Mining Explorers 2016: Auryn Resources Inc.

Raising C$14.9 million in May, a well-funded Auryn Resources Inc. anticipated 2016 exploration of its expansive Committee Bay gold project in Nunavut.

Three Bluffs, the most advanced of the targets at Committee Bay, hosts 4.32 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 4.91 grams-per-metric-ton (683,000 ounces) gold; and 5.52 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 5.43 g/t (965,000 oz.) gold.

After a thorough review of the historical data surrounding this deposit, Auryn identified a 4,000-meter-long trend of gold mineralization in rocks and tills.

Additionally, a re-inversion of the induced polarization and magnetic geophysical surveys has identified a previously unrecognized continuation of the structure that hosts the deposit 5,000 meters to the east. The identification of this structure has provided potential to expand the deposit significantly.

Before kicking off its summer program, Auryn staked 162,000 hectares (400,000 acres) of claims at the Committee Bay project, expanding the land package to more than 380,000 hectares (939,000 acres).

The summer exploration program, which got underway in June, included roughly 11,000 meters of rotary air blast drilling focused on the Anuri and West Plain targets, both located towards the southwest end of the Committee Bay property, as well as regional till sampling across the entire 300-kilometer- (185 miles) long Committee Bay project.

Anuri consists of a more than 20-kilometer- (12.5 miles) long corridor of elevated gold-in-tills. During its spring program, Auryn collected airborne geophysical data at Anuri. The company said the combination of magnetic, electro-magnetic, drone imagery, and geochemical datasets has identified high-priority drill targets at Anuri.

A number of past holes drilled at West Plains have tapped nice intercepts of high-grade gold including: 8.7 meters of 14.76 g/t gold drilled in 2004; eight meters of 13.14 g/t gold drilled in 2006; and 25.1 meters of 4.1 g/t gold in a hole drilled in 2011. Auryn says drilling shows that West Plains is mineralized for more than 1,800 meters, and the prospect is open for another 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) along strike.

In addition to its work in Nunavut, Auryn bought a high-grade gold property in British Columbia.

In September, the company closed an all-share acquisition of Homestake Resource Corp. valued at C$8.9 million.

Homestake's key asset is Homestake Ridge, a high-grade gold project in northwestern British Columbia.

According to a 2013 calculation, the three main deposits at Homestake hosts 604,000 metric tons of indicated resource averaging 6.4 grams per metric ton (124,000 oz.) gold; 48.3 g/t (939,000 oz.) silver; and 0.18 percent (2.4 million pounds) copper.

Additionally, these deposits host 6.77 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.2 g/t (911,000 oz.) gold; 93.6 g/t (20.37 million oz.) silver; and 0.11 percent (16.3 million lbs.) copper.

Auryn also owns gold-silver and copper-gold exploration properties in southern Peru.

-SHANE LASLEY