Latitude 66 has started turning the diamond drill bit at the K South prospect within its Kuusamo Schist Belt (KSB) project in northern Finland.
The company says the initial focus will be on its K9 and K8 targets, with the drilling program set to extend up to a total of 2000m in a bid to unlock further high-grade gold mineralisation.
The drill rig is poised to first plunge into the K9 prospect, targeting down-dip and down-plunge electromagnetic (DHEM) conductive plates to build on previous significant findings including 22.4m grading 2.4 grams per tonne gold, 0.07 per cent cobalt and 0.16 per cent copper from 44m. Other notable hits were 13.45m running at 6.25g/t gold and 0.18 per cent cobalt from 21.1m and 50.15m coming in at 0.45 per cent cobalt from 124.75m.
At the company’s next target, the K8 prospect, drilling will be aiming at similar down-dip and down-plunge DHEM plates to expand on earlier hits including 19m grading 6g/t gold and 0.04 per cent cobalt from 97.5m, 10.3m running at 4.8g/t gold and 0.04 per cent cobalt from 89.8m and 6.5m topping out at 8.1g/t gold from 45.1m.
Earlier in the month, Latitude reported it had identified strong conductors at its K9 prospect, correlating with known gold-cobalt mineralisation and shear zones. DHEM results from two adjacent holes confirmed the continuity of K9 mineralisation both down-plunge and along strike, supported by favourable host-rock geochemistry.
Management expects the dual outcomes from the drilling to go a long way towards developing a maiden JORC resource for the two prospects, as it bids to grow the existing global resource of 650,000 ounces of gold and 5840 tonnes of cobalt at its K North deposit.
Latitude 66 managing director Grant Coyle said: “We are excited to be back on the ground at K South to follow up on the high-grade mineralisation confirmed in both historic and Lat66 drilling. The program is commencing at the K9 Prospect with the rig then moving immediately to the K8 Prospect. Drilling will test the down-dip/down-plunge conductive plates identified in the recent follow-up DHEM survey at both prospects and, importantly, also include step out from previous high-grade intercepts. Results from both prospects will be used to identify whether maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimates can be calculated to grow our existing Global Resource base.”
The campaign is expected to be completed by the end of next month, with assay results anticipated for early November. The rig will then be kept on site for further drilling and to continue exploration, depending on the findings of the current program.
As part of its exploration portfolio and after detailed desktop studies, Latitude also recently revealed 20 new gold-copper targets at its Perapohja Schist Belt (PSB) project, 15km west of Rovaniemi – the capital of Lapland – and 200km west of the KSB resource.
Specifically, the P12 and P13 prospects within the dominant 412-square-kilometre land position show striking similarities to the well-established K North deposit in both comparable size and potential. Although still at an early stage, rock-chip sampling will continue at PSB during the summer months to take advantage of the better weather conditions, with a plan to work up drill targets for next year.
The company is also keeping a close eye on its 17.5 per cent free-carried position in the Carnaby Resources-operated Great Duchess copper project in Queensland. The operation recently attracted the attention of market players with some outstanding rock-chip numbers of up to 28.3 per cent copper from outcropping mineralisation as Carnaby systematically works its way towards a maiden resource.
But Latitude has plenty on its own plate in Finland as it looks to maximise the potential of its under-explored KSB and PSB projects. Assays from KSB in the next two months and the promise of multiple drilling targets at PSB are likely to keep the interest of investors piqued as the year’s end approaches.
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By James Pearson
