The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Mining Explorers 2019 – Published Nov. 1, 2019
A tablet provides workers with real-time data transfer at Pretium's Brucejack gold mine in northwestern B.C.
Robert Quartermain
Pretium Resources Inc. carried out three levels of exploration at its Brucejack gold property in northwestern British Columbia – 70,000 meters drilling to expand and upgrade reserves within the Valley of Kings deposits being mined; a deep underground hole to test for extensions of Valley of the Kings; and grassroots exploration further abroad.
In June, the company reported that two long holes drilled from the underground workings at Brucejack confirmed the presence of Brucejack-style mineralization extended from the eastern edge of the Valley of the Kings, the high-grade gold deposit currently being mined, to beneath Flow Dome, a gold zone about 1,000 meters east.
Surface drilling encountered bonanza grade gold at Flow Dome in 2015. Highlights from that program include 2.05 meters of 2,100 grams (67.52 ounces) per metric ton gold in hole SU-688.
Holes VU-1785 and VU-1787, each more than 1,500 meters long, tested mineralization continuity between Valley of the Kings and Flow Dome, while assessing the potential for a porphyry source at depth.
Pretium was particularly excited about VU-1787, which cut 107.5 meters averaging 5.56 g/t gold, extending mineralization 240 meters east and below the eastern limit of the Valley of the Kings resource.
Visible gold was observed in the core and a 1.5-meter section of the longer intercept averaged 185.5 g/t gold.
The company also reported that, like two long holes drilled in 2018, this year's deep drilling encountered anomalous copper and molybdenum mineralization indicative of a proximal porphyry system.
Given the success of these holes, Pretium added a third deep hole this year to test both the extent of Brucejack-style mineralization and the porphyry potential directly below the Valley of the Kings deposit.
Hole VU-2019, which is planned to reach a length of 2,000 meters, is targeting the center of a low resistivity anomaly approximately 1,400 meters below the Valley of the Kings deposit as identified from a CSMT (controlled source magnetotelluric) geophysical program.
In July, Pretium reported this third deep underground exploration hole continued to indicate that the style of high-grade gold mineralization currently being mined at Brucejack extends below the Valley of the Kings.
As the deep hole program tests resource expansion targets below and to the east of Valley of the Kings, a 70,000-meter underground drill program is expected to better define and expand on the current mineral reserves of this high-grade gold project.
Pretium said there are opportunities to expand the Valley of the King reserves to the west, east, northeast and to depth.
Pretium's 2019 exploration also includes a grassroots program on Bowser, claims immediately south of the Brucejack Mine property.
The program, which included at least 5,000 meters of drilling, tested several distinct areas of the Bowser claims that have the potential to host Eskay Creek-style volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits and high-grade, epithermal-related gold systems.
This program began with two drills testing high-priority VMS targets on the northern and central parts of the property. A third drill mobilized to site in mid-July tested epithermal targets on the southern part of the property.
In addition to drilling, the grassroots exploration program includes sampling, mapping, prospecting and geophysics.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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