traded at $42.00 on the TSX Venture.
