The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sees potential for sizable resource at underexplored zones North of 60 Mining News – October 1, 2021
An aerial view of the Colomac project exploration camp on Nighthawk's Indin Lake gold project in Northwest Territories.
Nighthawk Gold Corp. Sept. 28 reported assay results from 17 drill holes that essentially double the strike length of gold mineralization at the 24/27 deposits about 4,000 meters east of the main Colomac deposit on the company's Indin Lake gold property in Canada's Northwest Territories.
According to a calculation completed in February, five deposits at Indin Lake host 38.7 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 1.81 grams per metric ton (2.25 million ounces) gold, a 35% increase over the 2020 resource estimate, and 11.5 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 2.13 g/t (790,000 oz) gold
All of the indicated resource and about 85% of the inferred resource is found in four deposits that make up the Colomac project – Colomac, Goldcrest, Grizzly Bear, and 24/27.
The least advanced of the deposits at Colomac, 24 and 27, host 608 metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.82 g/t (35,600 oz) gold.
Though 24 and 27 are the smallest satellite deposits outlined so far, Nighthawk says the geological setting is favorable for a sizable deposit. The mineralization is associated with a property scale sub-vertical shear zone hosting extensive alteration and quartz veining over important widths. The company believes this offers excellent potential to significantly contribute to the global resource base at Indin Lake.
As such, the company drilled nine holes to test a favorable structure that extends roughly 1,000 meters south of the 24 and 27 deposits, plus eight holes at and around the current 24 deposit.
Nighthawk reports that 14 of the 17 holes drilled cut gold mineralization, essentially doubling the strike length of the deposit to 250 meters.
One hole, TFS21-06, cut 12 meters averaging 0.76 g/t gold, including five meters of 1.08 g/t gold along the south extension of the favorable structure 900 meters south of the 24/27 deposits.
Highlights from drilling around the 24 deposit include: 14 meters averaging 2.16 g/t gold in hole TFS21-10; 27.5 meters averaging 1.84 g/t gold in TFS21-11; 20 meters averaging 1.29 g/t gold in TFS21-15; and 17 meters averaging 2.96 g/t gold in TFS21-16.
"One of our main goals for this year's drilling program was to increase the in-pit resources on known deposits. Given the results published to date from the main Colomac deposit, the Grizzly Bear deposit, and now 24/27, we have been very successful on this front," said Nighthawk Gold President and CEO Keyvan Salehi. "The results from phase I drilling at 24/27 were significantly better than expected, returning some of the best intervals obtained to date, where these results are expected to notably increase the total in-pit resources at 24/27."
The company says an additional four holes have been drilled along the northern extension of the 24/27 deposits as part of the phase II program, and results will be released as they become available.
So far, Nighthawk has completed roughly 70,000 meters of drilling during 2021 at Indin Lake and has reported results from 17,990 meters of this drilling.
Like essentially all mineral exploration companies working in northern Canada and Alaska, Nighthawk reports a tremendous slow-down in receiving assay results due to the effects of COVID-19, which is compounded by an increase in drilling and sampling activities.
Despite the significantly slowed down reception of results, Nighthawk says it is making every effort to ensure drilling information is compiled in a timely manner and results published as soon as practical.
There are currently five drills at Indin Lake, and the 2021 program is expected to be completed by mid-October.
"We remain on track to achieve our goals for this year where we anticipate completing just over 70,000 meters of drilling," said Salehi. "Considering the targets assembled for this year's drill program and based on the results we have received to date, we are confident we will achieve our goals of increasing the in-pit resources at year end. We anticipate being able to provide a resource update before the end of the first quarter of 2022."
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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