The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Titan survey identifies gneiss flat lying structures for testing North of 60 Mining News – August 20, 2021
Helicopter-supported mapping carried out on the western side of Tibbs identified low-angle faults within gneissic rocks similar to those carrying ore at the nearby Pogo gold mine.
Tectonic Metals Inc. Aug. 18 reported that a deep-penetrating Titan-160 ground-based geophysical survey targeting has identified what appears to be low- and high-angle structures coinciding with gold-in-soil anomalies sharing the same geochemistry and host rocks as the gold-rich zones that have provided the bulk of the ore at Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s Pogo gold mine about 22 miles (35 kilometers) to the northwest.
The geophysical survey was designed to determine the subsurface geological and structural architecture at Tibbs, specifically in the western extent of the project where multiple Pogo-like gold-in-soil anomalies are found in prospective gneissic host rocks.
Previous field observations and structural analysis undertaken by Tectonic suggests the presence of low-angle extensional structures and shears within gneissic rocks in the underexplored western part of the Tibbs property. Tectonic says this structural and geological setting is similar to that found at the Liese zone at the Pogo gold mine, where low-angle reactivated shear structures host gold mineralization in quartz-sulfide veins.
Mapping carried out in this western area during the 2020 season identified low-angle faults within moderately dipping gneissic rocks, which are key characteristics of the Pogo geological model.
To refine targets for a second phase of 2021 oriented diamond drilling at Tibbs, Tectonic had four 4,000-meter-long geophysical line surveys that extend from the intrusive rocks that host known high-grade gold zones on the property into the gneiss rocks believed to host Pogo-like veins. This survey has identified several previous undrilled targets for drilling – West Trench, Johnson Saddle, Galosh, and Gray Lead West.
"Following the successful completion and interpretation of the results of Tectonic's 2021 Titan survey, we have kicked off our Phase II drill program given the survey confirmed our exploration model of high-angle fault structures which host high-tenor gold, arsenic and bismuth soil anomalies that are found immediately adjacent to two panels of moderately dipping gneissic rocks," said Tectonic Metals President and CEO Tony Reda. "The gneissic rocks host gently dipping conductivity anomalies which may represent low-angle structures analogous to the shear structures which host the Liese veins at Pogo. Tectonic moved quickly to exploit the survey's findings, commencing Phase II of our drill program at our West Trench target, and we look forward to testing the never before drilled gneissic portion of Tibbs."
At West Trench, the initial target for phase-II drilling, a prominent conductivity anomaly was found immediately west of two controlling high-angle fault structures. Both structures host high-tenor gold, arsenic, and bismuth soil anomalies at surface.
The low-angle conductivity anomaly is found adjacent to the interpreted moderately west dipping contact between augen gneiss and paragneiss, the latter comprising the host rock at Pogo. Starting at a depth of only 80 meters and extending for more than 600 meters along the modeled section, the West Trench target is a relatively shallow and sizeable first target for the second phase of 2021 drilling.
The initial phase of Tectonic's 2021 oriented core drill program at Tibbs focused on validating and expanding upon known high-grade gold exploration targets such as Michigan, where 2020 drilling hit grades as high as 6.71 grams per metric ton gold over 9.1 meters, as well as testing newly identified structural and soil geochemical targets within the intrusive rocks at Tibbs.
Assays from all the oriented diamond drill holes completed during the initial phase of this program are pending.
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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