Its discovery hole into the Monte Carlo zone - one of five large gold anomalies at Lucky Strike - intersected 22m at 5.36g/t gold, including 5.72m grading 18.79g/t, from 13m.

The company said the results exceeded the goals set by the geological team and said Lucky Strike had the makings of a flagship, standalone project, with extensive exploration planned for next year.

"The 2018 exploration season is shaping up to be the largest drill campaigns to date on both Lucky Strike and Plateau properties," president and CEO Terry King said.

Gold major Newmont Mining (US:NEM) has the right to earn up to 80% of Plateau in a US$40 million deal struck earlier this year.

Goldstrike started exploration mid-year at Lucky Strike, which lies 30km from Goldcorp's (CN:G) Coffee Creek project and 15km from the Golden Saddle deposit.

Investors failed to share the enthusiasm though, with Goldstrike shares dropping back 4.35% yesterday to C22c, compared with its 52-week range of 11-43c, capitalising the company around $41 million.