Announcement • Apr 18
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. Expands Gold System At Douay with Broad Step-Out Intercepts
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. announced assay results from 14 drill holes completed during its ongoing, fully-funded 30,000-metre winter drill campaign at its 100%-owned Douay Gold Project and Joutel Gold Project located along the Casa Beradi-Douay Gold Trend in Québec, Canada. Results include 12 drill holes from the Nika Zone and two drill holes from the Porphyry West Zone, targeting higher-grade southeast-plunging shoots to confirm continuity and extend mineralization at depth following encouraging results from the 2025 winter program. In the Nika Zone, drill hole DO-25-57X returned 2.8 grams per tonne gold over 13.5 m within a broader interval of 1.1 g/t Au over 74.0 m, located approximately 100 m down-plunge from previous drill hole DO-21-282X which returned 5.5 g/t Au over 9.6 m within a broader interval of 1.6 g/t Au over 132.5 m. Also in the Nika Zone, drill hole DO-25-353 returned 1.4 g/t Au over 21.6 m within a broader interval of 0.4 g/t Au over 358.5 m, located approximately 150 m below previous drill hole DO-25-338 which returned 4.9 g/t Au over 17.0 m within a broader zone of 2.1 g/t Au over 108.6 m. In the Porphyry West Zone, drill hole DO-26-369 returned 1.9 g/t Au over 30.0 m, including 3.1 g/t Au over 9.0 m, within a broader interval of 1.0 g/t Au over 138.0 m located along a similar moderate southeast plunging shoot as is demonstrated in the Nika Zone. The ‘Nika Plunge’ model is now confirmed at both Nika and Porphyry West, supporting the broader geological interpretation at Douay and resource expansion potential to depth. Ongoing exploration drilling continues to demonstrate that gold mineralization at Douay extends well beyond the 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate and remains open in multiple directions. The Company has completed 51 holes (~24,000 m) to date, with 28 reported and 23 pending assay results; additional drilling is planned in 2026, including 2,000 m to follow up on recent high-grade intercepts at Joutel. Updated Douay and maiden Joutel MRE, excluding current drilling, are expected in First Half 2026. The Nika Zone lies in the northwestern portion of the Douay MRE and is hosted within a mixed basalt-syenite intrusive sequence, including thick syenitic dykes that are well mineralized. In May 2021, drill hole DO-21-282X returned 1.6 g/t Au over 132 m, including 1.8 g/t Au over 100.3 m, including 5.5 g/t Au over 9.6 m, which was the best intersection reported in the Nika Zone at the time. In April 2025, the Company reported step-out drill hole DO-25-338, located 300-m down-plunge from drill hole DO-21-282X, which returned 2.10 g/t Au over 108.6 m, including 3.2 g/t Au over 55.8 m, including 6.2 g/t over 7.8 m, and including 5.2 g/t Au over 17.0 m, representing the best hole drilled to date in the Nika Zone based on gold accumulation (grade x thickness). Step-out drill hole DO-25-54EXT, located 30 m north of drill hole DO-25-338, returned 1.3 g/t Au over 60 m, including 2.9 g/t Au over 20 m, and including 5.5 g/t Au over 7 m. Gold mineralization at the Nika Zone is hosted within strongly fenite-altered (biotite, K-feldspar, amphibole, magnetite), hematized and albitized syenite, with hydrothermal breccias creating a fracture network filled by fine quartz, carbonate, 5-10% disseminated pyrite (locally 15%), and chlorite. 3D modeling of the fenite alteration corridor shows a steep southeasterly plunge open at depth. This plunge corresponds to the intersection lineation between the early east-southeast trending regional fabric as shears, breccias and sericitic shears, and later northeast trending quartz-carbonate-pyrite-fracture network. Drilling reported includes 12 drill holes which tested the breadth of the higher-grade core of the Nika Zone from shallow drill holes within poorly drilled portions of the Nika modeled open pit, infill drill holes between drill holes DO-21-282X and DO-25-345 (approximately 100 m down plunge from DO-21-282X), and step-out drill holes located 50 m down-plunge from drill hole DO-25-338. Drilling has confirmed the continuity of the Nika plunging shoot with wide intervals intersected in new drill holes DO-25-57X and DO-25-353 including: 0.6 g/t Au over 185.5 m, in diamond drill hole DO-25-57X, including 1.1 g/t Au over 74.0 m, including 1.7 g/t Au over 26.5 m, including 2.8 g/t Au over 13.5 m, including 5.6 g/t Au over 5.5 m; 0.42 g/t Au over 358.5 m, in DDH DO-25-353, including 1.4 g/t Au over 21.6 m, including 2.3 g/t Au over 9.0 m, including 3.2 g/t Au over 5.0 m; 2.2 g/t Au over 11.8 m, in DDH DO-25-367, including 2.7 g/t Au over 9.0 m, including 13.5 g/t Au over 1.5 m. The Nika Zone now extends to 900 m vertical depth and remains open in multiple directions. The zone is also located 1,200 m east of the existing Douay headframe and mining infrastructure. The Company recently completed the construction of an all-season drill access trail at Nika to allow year-round drilling of the middle and upper portions of the Nika Zone on closer-spaced drill centres. The Porphyry Zone hosts high tonnage, lower-grade, structurally controlled gold mineralization within the Porphyry West, Porphyry Central and Porphyry East Zones with more than 55% of the contained Indicated and Inferred gold ounces within the current Douay MRE. The Porphyry West Zone sits within albite- or K-feldspar altered syenites which are part of the Douay Intrusive Complex, with most mineralization occurring near the DIC’s hanging wall margin. The Company completed three drill holes, DO-25-341, DO-25-342 and DO-25-343, during the 2025 Winter Drill Program which all intersected the modeled Porphyry West Zone with promising gold mineralization hosted within the DIC, a mixed zone with basalt intruded by syenite dikes, and a new lower intermediate tuff horizon in the footwall to the DIC which may be part of the northern Taibi volcaniclastic units. Highlights included 0.9 g/t Au over 31.0 m including 1.2 g/t Au over 16.0 m and 1.1 g/t Au over 10.5 m including 3.1 g/t Au over 2.8 m in drill hole DO-25-341, 0.6 g/t Au over 49.0 m including 1.8 g/t Au over 3.0 m AND 0.6 g/t Au over 16.0 m in drill hole DO-25-342, and 0.6 g/t Au over 30.0 m including 1.4 g/t Au over 4.5 m in drill hole DO-25-343. Program drilling in the Porphyry West Zone has applied the ‘Nika Plunge’ model to target a moderate south-southeast plunging shoot. Drilling has focused on the areas between drill holes DO-25-341 and DO-25-343, and up-plunge from drill hole DO-25-342.