Puma Exploration (PUMA) - Gold Explorer Finding High Grade Shallow

Puma Exploration Inc. is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on the advancement of its precious metals projects in the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) in New Brunswick, Canada. The Williams Brook Gold project of the company covers more than 46,000 hectares of exploration land with three identified gold zones on the property, namely the Lynx, Cougar and Jaguar gold zones. The Jonpol and Portage project of the company is a 6,000-hectare land package, located 10 km away from the company’s Williams Brook property.

Puma Exploration Inc. on the 2^nd of November 2022 announced that it had encountered grab samples at the Cougar Gold Zone of its Williams Brook Gold project, which showed grades of up to 60.10 g/t of gold. The grab samples form part of the concluded initial stripping program which was aimed at testing soil anomalies, trenching and drill intercepts conducted by previous operators in 2008. The grab samples further showed mineralisation of 25.20 g/t of gold as well as 3.17 g/t and 5.17 g/t of gold.

The company on the 15^th of November 2022 announced that it had launched a metallurgical study at the Williams Brook Gold project following the results of the preliminary metallurgical test work previously conducted by the company. The previous metallurgical test work was conducted using samples obtained from the Lynx Gold zone at the Williams Brook gold project.

The previously conducted metallurgical test work showed that very little cyanide will be required for gold recovery and also showed recoveries ranging between 98.7% to 99.7%. The company was also able to obtain a 92% gold recovery by using gravity separation methods.

The announced metallurgical study will be on a larger scale and will be designed to add to the results of the initial metallurgical test work and enhance the gold recovery at the Lynx Gold Zone.

Williams Brook project

The Williams Brook gold project of the company is a 46,000-hectare land package located in the Bathurst Mining Camp of Northern New Brunswick. The property has access to various infrastructure including an airport, railway lines, electricity, a skilled workforce and mining facilities. The property holds three gold zones, namely the Lynx, Cougar and Jaguar gold zones, with the Lynx Gold zone being the company’s main focus. Marcel Robillard, the President and CEO of Puma Exploration Inc. explains that the company is primarily focused on the Lynx Gold zone.

“We have three different zones here, the first and the most advanced is the Lynx gold zone. 95% of the efforts have been directed on that zone so far, and we have spent 5% - 10% on all the other areas. Once that is done, drilling has confirmed from 0 m to 100 m, really consistent mineralization, now we want to see the quality of that gold zone to make a decision on whether we are going to do a small operation or drill deeper and increase resources.”

The Lynx Gold zone hosts altered and brecciated rhyolite style gold mineralisation. The mineralisation is characterised by quartz veins and veinlets, stockworks and breccias with visible gold commonly observed in drilling samples. Robillard explains that the visible gold is significant as it not only shows mineralisation and justifies targets but also that the target hosts high-grade mineralisation.

“When you see those chunks of visible gold, it means that there's a lot more, really fine ones that you don't see. Those little pieces of free gold can be seen in nugget effects, sometimes you have a big chunk of them, which, whilst you never know until you have the assays, but at least there's gold in it. Most of the time you drill for gold, you drill quartz vein, you don't see any gold, and you have to wait for 2 months until the lab gives you the assays. We already know there's gold in it, we just don't know how much.”

The company in collaboration with Mira Geoscience was able to implement the historic exploration values at the zone in 2019 and compile a mineral potential index (MPI) map. The MPI map serves as the cornerstone of the company’s ongoing exploration works and shows various highly prospective zones at the Williams Brook project. The targets identified by the MPI map have led to the interception of various high-grade mineralisation zones.

Exploration initiatives

Puma Exploration Inc. announced on the 2^nd of November 2022 that it had encountered grab samples at the Cougar Gold Zone of its Williams Brook Gold project, which showed grades of up to 60.10 g/t of gold. The grab samples form part of the concluded initial stripping program which was aimed at testing soil anomalies, trenching and drill intercepts conducted by previous operators in 2008. The grab samples further showed mineralisation of 25.20 g/t of gold as well as 3.17 g/t and 5.17 g/t of gold. The Cougar Gold Zone hosts high-grade gold in quartz veins along a rhyolite-sediment contact, similar to the project’s Lynx Gold zone.

The discovery is part of the company’s fall 2022 exploration program, which included stripping, cleaning, mapping and sampling at the project’s various gold zones. Robillard explains that the Williams Brook Gold project has vast exploration potential, with the company confirming one gold zone of the project thus far.

“We have only confirmed one zone out of 46,000 ha, so we have a lot more to explore. We always do a 3-year exploration strategy, where the first year is the early stage and we have prospectors, and geologists on the ground with boots and a hammer and they find the zone. The second year is a little bit more advanced; that entails trenching, stripping, to really confirm that what the guys found is actually there, and the third year is drilling and to characterise the gold mineralization.”

Williams Brook metallurgical study

The company on the 15^th of November 2022 announced that it had launched a metallurgical study at the Williams Brook Gold project following the results of the preliminary metallurgical test work previously conducted by the company. The previous metallurgical test work was conducted using samples obtained from the Lynx God zone at the Williams Brook gold project.

The previously conducted metallurgical test work also showed that very little cyanide will be required for gold recovery and showed recoveries ranging between 98.7% to 99.7%. The company was also able to obtain a 92% gold recovery by using gravity separation methods.

The announced metallurgical study will be on a larger scale and will be designed to increase the representativity of the initial results and enhance the gold recovery at the Lynx Gold Zone.

Robillard explains that the metallurgical study is required to better understand the potential resources of the Williams Brook Gold project, due to the nature of the gold mineralisation at the project.

“This is free gold, so sometimes it's a bit harder to define a resource just by drilling. The beauty of our project is that it is all at surface. We already have the permit to strip. We have removed all the rubble at surface, now we have on-site 12 veins that are really well located. We are doing a bigger test for recovery now: about 300 kg of each vein, 12-vein samples, and those assays will probably be back in March.”

Future Initiatives

Puma Exploration Inc. holds USD$ 1.5 million in its treasury with the company’s burn rate being approximately USD$ 200,000. The burn rate includes management and fieldwork. The exploration costs are low according to Robillard with the cost of trenching and stripping being approximately USD$ 1,000.

“Excavators and bulldozers are not as expensive here. To give you a sense of the amount, if you do one day of trenching and stripping, the cost is USD$ 1,000. When you start with the drill, it is USD$ 10,000, but we've got a lot more information with stripping and trenching than just one hole. If you strip an area 500 m long and 100 m wide, compare how many holes you would have to fit in there to get the same information?”

 The company’s low burn rate and low costs will enable it to complete the interpretation of its drill results as well as initiate its inaugural drill program at the Jaguar Gold zone of the project, as Robillard explains.

“What we have ahead of us, we have already paid for the recovery tests, so that will be one of the major milestones for early 2023, and that's already been paid for. The drilling is over because we want to get all the assays back, make the 3D interpretation and make sure we drill deeper, say from 100 m to 250 m at the Lynx zone, and also initiate our inaugural program for next year at the Jaguar gold zone, which is the brand-new zone we discovered at surface.”

Puma Exploration Inc. plans to complete a bulk sampling program at the Williams Brook Gold project, which will enable the company to better understand the mineralisation of the project.

“The other thing is the bulk sampling. We want this nugget effect, like high-grade gold at surface. The best way to confirm the resource there, the gold content, will be a bulk sample, therefore, we're talking about a 4,000 t - 10,000 t bulk sample. That will depend on the permitting, and it will be launched probably in the spring.”

The company will also raise additional funds to enable its exploration initiatives, dependent on the execution of warrants from previous raises.

“The next thing will be to drill the holes, so we have a budget plan for between USD$ 3 million and USD$ 5 million. We have USD$ 1.5 million in the treasury, so we won't need to do much cash. We have a warrant at USD$ 0.25c that is expiring in December. We are currently trading at USD$ 0.20c; it is not in the money but it's pretty close. We have good news to come. There's USD$ 3.5 million that could possibly be there, if not, we're going to do a raise of between USD$ 3 million and USD$ 5 million in the first quarter of 2023.”

To find out more, go to the Puma Exploration website