The Anik gold property is located 40 km southeast of the town of Chapais and 55 km south of the town of Chibougamau in Quebec, situated within the Eeyou Istchee/Baie-James territory of Quebec. Most of the project area can be accessed via a gravel road that connects the former Joe Mann Mine to Provincial Road 167, linking the Lac Saint-Jean region to Chibougamau.
In 2020, the Anik project was optioned to IAMGOLD under a 75% ownership option, involving up to $6.5 million in work commitments and up to $3 million in cash payments. Details of this transaction can be found in the press release dated May 28, 2020.
The project is located within the Opawica-Guercheville deformation corridor, known for hosting several gold mines and deposits. The eastern portion of the property is less than 7 km from the Joe Mann Mine, as well as the Lac Meston and Phillibert deposits. The western portion is less than 10 km south of the Monster Lake and Fancamp gold projects. Additionally, the main gold zones of the Nelligan property, a joint venture between Vanstar Resources and IAMGOLD, are surrounded to the north, south, and east by the boundaries of the Anik property, within a distance of less than 1,500 meters.
The project lies within the Archean Abitibi Sub-Province of the Superior Province. Locally, it covers metasediments of the Caopatina Formation, volcanics of the Obatogamau Formation, and the tonalitic intrusive of the Hazeur Pluton. These rocks have been sheared and altered along the Opawica-Guercheville deformation zone, a well-recognized gold-bearing structure.
Past exploration efforts on the Anik property have identified numerous gold showings. Exploration in the northeast corner of the property defined a continuous gold zone extending from surface exposures to drill intercepts. For example, the Bobby occurrence returned two significant intercepts: 0.41 g/t Au over 56.5 m and 1.28 g/t Au over 7.96 m at depths of 25 m and 110 m below surface, respectively.
IAMGOLD completed several drilling programs since 2022 which revealed several anomalous intersections, including 2.82 g/t Au over 6.3 meters (ANK-22-29), 1.25 g/t Au over 6.0m (ANK-23-31) and 1.6 g/t Au over 6.6 meters (ANK-24-39).
