Northern Shield Resources Inc. (TSXV:NRN) has completed a 15-hole, 3,000-metre diamond drilling program at the Conquest Zone of its Root & Cellar Property, located on the Burin Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland. The company announced the completion of the program this week, marking a significant step in its ongoing exploration of gold, silver, and tellurium mineralization at the site.

Ian Bliss, President and CEO, Northern Shield, commented in a press release: “We are very excited to see the ginguro-banded, crustiform-colliform quartz veins, diagnostic of epithermal gold-silver systems, and where the precious metals are typically found. The probable gold tellurides are also an important milestone due to their association with large epithermal gold systems. We look forward to the assay results and the next exploration phases which include down-hole structural surveys to define the orientation of the telluride / ginguro-bearing quartz veins so they can be targeted in the next phase of drilling.”

The Root & Cellar project is being explored for epithermal gold systems and associated porphyry-style copper mineralization. According to Northern Shield, the property includes five gold-mineralized zones spanning a strike length of approximately 6 kilometres. Tellurium, a critical and rare metal, has been identified in association with four of these zones, as well as in areas of copper mineralization.

Program Details and Geological Findings

The recently completed drilling program focused on further delineating mineralization at the Conquest Zone, with multiple drill holes intersecting zones of hydrothermal alteration and quartz veining. Several mineralogical features observed during the program are being interpreted as indicative of a complex and potentially mineralized epithermal system.

Ginguro Banding Identified

One of the key findings from the program was the observation of ginguro banding in drill hole 25RC-34. The ginguro texture—characterized by dark, metal-rich banding within quartz veins—was located within a 3.3-metre interval hosting numerous crustiform and colloform banded quartz veinlets. This interval was embedded in a silica-sericite matrix containing disseminated and bladed pyrite and marcasite. The occurrence is situated approximately 110 metres below the surface and is the deepest crustiform-colloform quartz veining recorded to date at the Root & Cellar site.

In the same interval, geologists observed a crystal believed to be krennerite, a gold telluride mineral, under a microscope. Additionally, a visible grain of what appears to be gold or electrum was identified.

Additional Gold and Telluride Occurrences

Visible gold and/or electrum were also noted in drill hole 25RC-26, roughly 58 metres downhole. The gold appears in a weakly crustiform-colliform quartz-filled void associated with sulphide minerals including chalcopyrite, bornite, and molybdenite.

Further evidence of gold-telluride mineralization was encountered in drill holes 25RC-32, 33, and 34. In hole 25RC-32, at a depth of 16.4 metres, geologists identified a tabular and striated crystal, believed to be calaverite—another telluride mineral.

These telluride occurrences provide additional support for the hypothesis that the Root & Cellar property hosts a gold-silver-tellurium system, a relatively uncommon type of deposit.

Hydrothermal Alteration Zones and Structural Interpretation

The drill program also encountered multiple zones of hydrothermal alteration believed to be consistent with epithermal systems. Drill hole 25RC-24 intersected an intense zone of carbonate-chlorite-pyrite alteration, which included manganese-carbonate veins and crudely banded silica pockets. This zone is interpreted as a propylitic alteration halo, which typically develops around the margins of epithermal systems.

The alteration transitions into illite, a clay mineral commonly associated with epithermal veins, suggesting proximity to a structural source. Other holes, including 25RC-29 and 25RC-31, intersected broad intervals of illite-silica alteration with disseminated pyrite in rhyolite host rocks at shallow to moderate depths.

Based on these observations, company geologists believe there may be structural continuity between the Conquest and Windfall zones at depth, potentially along a north-south trending structure.

Sample Processing and Assays Pending

More than 350 core samples from the drill program have been sent to ALS Global’s analytical laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia. The samples will be analyzed for gold content via fire assay, and for other elements using four-acid digestion followed by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry).

Core logging was conducted by Bugden Exploration Inc., based in Gander, Newfoundland, and the drilling was performed by MCL Drilling of Deer Lake, Newfoundland.

Background on Root & Cellar and Northern Shield Resources

Northern Shield Resources Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on greenfield projects, with the Root & Cellar property representing one of its core exploration efforts. The property was originally optioned from a Newfoundland prospector following the discovery of surface mineralization.

Root & Cellar is located in a region historically underexplored for precious metals. However, the presence of multiple gold-bearing zones and associated alteration halos has led to increased geological interest. The property’s potential to host both high-sulphidation epithermal gold deposits and porphyry-style copper systems has drawn comparisons to similar systems in other parts of the world.

The company has adopted a model-driven exploration approach, emphasizing geological interpretation to reduce early-stage exploration risk.

Highlights from the results are as follows: 

1. Ginguro banding in quartz veins noted in DDH 25RC-34;
2. Visible gold/electrum grains noted in DDH’s 25RC-26, 34;
3. Grains/crystals of what is believed to be gold telluride, calaverite and krennerite noted in DDH’s 25RC-32, 33, 34;
4. Multiple zones of hydrothermal mineralization from 1 to 40 m wide including hydrothermal breccias, quartz veins and quartz vein breccias intersected;
5. Zones of intense carbonate alteration, including Mn-carbonate and Mn-carbonate veins with pyrite, intersected along with wide zones of illite alteration.