Olympio Metals builds Quebec gold system with more solid drill hits
- Penny Taylor
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Olympio Metals (ASX: OLY) has drawn first blood from its Phase 3 drilling program at its Bousquet gold project in Quebec, Canada. The opening hole of the new program delivered another high-grade intercept that appears to strengthen the case for the flagship project which is rapidly shaping up as a significant new gold system.
The standout result from the first of five diamond drill holes in phase 3 is 5 metres grading 4.54 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 171m, including a 0.75m hit at bonanza-grade of 24.3g/t gold. That hole also returned a second intercept of 1.85m at 2.17g/t gold from 208.65m. Notably, the main hit sits 30m up-plunge from a previous intersection of 6.4m at 6.54g/t gold, providing further support for continuity within the main lode.
The 1428-metre Phase 3 drilling program at Bousquet's Paquin prospect was designed to test the strike orientation and lateral continuity of the mineralised system. Management says the first assay confirms the interpreted 300-degree strike orientation of the main lode, with the remaining four holes now carrying the task of proving the high-grade system extends along the same trend.
Olympio has also received down-hole televiewer data from 11 holes at Paquin and Amadee, generating more than 6000 structural readings. The information will be assessed alongside the remaining Phase 3 assays to refine the geological model and improve future drill targeting. Structural work indicates Paquin may comprise several parallel high-grade lodes rather than a single isolated vein.
The latest result is another piece in what is becoming an increasingly compelling exploration puzzle. It adds to an already impressive drill sheet that includes a whopping 19.4m at 17.29g/t gold, including 2m grading 109.51g/t gold. The company’s focus is increasingly shifting now from whether Bousquet hosts high-grade gold to whether Olympio can stitch those standout intersections into a resource capable of supporting future mine development.
Management believes the first hole has provided early validation of Olympio's structural interpretation and strengthened confidence that Bousquet is developing into far more than a collection of impressive drill hits.
We continue to hit high-grade gold from our drilling at Bousquet and our success rate in the 44 holes drilled to date continues to give us confidence that this is a large mineralised system. Olympio Metals Managing Director Sean Delaney
Assays from the remaining four holes are expected over the coming weeks while Olympio restarts a surface geochemical sampling campaign to generate additional drill targets and refine its next phase of exploration.
Geologically, Bousquet sits within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, one of the world's premier Archean gold provinces. Gold occurs in smoky quartz-carbonate veins hosted in shear zones. The Cadillac Break acted as a giant plumbing system that channelled mineralising fluids into favourable structures, with Olympio now pinpointing the most concentrated highest-grade gold.
Bousquet sits on Quebec's revered Cadillac Break, a major regional structure associated with more than 110 million ounces of historic gold endowment. The project lies within 15km of Agnico Eagle's 15.8-million-ounce La Ronde mine and IAMGOLD's 2.4-million-ounce Westwood operation, placing Olympio in one of Canada's premier gold districts where world-class geology is matched by established mining infrastructure.
The surrounding infrastructure is just as compelling. Bousquet boasts year-round highway access, rail and hydroelectric power infrastructure, nearby mining operations, processing facilities and the skilled workforce and mining services centred around Rouyn-Noranda.
The broader Bousquet project is not a one-trick pony either, with additional targets at Amadee, Decoeur, Decoeur Extension and CB-1 all complementing the Paquin prospect and offering district-scale discovery potential.
The company has earned a 51 per cent interest in the Bousquet gold project and can increase that to 80 per cent through staged option payments, share issuances and exploration expenditure over the next five years. Bullion Gold Resources will retain a 20 per cent net interest once Olympio completes its earn-in to 80 per cent.
With four assays still to come, a growing structural dataset and fresh target generation set to begin, Olympio now has every opportunity to demonstrate the scale and continuity needed to establish one of the more intriguing emerging gold stories on Quebec's legendary Cadillac Break.
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