MONTREAL, Feb. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Midland Exploration Inc. (“Midland”) (TSX-V: MD) is pleased to provide an overview of its plans for 2022 in Quebec, and to review the main highlights and discoveries of 2021. Midland continues to apply its business model as a “Project Generator” with the recent acquisition of several new high-quality properties and the formation of several new partnerships across Quebec.
With a budget for 2022 estimated at nearly $8 million and nearly 20,000 metres of drilling planned, Midland will be very busy, working to advance several projects in partnership with major companies such as BHP Canada Inc. (“BHP”), Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. (“Rio Tinto”), SOQUEM Inc. (“SOQUEM”), Probe Metals Inc. (“Probe”) and Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd (“Wallbridge”). High-priority areas for 2022 are in Nunavik, Abitibi, James Bay, and the Grenville (near the town of La Tuque).
For calendar year 2022, Midland expects to generate a steady stream of news from its various partnerships and key projects, namely:
- Nunavik Alliance with BHP (Ni-Cu); Midland is project operator under the Nunavik Alliance with BHP and will adopt a focused approach in 2022 in an effort to quickly generate a world-class Ni-Cu discovery. Fieldwork including regional geophysical VTEM surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021, confirms the potential for the discovery of an important world-class Ni-Cu deposit. Geophysical work, consisting in a regional magnetotelluric (MT), will resume in the second quarter of 2022 and will be followed in the third quarter of 2022 by a third field program involving prospecting work and mapping campaigns.
- Tête-Nord Option with Rio Tinto (Ni-Cu); Near the end of 2021, Midland concluded an option agreement with Rio Tinto for the Tête-Nord Ni-Cu project located in the Grenville geological Province, near the town of La Tuque in Haute Mauricie (see press release by Midland: Midland options its Tete Nord Ni-Cu property to Rio Tinto, dated December 2, 2021). An initial $900,000 budget will be invested by Rio Tinto in the first few months of 2022 to conduct helicopter-borne electromagnetic surveys, followed in the summer of 2022 by prospecting and mapping. The surveys will total more than 6,700 line kilometres and will provide full coverage of the claims under option with flight lines at a 100-metre spacing. Rio Tinto is project operator.
- Labrador Trough Alliance with SOQUEM; Midland and SOQUEM will jointly conduct their second prospecting campaign under the Labrador Trough Alliance. Several new targets will be prospected, including some follow-up work on an erratic boulder discovered in the late summer of 2021, which graded 40.8 g/t Au in grab sample.
- Casault Option with Wallbridge (Au) in the Detour Belt; Wallbridge is currently finalizing plans for the 2022 exploration campaign, to follow-up on the new gold discovery reported in 2021, which graded 6.85 g/t Au over 2.0 metres. In addition, a magnetic drone survey is planned for the eastern blocks of the property to provide high resolution magnetic data to inform geologic modelling and drive exploration targeting.
- Partnership with Probe (Au) in the Detour Belt; On the La Peltrie option, located south of the Lower Detour Fault, approximately 25 kilometres east of the Z58N deposit, Probe is planning to complete several geophysical (IP) grids during the winter of 2022, in preparation for a drilling campaign totalling approximately 5,000 metres, planned for the summer of 2022. Also, geophysical and biogeochemical surveys will be completed during the winter of 2022 in the eastern part of the Gaudet-Fenelon JV project, located approximately 5 kilometres south of the Fenelon Gold deposit.
In addition, Midland expects to advance several of its wholly owned projects in Quebec over the coming months. Midland is namely planning to conduct high-resolution helicopter-borne magnetic surveys and geochemistry surveys on several of its projects including Lewis, Noyelles, Fleuribleu and Samson. Prospecting campaigns will also take place on a number of projects in the James Bay region, including Mythril, Chisaayuu, Galinée and Komo.
2021 Calendar Year Highlights:
Over the course of 2021, Midland and its partners completed more than 14,000 metres of drilling and discovered several new mineral occurrences and mineralized boulders on its various projects.
Among the highlights of 2021, Midland reported the following:
- Under the Nunavik Alliance with BHP for Ni-Cu, an important regional VTEM-type electromagnetic survey was completed in 2021. The two prospecting campaigns conducted to date, in 2020 and 2021, led to the discovery of several new Ni-Cu showings, including the Bonne Une showing. Nickel and copper tenors (grades normalized to 100% sulphides) at the Bonne Une showing reach 6.1% Ni and 4.87% Cu, thus confirming the excellent potential of this surface occurrence (see press release by Midland dated April 15, 2021).
- In November 2021, Midland signed a new option agreement with Rio Tinto for the Tête-Nord Ni-Cu project located in the Grenville geological Province, near the town of La Tuque. Nickel tenors (grades normalized to 100% sulphides) for historical samples collected at the Savane showing reach 3.5% Ni (see press release by Midland: Midland options its Tete Nord Ni-Cu property to Rio Tinto, dated December 2, 2021).
- In partnership with Wallbridge on the Casault option, located along the Sunday Lake Fault approximately 40 kilometres east of the Detour Lake mine, a new gold-bearing structure was intersected in drill hole, with an interval grading 6.85 g/t Au over 2.0 metres. The Casault project is wholly owned by Midland and is currently under option by Wallbridge (see press release by Midland dated October 21, 2021).
- A gold-bearing boulder (Rubeo) grading 40.8 g/t Au (grab sample) was discovered by prospecting during the summer of 2021, in partnership with SOQUEM under the Labrador Trough Alliance (see press release by Midland dated December 16, 2021).
- The 3D model on the Mythril project is currently being updated to include drilling results from 2021. These include drill hole MYT-21-38, which intersected a mineralized zone from 56.50 to 85.00 metres, grading 0.59% Cu, 0.05 g/t Au, 1.87 g/t Ag and 0.025% Mo over 28.50 metres, including 1.02% Cu, 0.09 g/t Au, 2.62 g/t Ag and 0.048% Mo (1.29% CuEq.) over 10.50 metres from 56.50 to 67.00 metres (see press release by Midland dated September 2, 2021).
- During prospecting work on the Chisaayuu claim block of the Mythril Regional project, two new high-grade gold-bearing boulders were discovered, yielding values in grab samples of 10.25 g/t Au, 8.0 g/t Ag and 7.99 g/t Au, 166 g/t Ag, 0.4% Cu, 0.07% Mo (see press release by Midland dated October 27, 2021).
Cautionary statements
- Grab samples are selective by nature and reported values are not necessarily indicative of mineralized zones.
- The true thickness of reported intervals cannot be determined with the information currently available; intervals are thus reported in core length.
About Midland
Midland targets the excellent mineral potential of Quebec to make the discovery of new world-class deposits of gold, platinum group elements and base metals. Midland is proud to count on reputable partners such as BHP Canada Inc., Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc., Probe Metals Inc., Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Osisko Development Corp., SOQUEM Inc., Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund, and Abcourt Mines Inc. Midland prefers to work in partnership and intends to quickly conclude additional agreements in regard to newly acquired properties. Management is currently reviewing other opportunities and projects to build up the Corporation portfolio and generate shareholder value.
This press release was prepared by Mario Masson, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Midland and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
For further information, please consult Midland’s website or contact:
Gino Roger, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel.: 450 420-5977
Fax: 450 420-5978
Email: info@midlandexploration.com
Website: https://www.midlandexploration.com/
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in Midland’s periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Midland from time to time with securities regulatory authorities.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
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