The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Crews ready camp for renewed exploration of copper project North of 60 Mining News – June 2, 2023
An aerial view of the Whistler exploration camp established by Kiska Metals during its exploration a little over a decade ago.
U.S. GoldMining Inc. May 30 announced that it has mobilized crews for an up to 10,000-meter phase-one drill program at the Whistler gold-copper project about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
According to a 2021 calculation, the 53,700-acre Whistler property hosts 118.2 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.51 grams per metric ton (1.94 million ounces) gold, 2.19 g/t (8.3 million oz) silver, and 0.16% (422 million pounds) copper; plus 317 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.46 g/t (4.67 million oz) gold, 1.58 g/t (16.1 million oz) silver; and 0.1% (711.4 million lb) copper.
These resources are based on 70,247 meters of diamond drilling completed in 257 holes from 1986 to the end of 2011. Of these holes, 52 were drilled in the Whistler deposit area, 94 holes in the Raintree West area, and 36 holes in the Island Mountain area. Another 75 holes were drilled across the wider property.
GoldMining Inc., then known as Brazil Resources, acquired the Whistler project from Kiska Metals in 2015.
Whistler was spun out into U.S. GoldMining Inc., which listed on Nasdaq earlier this year with a US$20 million public offering.
"US GoldMining is now fully funded and permitted to start our inaugural exploration program at Whistler," said U.S. GoldMining CEO Tim Smith. "We have engaged leaders in the industry with significant local knowledge to execute our exploration plans and we are excited to commence the Phase 1 program."
This work begins with renovation and expansion of the exploration camp, which lies alongside the Whiskey Bravo Airstrip and is connected to the Whistler gold-copper deposit via a roughly four-mile (six kilometers) access road.
These camp upgrades to support the company's plans to unlock Whistler's value are expected to be completed in July, and drilling is slated to begin by August.
"With several exploration targets already identified, we are eager to get to work and drive forward the rediscovery of Whistler," said Smith.
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.
Reader Comments(0)