Latitude 66 closes in on another big Finnish gold discovery

Latitude 66 has unearthed high-grade gold and copper mineralisation at its Visna and Petaja prospects in northern Finland and has also worked up multiple new exploration targets before wrapping up a successful summer fieldwork program at its Peräpohja Schist Belt (PSB) project.

Throughout extensive summer field activities of mapping, prospecting and boulder sampling, the company has been focusing on building a robust pipeline of prospects, especially at the Vinsa and Petaja prospects … and it has achieved some outstanding results.

A picturesque view of the landscape near Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland and close to Latitude 66’s Peräpohja Schist Belt gold project in Finland.

In particular, the Visna prospect – which sits in the Peräpohja greenstone belt, 9km south-east of the 867,000-ounce Rajapalot gold-cobalt deposit held by TSX- listed Mawson Finland – has kicked up some massive hits.

Rock-chip findings included one going at 11.3 grams per tonne gold, 33.3g/t silver and 10.3 per cent copper, while another peaked at 3.6g/t gold, 31.4g/t silver and 20.1 per cent copper. A third assay registered 1.2g/t gold, 26.8g/t silver and 13 per cent copper.

Latitude 66 managing director Grant Coyle said: “At the PSB project, initial field work delivered exceptional copper and gold assays from surface at the Vinsa prospect and further encouraging results from the Petaja prospect. These results will be incorporated into the target generation pipeline, strengthening the prospectivity of the PSB project area.”

Importantly, the company has been able to extend the known mineralised quartz vein at Visna both north and south, potentially increasing the vein-hosted strike length from 150m to 1.3km. Further mapping of the quartz vein is now being conducted before winter closes in, with the help of some historic, but vague, reports of drill-testing of the mineralisation at depth.

A recently-funded government aerogeophysical low-altitude mapping survey not only identified the size of the mafic structure hosting the quartz veining, but also a big demagnetised zone within the intrusive rocks that could be screaming “hydrothermal alteration”. Unfortunately, the demagnetised zone is entirely covered by marshland and has no visible outcropping, but management believes it does present a solid large-scale target.

‘At the PSB project, initial field work delivered exceptional copper and gold assays from surface at the Vinsa prospect and further encouraging results from the Petaja prospect. These results will be incorporated into the target generation pipeline, strengthening the prospectivity of the PSB project area.’

Latitude 66 managing director Grant Coyle

For now, at least, the company’s field team has been able to test the available outcropping sections and assays are due shortly.

At Latitude’s other priority target, Petaja – immediately to the south of Visna – a follow-up mapping and boulder sampling program has been chasing the source of mineralised boulders that threw up huge hits such as 137.7g/t gold, 10.6 per cent copper and 73g/t silver in the earlier rock-chip campaign.

Of the recent 82-sample program, nine recorded notable gold results including one running at 4.14g/t from dolerite-hosted quartz veins. The outcropping vein sits in the fold of a dolerite unit, which is usually a common marker for strong gold mineralisation.

With winter closing in, the company will have just enough time to complete the Visna mapping and run an electromagnetic (EM) survey at both of its prospects to generate more detail.

Latitude, as a private company, had been exploring northern Finland since 2017, led by its driven managing director, Grant Coyle. But it was a meeting of the minds with DiscovEx Resources’ then-boss Toby Wellman that set the stage for a game-changing move.

In April this year, the two companies joined forces, merging to form the new Latitude 66 – a listed entity with the firepower to tap capital markets and supercharge their quest for large-scale polymetallic deposits in the region.

And the timing of the merger could not have been better. With a high-grade 650,000-ounce gold resource already in the bag at the Kuusamo Schist Belt (KSB) project and loads of exploration potential both there and at the PSB, Latitude is fast becoming a beneficiary of gold prices that have hit record highs – currently at AU$4012 per ounce, giving the company’s prospects a serious boost.

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