First Class Metals (LSE:FCM) told investors it has identified a new visible gold occurrence at its Sunbeam gold property in Ontario, Canada, after a grab sample from outcrop returned gold content confirmed above 30,000 grammes per tonne, equivalent to more than 3% gold by weight.
The sample was taken roughly 1,100 metres northeast along strike from the historic Roy shafts, extending the known area of high-grade mineralisation along the interpreted Roy trend.
The find follows FCM's confirmation in July of bonanza-grade gold at Roy itself, where double fire assays validated hole SUN26-05 at an average of 40.2 g/t gold across three assay methods, part of a maiden programme in which 11 of 12 holes intersected the target structure over roughly 300 metres of strike.
Management interprets Roy, Pettigrew and Sunbeam as parts of a single district-scale structure, the Nahanni Shear Zone, of which the 300 metres already tested represents roughly 1% of the interpreted system.
The new outcrop sample was found through prospecting guided by FCM's geological and geochemical model, which combined soil geochemistry, LiDAR structural interpretation and historic exploration data to target the intersection of the Roy trend with a west-northwest LiDAR structure.
A coincident gold and lead soil anomaly had already flagged the zone, and the presence of galena alongside visible gold echoes the gold-lead association the company has identified in the Roy drill core.
"The discovery of significant visible gold in a grab sample over a kilometre along strike from the Roy shafts is a robust uplift of the Roy trend's potential as well as that of the greater Sunbeam property," chief executive Marc Sale said, adding that he expects further discoveries along the Roy and Pettigrew trends.
A handheld XRF reading gave an uncertified value of 2.8% gold, before gravimetric analysis at the laboratory in Thunder Bay returned a certified result of 32,100 parts per million, roughly 100 ounces equivalent per tonne.
Insufficient material remained for a further check assay, and the company cautioned that the result comes from a small sample mass and should not be extrapolated over any distance.
The discovery adds to a run of exploration activity at Sunbeam, where FCM has submitted a winter drilling permit for lake-adjacent targets at Roy, extended VLF and soil sampling northeast of the prospect, and engaged Rosor Exploration to run a magnetic, radiometric and LiDAR survey across 54.33 square kilometres of Sunbeam Block A.
A three-year exploration permit covering both the Roy and Pettigrew lineaments has also been granted, enabling baseline clearing, stripping and drilling across the trend.
Further prospecting of the new zone is ongoing, with additional visible gold already identified in outcrop by Sale and Emerald Geological Services project geologist Brenden Kanan during a recent site visit, and further assay results are expected to follow.