The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Gold seen in core from holes west and east of 20M oz deposit North of 60 Mining News - October 25, 2023
Click on image for larger map of drilling in and around the Dolphin-Cleary gold deposit at Golden Summit.
Click on image for larger cross-section through holes GS2318 and GS2319 on the west side of the Dolphin-Cleary deposit.
Freegold Ventures Ltd. Oct. 23 reported that its 2023 drilling continues to trace gold mineralization to the north and west of the 19.7-million-ounce Dolphin-Cleary deposit at Golden Summit and is encountering visible gold on exploration targets that could add to the world-class gold endowment on this project about 25 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Dolphin-Cleary deposit hosts 407.54 million metric tons of open-pit mineable indicated resource averaging 0.92 grams per metric ton (12 million oz) gold, plus 282.3 million metric tons of open-pit inferred resource averaging 0.85 g/t (7.7 million oz) gold.
So far this year, Freegold has completed 35 holes focused on upgrading and expanding this resource, and seven holes at the Saddle exploration target about 4,000 meters east of Dolphin-Cleary.
Highlights from 17 previously reported holes drilled in and around the Dolphin-Cleary deposit this year include:
• 256 meters averaging 1.01 g/t gold in hole GS2306.
• 244.7 meters averaging 1.13 g/t gold in hole GS2309.
• 113.3 meters averaging 5.42 g/t gold in hole GS2314.
• 327 meters averaging 0.94 g/t gold in hole GS2317.
Besides GS2306, an infill hole drilled roughly at the juncture of the Dolphin and Cleary Hill portions of the deposit, these highlighted intercepts are from step-outs north and west of Dolphin.
Freegold is particularly interested in tracing gold mineralization on the northwest corner of Dolphin, an area outside the resource but within the proposed open pit. This means the rock in this area would need to be dug to access the full resource, but is currently considered waste. So, any gold in this area would not only add to the resource but lower the strip ratio based on the currently considered pit outlines.
This year's drilling with holes spaced 50 to 100 meters apart has already extended gold mineralization in this area 400 meters to the north.
Hole GS2318, drilled northwest of the resource, cut:
• 8.5 meters averaging 1.14 g/t gold from a depth of 177.4 meters
• 46.5 meters averaging 0.72 g/t gold from a depth of 216.5 meters.
Hole GS2319, drilled about 220 meters south of GS2318, cut:
• 23.7 meters averaging 0.68 g/t gold from a depth of 194.2 meters.
• 17 meters averaging 0.77 g/t gold from a depth of 246 meters.
• 58.8 meters averaging 0.72 g/t gold from a depth of 349.6 meters.
• 164.3 meters averaging 1.05 g/t gold from a depth of 425.5 meters.
Freegold says its drilling indicates that a marble unit and significant faulting truncates the mineralization to the north in the Dolphin Zone.
There are, however, signs of significant gold mineralization in the Tolovana Vein Swarm area west of Dolphin and at the Saddle prospect around 2.5 miles to the east of the resource.
Multiple occurrences of visible gold were observed in core from GS2335, a hole drilled in the Tolovana Vein Swarm. This hole was drilled about 250 meters southwest of hole GS2314, which cut 113.3 meters averaging 5.42 g/t gold.
Freegold also reports visible gold in core from drilling at Saddle, a prospect area about 4,000 meters east of Dolphin-Cleary with dense veining and strong gold geochemistry. The company's reconnaissance drilling of this prospect included a series of seven widely spaced holes.
Though assays are pending from these holes, Freegold is encouraged by what it is observing in core, including visible gold in hole SZ2307.
"Based on visual inspections it is apparent that additional drilling is warranted in the Saddle Zone," the company penned in its Oct. 23 update.
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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