MARIPA GOLD PROJECT

Maripa is a drilling stage exploration project located in eastern French Guiana, 50 kilometres south of the capital city of Cayenne. The project is comprised of up to five contiguous exploration permits that cover an area of approximately 120 square kilometres, namely the Changement, Maripa, Orapu, Crique Véoux (pending) and Maripa Sud-Est permits. Orea has entered into a purchase agreement with a subsidiary of IAMGOLD Corporation to acquire 100% interest in Maripa. Permits for 10,000 meters of drilling have been approved by the Direction Générale des Territoires et de la Mer (DGTM). 15 drill holes (2,261m) have been completed thus far which have confirmed significant economic potential. 

Gold has been mined in the area for over a century; the past producing Changement mine, located within the Maripa project area, recorded gold production of some 40,000 ounces of gold from 1985 to 1996. Past drilling by previous operators between 2002 and 2006 returned the following near-surface drill intercepts:

• 36 metres of 4.3 g/t gold
• 10.5 metres of 12.4 g/t gold
• 34.5 metres of 1.8 g/t gold
• 25.5 metres of 2.5 g/t gold
• 21.5 metres of 2.2 g/t gold

Additional drill results can be found in the table in the PAST EXPLORATION section below.

Maripa has the potential to host a significant gold deposit, and unlike many other gold projects in the Guiana Shield, it is located in an area of excellent access with national highway RN2 running through most of the project.

Initial prospecting by Orea in 2019 and 2020 in the northern half of Maripa led to the discovery of 5 new quartz-gold vein systems with high-grade gold potential in the vicinity of the Changement and Filon Dron Gold Zones (see news releases dated November 26, 2019 and November 12, 2020).

In October-November 2020, Orea completed 8 diamond drill holes, for 1,168 meters, which tested 4 separate targets identified in the central part of the Maripa Gold Project (see news release date January 27, 2021). Six (6) of the 8 drill holes served to test the depth and lateral extent of 3 gold mineralized shear-hosted vein systems traced at surface in and around the Filon Dron Gold Zone. Four (4) drill holes intersected wide shear zones marked by quartz veining, strong hydrothermal alteration, and sulfide mineralization over 18 to 27 meters, which returned gold values.

In Q1-2022, Orea completed 6 diamond drill holes, for 911.5 meters as an initial reconnaissance of the Changement Gold Zone. One hole was completed on the Filon Dron Gold Zone as a follow up to the 2020 diamond drill program. (see news releases dated February 22, 2022 and March 22, 2022) Best results confirm significant economic potential at the Filon Dron and Changement Gold Zones: 

• 4.13 g/t gold over 8.1 meters (Changement) 
• 5.39 g/t gold over 24.3 meters (Changement) 
• 5.18 g/t gold over 22.9 meters, including 10.37 g/t gold over 9.2 meters (Filon Dron)

Click to view a Maripa project Location Map.

Click to view a Maripa project Geology and Drilling Result Map.

Click to view a Maripa project Prospecting Results Map.

Click to view a Filon Dron zone Drill Hole Location Map. 

Click to view a Changement zone Drill Hole Location Map.

Maripa is situated along the southern border of a regional deformation zone known as the Northern Guiana Trough (NGT), which can be traced across northern French Guiana into neighboring Suriname. The NGT is recognized as a highly favorable geological setting for gold mineralization; IAMGOLD’s Rosebel mine (15.2 Moz gold) in Suriname is located on the NGT. The geological setting of Maripa is similar to Rosebel, highlighted by a faulted contact between volcanic assemblages of the Paramaca Formation and younger pull-apart basin sediments of the Upper Detrital Unit (UDU, or the Orapu Formation). The presence of thick sections of UDU sediments in the Maripa area attest to an extensional structural regime favorable to hydrothermal activity and associated gold mineralization.
 

PAST EXPLORATION 

Maripa has been subject to several phases of exploration, beginning with the Bureau Minier Guyanais (BMG), from 1958-59, and ending with IAMGOLD, from 2000 to 2008. Exploration consisted of ground and airborne geophysical surveying, soil and auger grid sampling, geological mapping and rock sampling, trenching, and core drilling.

Past exploration at Maripa includes 134 core holes, for a total of 9,000 meters, which partially defined 5 broad Gold Zones; namely Changement, Filon Dron, Maripa Sud-Est, Rhyodacite and Filon Scieur. Drilling was limited to shallow depths within the surface weathered saprolite layer with all 5 prospects returning drill hole intersections of economic interest with demonstrated potential for expansion and mineral resource delineation. Gold mineralization is associated with shear-tension quartz vein systems and vein stockworks localized along major fault zones marking a regional deformation corridor known as the Northern Guiana Trough (NGT).

Most of the drilling was conducted by IAMGOLD (106 of the 134 holes) and was focused on five large gold geochemical anomalies, the Changement, Filon Dron, Maripa Sud‑Est, Rhyodacite and Filon Scieur targets. Although first pass drilling of these targets was limited to shallow depths within the oxidized saprolite layer, all five targets returned drill intersections of economic interest with demonstrated potential for expansion and mineral resource delineation. Additionally, several large gold geochemical anomalies remain untested.

Table: Maripa Exploration Highlights

PURCHASE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE 100% INTEREST FROM A SUBSIDIARY OF IAMGOLD CORPORATION: 

• Option Agreement signed in April 2018 to acquire up to a 70% interest. 
• Orea has invested approximately US$3 million in exploration.
• Purchase Agreement signed in February 2022 to acquire 100% interest: 
  • Orea issuing 6 million common shares to IAMGOLD;
  • IAMGOLD will retain a 1.5% net smelter return royalty;
  • Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals;
  • Orea will have no further obligations under the Option Agreement.

^* The source of the Maripa technical information was obtained from IAMGOLD’s filing documents.

Qualified Person
Rock Lefrançois, President & CEO for Orea and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the technical content of this page.