Northern Ireland might not be the first place investors think of when it comes to gold mining, but there are more opportunities to be had there than one might think.
In fact, the country has a deep history of gold extraction that goes back as far as the early Bronze Age and remains strong. Companies like Galantas Gold Corp. are at the forefront of gold mining in Ireland.
Case in point, the company owns and has recently operated a producing open pit gold mine in Northern Ireland, which has also produced by-product silver and lead.
In addition to the open pit, the current underground mine has 3,000 metres of development and several production stopes already opened to assess mineablity. The underground mine is fully licenced with the Northern Ireland regulators.
Called the Omagh project, it sits within a 189 square kilometre license area and is located roughly 1.5 hours outside of Belfast. Galantas Gold currently holds seven exploration licenses that span an area of 596.7 square kilometres.
The company has been busy this year, having recently announced it has added an extension to its drilling program at the Omagh Gold Project.
Omagh Project update
In a press release, the company said a further 600 metres of drilling is currently planned for the underground development to target the Kerr zone and deeper extensions of the Joshua Vein (see image below).
Now that the company can access the Kearney and Joshua Veins through the underground drives, Galantas Gold can now drill underexplored areas between the two main veins that are just over 300 metres north and along strike of the Kerr surface exposures. The company can also now conduct deeper targeting of the Joshua Vein.
In a press release in February, the company said it plans to have an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate done by the end of Q2 2023 that will add the results of 7,800 metres of drilling. Many of the holes indicate higher gold grades and thicker widths in dilation zones.
“Dilation zones which have potential for higher widths of mineralization have previously been identified within the Kearney underground development and are believed to be linked on shallow north-dipping planes,” Mario Stifano, CEO of Galantas, said in a press release.
Omagh Project production
Galantas Gold has completed its first hole targeting the Kerr Vein from underground, approximately 200 metres north of the known surface exposure and approximately 200 metres south of a historic base-of-till gold anomaly.
The company also has plans for a detailed geotechnical assessment at the Joshua Vein to identify the optimal location for the raisebore hole which will be used as a secondary egress. Management is also reviewing the location for a portal at Joshua to optimize access to the north and south extensions for future production.
The company also expects a sustainable mine plan target before the end of Q2 2023 thanks to the potential of high grade and thicker widths within dilation zones identified by drilling below the current underground development.
Plans will include development options for mining at the lower levels of the Kearney Vein and the north and south extension of the vein’s existing workings.
Galantas Gold in the news
In March, the company closed a private placement worth $C2.9 million, which Galantas Gold said it will use for exploration, including follow-up drilling that will target the high-grade dilation zones to depth at the Joshua Vein and the Kerr Vein target. The company will also use the funds for exploration at a gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide project in Scotland.
Galantas Gold announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire the project in Scotland back in January. Called the Gairloch Project, it spans a 217-square-kilometre license in Scotland.
“The host rocks at Gairloch appear to be geologically similar to those in the Trans-Hudson Orogen in Manitoba and Saskatchewan which contain the prolific Flin-Flon and Snow Lake VMS mining camps. Along with our high-grade gold Omagh Project in Northern Ireland, Galantas has secured two emerging underexplored districts with potential to add significant shareholder value,” Stifano said in a statement.
The takeaway
Galantas Gold is nothing short of a unique investment opportunity thanks to its presence in Northern Ireland and now Scotland. As it continues to advance the Omagh project — and hit the ground running at the Gairloch project — Galantas Gold will be a company to watch for this year and beyond.
Source: Stockhouse
