Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. is preparing a diamond drill program of approximately 2,500 to 3,000 meters on its Lucas Gold Project, located about 30 kilometers north of Timmins, Ontario, a region that has produced more than 75 million ounces of gold. The program is backed by a $215,000 Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP) grant from the Ontario Government, underscoring provincial support for early-stage exploration in a prolific mining camp. A recent site visit determined that a winter road must be established to provide heavy equipment access, requiring time to build a stable, deeply frozen base. This logistical step, while seasonal, is critical to enabling the drill to reach the target zone and reflects the realities of exploration in Northern Ontario.
The project sits within a world-class mineral endowment. It lies 20 kilometers northeast of the Kidd Creek Mine, which is celebrating 58 years of continuous production with over 150 million tonnes of ore, and about 20 kilometers east of the Crawford Nickel Resource being developed by Canada Nickel. Timmins offers full industry services, supplies, and infrastructure, with access via paved Highway 655, ample power and water, and a signed Memorandum of Understanding with local First Nations. These factors reduce operational risk and enhance the project's attractiveness. A general location map with local infrastructure illustrates the project's strategic setting.
Noble last drilled the Lucas property in 2018, completing 15 NQ diamond drill holes totaling 3,184 meters over roughly 650 meters of strike along a 1,700-meter gold-mineralized structure identified from airborne electromagnetic and differential magnetic surveys. The company twinned three historical drill holes and located 37 historical collars. No work has been done since. The 2018 results, including gold intersections, are summarized in Part 1 of Table 1 and Part 2 of Table 1, though true widths are not yet known. The upcoming program aims to build on these results and test new targets.
Six discrete untested induced polarization (IP) anomalous trends remain, with only one investigated by drilling to date. Gold mineralization is interpreted as structurally controlled, occurring as discrete lenses stacked within a pyrite-plus-gold mineralized tuffaceous unit. The 2018 drilling plan and projected mineralized zone are shown in Figure 3, while the IP zones and 2018 drill collars are displayed in Figure 4. Future work will focus on drilling IP Anomaly A to further define gold mineralization, plus testing the other five anomalies for similar potential.
The development plan is divided into three phases. Phase 1 aims to establish gold grade and extend the mineralized strike length to approximately 1,700 meters. Phase 2 will verify gold mineralization in additional parallel IP anomalies. Phase 3 involves geological modeling and an NI 43-101 resource definition. With a drill-ready status, a First Nation MoU, and government grant funding, Noble is positioned to systematically advance Lucas. The technical content has been reviewed and approved by Wayne Holmstead, P.Geo., an independent Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. For further details, the original release is available on www.newmediawire.com.
