The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Drills cut near-surface mineralization at Treasure Creek target North of 60 Mining News - July 26, 2023
A 50-hole early-summer drill program at Treasure Creek focused primarily on assessing the continuity and extensions of gold mineralization identified so far at NW Array.
Felix Gold is finding the critical mineral stibnite alongside the near-surface gold at its Treasure Creek property in Alaska.
Felix Gold Ltd. July 24 reported another batch of assay results that show its 2023 drill program at Treasure Creek is outlining a trend of strong near-surface gold and antimony at the NW Array target on this exploration property about 20 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Australia-based company completed 4,695 meters of drilling in 50 holes during an early season program at Treasure Creek. This drilling included 4,278 meters of resource delineation drilling in 45 holes at NW Array and 419 meters of exploration drilling in the Scrafford extension areas about 2,000 meters to the southeast.
Based on Felix's inaugural Treasure Creek drill program carried out last year, a 1.1-million- to 3.6-million-ounce gold exploration target was calculated for NW Array in 76 million to 92 million metric tons of material from surface to a depth of 200 meters averaging 0.4 to 1.1 grams per metric ton gold.
This year's drilling focused on establishing an initial resource for a portion of this target.
In early July, assays from 11 of the holes drilling this year were received; highlights include:
• 100.5 meters averaging 1.14 g/t gold from a depth of 21.3 meters in hole 23TCRC135.
• 64 meters averaging 0.64 g/t gold from a depth of 48.8 meters in hole 23TCRC136.
• 70.1 meters averaging 1.6 g/t gold from a depth of 6.1 meters in hole 23TCRC138.
• 62.5 meters averaging 0.56 g/t gold from a depth of 1.5 meters in hole 23TCRC143.
Felix said geological logging and analysis from the initial holes showed that the most coherent gold mineralization is along a north-northeast trend, and the company adjusted its drill targeting to further define this more coherent corridor.
The latest batch of assays includes results from an additional 17 holes; highlights include:
• 53.3 meters averaging 1.88 g/t gold from a depth of 30.5 meters in hole 23TCRC153, including 10.7 meters of 2.55 g/t gold.
• 47.2 meters averaging 0.51 g/t gold from a depth of 4.6 meters in hole 23TCRC154, including 4.6 meters averaging 1.72 g/t gold.
• 54.9 meters averaging 1.8 g/t gold from a depth of 1.5 meters in hole 23TCRC155, including 30.5 meters averaging 3.02 g/t gold.
• 39.6 meters averaging 0.71 g/t gold from a depth of 1.5 meters in hole 23TCRC158, including 15.2 meters averaging 1.18 g/t gold.
"Both the grade and the near surface nature of the mineralisation indicate a potential low cost open-pitable resource," said Felix Managing Director and CEO Anthony Reilly.
Felix is also finding strong antimony mineralization alongside the near-surface gold at NW Array.
Treasure Creek has long been known for its antimony potential. The property is home to the historic Scrafford Mine, a World War I-era operation that produced an estimated 2,700 tons of ore containing greater than 50% stibnite, a primary antimony mineral.
Today, antimony is on the list of minerals critical to the United States. In addition to its traditional uses, antimony is emerging as a primary ingredient in liquid metal batteries that can store electricity at the grid scale, a key enabler to the transition to intermittent renewable energy sources.
Recognizing that its drilling at NW Array was encountering stibnite, Felix had its samples tested for the critical mineral.
Highlights from the antimony assays received so far (capped at 5% stibnite) include:
• 1.5 meters averaging greater than 5% stibnite from 24.4 meters and 1.5 meters of greater than 5% stibnite from 97.5 meters in hole 23TCRC133.
• 1.5 meters averaging greater than 5% stibnite from 38.1 meters, 1.5 meters of greater than 5% stibnite from 97.5 meters from 54.8 meters, and 12.2 meters of 1.47% stibnite in hole 23TCRC135.
• 1.5 meters averaging greater than 5% stibnite from a depth of 10.7 meters and three meters of 2.7% stibnite from a depth of 94.5 meters in hole 23TCRC136.
• 1.5 meters averaging greater than 5% stibnite from a depth of 53.3 meters in hole 23TCRC153.
• Three meters averaging 1.46% stibnite from a depth of 21.3 meters and 6.1 meters of greater than 5% stibnite from 30.5 meters in hole 23TCRC155.
"The potential for an antimony by-product continues to unfold as the higher-grade gold intersections continue to show an association with high-grade stibnite," said Reilly. "Work is ongoing to understand the trend and structure of the stibnite."
Assay results are pending for an additional 17 holes drilled at NW Array and all five holes drilled this year at Scrafford.
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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