Northern Group Properties
North of its flagship Jeesiö and Mustajärvi projects, FireFox Gold has built a large portfolio of gold-prospective properties and projects in Finland’s Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. The portfolio has been expanded from the original Seuru Gold Project optioned properties, and now comprises over 180km2 of tenements. The large size of the land holdings gives FireFox the opportunity to make strategic investment / joint ventures for some properties while retaining full control on specific properties of interest.
Targets
Many targets in the Northern Group properties occur in mafic volcanic rocks, similar to the host rocks at Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine (Suurikuusikko), the largest primary gold producer in Europe. Some properties include known gold occurrences, historic drilling and other exploration work.
The Sarvi Project is adjacent to Rupert Resource’s Pahtavaara/Area 1 property, and the central area of Sarvi is within 5 kilometres of Rupert’s Ikkari discovery zone, which, along with the Kittilä deposit, provides an important exploration model. Sarvi is still relatively un-explored but has returned good indications of gold potential from recent and historic drill results, gold in micronuggets, and surface exploration including trenching, geophysical surveying and mapping.
FireFox cautions that proximity to a discovery, past-producing mine, or mineral resource, does not indicate that mineralization will occur on FireFox’s property, and if mineralization does occur, that it will occur in sufficient quantity or grade that would result in an economic extraction scenario.
The +120km2 Kolho Trend is comprised of exploration permits and permit applications covering a 23-km long section of a key thrusted contact zone with gold-bearing potential.
FireFox has also completed initial reconnaissance work and geophysical surveying that identified structures that are highly prospective for hosting gold at the 26km2 Naula Project, and has secured an exploration permit for mechanized work, including drilling.
Additional properties in the group include Nunara permit that lies very near the interpreted trace of the Sirkka Shear Zone, and the Palvasenvuoma (Manto) permit located roughly 10 kilometers southwest of the Kittilä gold mine.
Location, Access and Infrastructure
The Northern Group of properties is in Lapland, the northernmost province of Finland. The project is road accessible and the area is serviced by two local towns, Kittila and Sodankylä. Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine property, an underground gold mine and Europe's largest primary gold producer, is situated approximately 20km to the northwest.
Ownership
The Northern Group consists of fourteen permits or permit applications that are currently 100% held by FireFox.
Several of the properties are governed by the conditions of the Seuru Option Agreement, for which an NSR and its conditions will apply. For details of the Seuru option please refer to the latest MDA & Financial Statements.
The Kolho Property is currently the subject of an earn-in agreement granted to a subsidiary of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, as announced on December 20, 2023. Agnico has the right to earn a 51% interest with US$5M in exploration expenditures by year 5, including US$2M in committed funds within the first 3 years of receiving certain permits. Agnico can earn an additional 24% interest with a further investment of US$7.5M by year 8. For details of status of the option please refer to the latest MDA & Financial Statements.
Geology & Exploration
The Northern Group of Properties is located within the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (“CLGB”), a poorly explored package of Paleoproterozoic-age mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks which underwent three ductile compressional events around 1.79-1.92 Ga followed by one or more brittle stages.
Sarvi
Bedrock in the Sarvi area includes sulphide bearing rocks of Porkonen formation with mafic tholeiites and mafic graphite tuffs. Studies by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)(2009-2010) showed gold potential in this part of the Porkonen formation supported in GTK drill results from 2009 that intersected up to 3.57 g/t Au over 0.45 m (U441/2009/R8). The Kiistila Shear Zone, which hosts Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine, cuts through the Porkonen Formation to the northwest from the Sarvi Project. FireFox geologists noted anomalous Au, Ag, As, Sb, Bi, Cu, Mo, Zn, and other elements in trench and BOT sampling in this part of the Sarvi Project. Prospecting also revealed localized areas of outcrop exhibiting silicification, partially oxidized sulfide minerals (gossan), and highly anomalous As and base metals.
The first drill campaign at Sarvi was undertaken in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. The program included 12 widely-spaced drill holes totaling 2327.8 metres. The results were highlighted by drill hole 22SA001, which returned a best interval of 17.0m at 0.134 g/t, with much of the upper portion of the hole anomalous in Au, and gold enrichment always associated with elevated Ag, As, Sb, Bi, Cu, Mo, Te, and Zn. A second drill program was undertaken in the spring of 2023, with 4 holes completed totaling 611 metres. Geochemical signatures were similar to those from the Phase 1 program and generally consistent with the till results. Drill hole 23SA004 passed through a fault zone with polymetallic enrichment and weakly anomalous gold, including 2.23 ppm Ag, 652 ppm Cu, 1,680 ppm Zn, and 0.044 g/t Au over 1.35m from 16.0m depth.
Given the wide spaced drilling and limited sampling in the area so far, this target remains open in all directions for follow-up exploration. After completing the second drill program the team concluded that mudstones and black shales are likely the best hosts for gold, silver, and base metal mineralization at the project, and these units will be the highest priority for more sampling and drilling.
Kolho Property
The Kolho Property straddles a 23-kilometer-long thrust zone which is a major geologic break – the eastern contact between the Kittilä suite and Savukoski group rocks. The thrust verges to the east, towards the Sodankylä group quartzites and the Archean Pomokaira complex (granodiorites and tonalite gneisses).
The Kittilä suite comprises volcano-sedimentary remnants of an oceanic island arc and an ophiolitic rim obducted onto passive margin terranes later intruded by post collisional granites.
The Kolho Property area is structurally complex and the lithologic package is analogous to that seen at Rupert Resources’ Area 1. Interpretation of magnetics data revealed multiple areas where these prospective lithologies are either significantly folded or cross-cut by several proposed structures, providing strong exploration targets for additional work.
In 2023 FireFox was granted the first exploration permit on the trend (“Nuttio”)and immediately commenced a base-of-till sampling program. A subsidiary of Agnico Eagle now operates the exploration program, per the option agreement announced on December 20, 2023.
Naula
In 2022, FireFox completed a detailed airborne magnetic survey over the 100% controlled Naula Project in the western portion of the CLGB. The survey data appear to indicate the presence of at least two significant NNE-SSW striking structures that had not been previously mapped. If confirmed, such structures can be highly prospective for gold in Lapland. Flexures in the major structures and their intersections with other faults are high priority targets for follow-up exploration.
For details on the program in progress please refer to the News Releases or the latest Presentation.
Summary of Work Completed by Firefox to January 2024
2018-19: FireFox completed compilation of historic GTK Data, performed limited percussion geochemical till sampling and collected surface grab and heavy mineral samples.
2020: The summer program included mapping and sampling throughout several of the properties. A UAV airborne geophysics survey was completed over the Sarvi & Keula properties.
2021: A ground magnetics survey at Sarvi was followed up with mapping, BOT sampling and trenching. By the end of the year 1,399 BOT samples were collected and 10 trenches were excavated for a combined length of 479 metres. In total 169 channel/chip samples and 74 grab samples were collected. UAV magnetics surveying campaigns were conducted and FireFox now has nearly 140km2 of contiguous coverage stretching from Sarvi to Kolho.
2022: BOT sampling and trenching continued at Sarvi and by the end of Q1 a total of 1,575 BOT samples were collected, and 10 exploration trenches excavated with total linear length of 479 metres. FireFox completed reconnaissance drilling of 12 diamond drill holes for a total of 2,327.8m.
2023: Exploration permit secured at Nuttio project and BOT sampling initiated. Second drill program of 4 diamond drill holes totaling 611m completed at Sarvi.
