The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Drilling west of Big Missouri cuts 2 meters of 54.6 g/t gold North of 60 Mining News – September 18, 2020
One hole drilled west of Ascot Resources' Big Missouri deposit at the Premier project near Stewart, British Columbia cut two meters averaging 54.6 g/t (1.76 oz/t) gold.
Visible gold in the core from the high-grade intercept in hole P20-2213, drilled in the Day zone.
Ascot Resources Ltd. Aug. 14 announced the discovery of high-grade gold mineralization at Day Zone, a new area about 300 meters west from the planned underground development at Big Missouri and roughly 5,000 meters north of the mill on Ascot's Premier property in northwestern British Columbia.
A feasibility study completed for Ascot earlier this year envisions four mines – Silver Coin, Big Missouri, Red Mountain and Premier – providing ore to the existing 1990s era mill at Premier. With the mill operating at 2,500 metric tons per day, this operation is expected to produce roughly 1.1 million ounces of gold and 3 million oz of silver over an initial eight-year mine life.
This production is based on 3.63 million metric tons of probable reserves averaging 5.45 grams per metric ton (637,000 oz) gold and 19.1 g/t (2.23 million oz) silver in the Premier, Silver Coin, and Big Missouri deposits; plus 2.55 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 6.52 g/t (534,000 oz) gold and 20.6 g/t (1.69 million oz) silver at Red Mountain.
This year, Ascot is testing targets near these deposits that could eventually add to these reserves.
The latest results continue to show that very high-grade gold lies just beyond the deposit outlined.
Highlighted intercepts from three holes drilled at Day Zone include:
• 4.1 meters averaging 20.62 g/t gold in hole P20-2212.
• 2.05 meters averaging 54.6 g/t (1.76 ounces per metric ton) gold in hole P20-2213.
"We are excited about the discovery of another strategically located high-grade zone that could be transformative for Ascot," said Ascot Resources President and CEO Derek White. "The new drilling referred to as the Day Zone is west of our known resources at the Big Missouri deposit and is within striking distance of our planned underground development."
Additional drilling will be necessary and is currently being planned to explore the 300-meter gap between Day Zone and Big Missouri, as well as the northern and southern strike extent of the high-grade zone. Ascot says potential for additional resources in this area appears to be very high.
The Day Zone drilling follows drilling at Premier West, a 2,000-meter-long expansion area west of the Premier deposit.
Highlighted assays from ten Premier West holes released in August include:
• 24.15 meters averaging 3.74 g/t gold, including six meters of 40.78 g/t (1.31 oz/t) gold in hole P20-2202.
• 4.5 meters averaging 15.75 g/t gold in hole P20-2197.
• 4.25 meters averaging 9.91 g/t gold in hole P20-2203.
Holes drilled further west suggest that the mineralized zone has a flatter dip than anticipated. Thus, the latest batch of results are believed to be from peripheral material to the established high-grade zone. The best intercept in seven additional holes was six meters averaging 3.53 g/t gold and 10.3 g/t silver.
Ascot said follow-up drilling will have to be conducted from a different drill pad that allows for drill holes perpendicular to the zone. Ascot is working to establish an alternative location and is hoping to conduct drilling before the end of the year.
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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