Other results included 3.85m at 24.5g/t from 35.35m, in a hole drilled as a 15m step-out from the previously furthest north high-grade intercept.

"Our excitement continues to grow with this success at Keats, further bolstered by our high-grade discovery at Lotto 2km to the north, and by other recent high-grade drill intercepts along the Appleton Fault Zone," CEO Craig Roberts said.

The company has drawn comparisons between the Central Newfoundland gold belt and Victoria's Bendigo goldfields in Australia, which host Kirkland Lake Gold's high-grade Fosterville mine.

It is doubling its planned exploration programme to 200,000m.

Roberts pointed to accelerating news flow, saying New Found was ramping up to eight drills and had recently managed to "significantly shorten" its turnaround time on assays.

The company has C$68 million in working capital, according to a presentation this month.

Its major shareholders include Palisades Goldcorp (33%), Eric Sprott (18%), Novo Resources (11%) and Rob McEwen (7%).

New Found shares (TSXV: NFG) have ranged from $1.24-$4.90 since listing in August.

They closed up 10% to $4.26 yesterday, capitalising the explorer at $633 million (US$508 million).