Gold Line
EMX’s Gold Line projects are located within the Northern Sweden’s “Gold Line” trend and the Skellefteå volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) belt. These projects are believed to be intrusion related gold systems (IRGS) or gold-rich VMS. The Gold Line projects consist of the Storjuktan (1-5), Blåbärliden, Paubäcken Norra, Paubäcken, and Kankberg Norra project areas, which form a linear trend spanning 170 kilometers from north to south. Each of the license areas was acquired due to the presence of either reported gold mineralization or geological characteristics similar to other known gold occurrences and deposits in the area. Several of the EMX projects have outcropping or drill-defined zones of gold mineralization from historic programs that are in need of further assessment.
In April 2019 EMX entered into an arm’s length purchase agreement for the sale of EMX’s Gold Line projects to Gold Line Resources Ltd. (“GLR”), a private British Columbia company. This agreement provides EMX with a 9.9% interest in GLR, advance royalty payments, and a 3% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty interest in the Properties (see Company news release dated April 4, 2019 for more details).
The Properties host mesothermal lode gold and/or intrusion related gold systems positioned along the well-known “Gold Line” in the Skellefteå mining region of central Sweden. The Properties contain a series of early stage gold exploration targets to more advanced projects with drill defined zones of gold mineralization. The region was the subject of intensive exploration by the Swedish government in the 1980s that led to the discovery of a series of gold deposits and occurrences along a roughly 200 kilometer long north-south trend west of Skellefteå. This belt became known as the “Gold Line”, where several mines have since been developed. As well, there are ongoing exploration programs at the nearby Barsele project (operated as a joint venture between Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Barsele Minerals Corp.), and the Fäboliden development project (Dragon Mining Ltd.).
Styles of mineralization on the EMX licenses range from sheeted vein swarms developed along contacts between granitoids and metasedimentary rocks, to mineralized skarns rich in diopside and other calc-silicates. In one case, mineralization appears to be associated with a porphyritic felsic intrusion. Mineralization also tends to be developed along major structural features and appears concentrated in fold hinge environments and prominent shear zones.
EMX plans to work closely with GLR in the coming field season to continue to develop its exploration targets, and to prepare the portfolio for scout drill testing.
Note: The nearby mines and deposits in the region provide context for EMX’s Projects, but this is not necessarily indicative that the Projects host similar mineralization.