McLaren Resources (CSE: MCL) has started a satellite-based targeting program on its three gold properties east of Timmins, Ontario. The goal is to narrow down where the company drills next.
The program covers the Blue Quartz, McCool and Kerrs properties, which lie about 80 kilometres east of Timmins. All three sit along fault structures tied to the Destor Porcupine deformation corridor in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, and each one hosts gold zones that have already been drilled.
McLaren will combine several remote sensing datasets into one district scale interpretation. These include Sentinel visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared spectral data, ASTER longwave infrared thermal emissivity data, and structural mapping from synthetic aperture radar. The company will also run quadratic predictive fingerprint mapping. That method pairs ASTER data with local mineralization and mine information to flag ground that looks like known gold-bearing areas.
The work centres on the structural settings that tend to host gold in the belt. Those include major fault splays, bends and relay zones, places where east-west deformation corridors cross other faults, fold hinges, contacts between rocks of differing strength, and areas with a high density of fractures.
The results will then be checked against existing geological and mineralization data to find features that overlap and rank areas for follow up. McLaren said any target found by satellite will still need a geological assessment before it is drill tested.
McCool may offer the most upside. The 1,770-hectare property has about 7 kilometres of strike length, but past drilling has tested only about 1 kilometre of it. The rest of the package is Blue Quartz, a 640-hectare past producing gold mine that McLaren owns 100%, and the 775 hectare Kerrs property.
The properties are surrounded by established operators. McEwen’s Fox mine, Agnico Eagle’s Holt Mine Complex, Mayfair Gold’s Fenn-Gib project and STLLR Gold’s Tower project are all in the district.
McLaren Resources last traded at $0.03 on the CSE.
