ATAC investigates larger Tiger gold mine

ATAC Resources Ltd. Nov. 14 announced it is working on an updated resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its high-grade Tiger gold deposit at Rau, the westernmost of three projects that make up the company's 185-kilometer- (115 miles) long Rackla Gold property in the Yukon.

A previous PEA, completed in 2016, in May, investigated the use of an agitated tank carbon-in-pulp leaching process to recover gold from the highly oxidized carbonate replacement mineralization found there. The PEA estimates a mine at Tiger would produce roughly 302,300 ounces of gold over a six-year mine life from ore averaging 3.81 grams per metric ton gold.

At US$1,250/oz gold and an exchange rate of C$1 to US78 cents, the mine outlined in the PEA was estimated to produce a 34.8 percent pre-tax internal rate of return and have a pre-tax net present value (5 percent discount) of C$106.6 million.

The updated PEA currently underway will include the results from drilling and metallurgical work that will likely expand this mine.

ATAC has completed 13 holes at Tiger since 2016, including four drilled this year.

This year's drilling tested oxide material observed at surface south-east of the main deposit area within the 2016 PEA pit shell, which had been classified as waste rock due to a lack of drill data.

Highlights from this drilling include 8.18 meters of 3.32 grams per metric ton gold in hole RAU-19-164; and 3.04 meters of 13.4 g/t gold in RAU-19-166.

ATAC said this drilling successfully identified oxide mineralization within areas of the 2016 PEA pit that were classified as waste, as well as provide evidence for zones of structurally-controlled breccias and chimneys outside the primary oxide horizon.

Highlights from the other nine holes, which were drilled in 2017, include 64.01 meters of 2.46 g/t gold in RAU-17-156; 56.77 meters of 4.08 g/t gold in RAU-17-156; 37.12 meters of 5.23 g/t gold in RAU-17-157; and 51.82 meter of 5.66 g/t gold in RAU-17-159.

Most of the holes drilled in 2017 encountered the sulfide component of the Tiger deposit, which was not considered in the 2016 PEA.

Metallurgical testing since the PEA, however, has shown that 87 percent of the gold in the sulfide mineralization at Tiger can be recovered with direct cyanide leaching.

"We believe drilling and metallurgical testing completed after the 2016 PEA provides numerous opportunities to extend the mine life of the proposed operation," said ATAC Resources President and CEO Graham Downs. "In addition to the potential for expanded production, the updated study is anticipated to improve project economics and daylight value for our shareholders."

According to a 2016 estimate, Tiger hosts 5.68 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 2.66 g/t (485,700 oz) gold; and 3.23 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.81 g/t (188,500 oz) gold.

Approximately 76 percent of the measured and indicated resource is oxide mineralization; and roughly 91 percent of the inferred resource is oxide mineralization.

"The Tiger deposit is a rare asset given its high oxide gold grades, simple metallurgy, proximity to surface, and limited development footprint," said Downs. "The updated PEA coincides with a rising gold price environment and industry interest in high-margin development assets in low-risk jurisdictions. The Tiger deposit remains open in multiple directions and can act as a cornerstone asset within an emerging polymetallic district."

–SHANE LASLEY