Trident gold assays reveal ex-Cameco site’s promise in Saskatchewan

Trident Resources’ (TSXV: ROCK) shares surged to a multi-year peak on high-grade drill results from its brownfield Contact Lake project in northern Saskatchewan, showing the potential of the under-explored La Ronge gold belt.

Highlight hole CL26036 returned 51.8 metres grading 15.11 grams gold per tonne from 256 metres depth, including 12.7 metres at 14.6 grams gold and 28.7 metres grading 20.69 grams gold, Trident reported Wednesday. That intercept included a short bonanza assay of 0.5 metres grading 1,055 grams gold. Contact Lake is about 510 km north of Regina.

“Results thus far from the winter program at Contact Lake demonstrate significant continuity of mineralization, support the scalability of the deposit, and indicate substantial remaining exploration potential,” Trident CEO Jon Wiesblatt said in a release.

“Recent exploration success at Contact Lake is also beginning to demonstrate the broader potential of the La Ronge Gold Belt, a historic gold-producing region in Canada that has seen relatively limited modern, systematic exploration and sustained capital investment.”

Shares in Trident Resources jumped more than 19% to C$3.67 apiece on Wednesday morning in Toronto, valuing Trident at C$121.8 million ($89 million).

Saskatchewan’s golden heritage

While gold mining in Saskatchewan has produced far fewer ounces historically than Ontario or British Columbia, its deposits are numerous and high-grade and the mining-friendly province offers a stable permitting environment. Uranium and potash are the province’s leading exports.

The Contact Lake gold mine produced about 190,000 oz. gold at an average grade of 6.16 grams from 1994 until 1998, when the yellow metal’s price fell to $300 per ounce. Before it shifted its focus to uranium, Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) operated the mine and it reported that significant gold resources remained at the site, Trident said.

Another significant Trident assay was from hole CL26032, which returned 21.5 metres at 5.07 grams gold from 359.5 metres depth.

Initial resource?

Though Contact Lake is Trident’s main project, the company hasn’t offered a timeline for when its ongoing drilling will be integrated into an initial resource.

All holes reported cut gold mineralization and assays are pending for 15 more holes from Contact Lake, part of a 13,000-metre winter drilling program.

The province’s sole producing gold mine, SSR Mining’s (TSX, Nasdaq: SSRM) Santoy/Seabee site sits on the La Ronge belt. It has been operating since 2014 and hosts 505,000 proven and probable oz. grading 4.63 grams gold.