The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Cuts 20 meters of 2.93 g/t gold at the underexplored JK Zone North of 60 Mining News - December 20, 2023
A technician logs core from the expansive 2023 drill program at Thesis Gold's Ranch property in Northern British Columbia.
Thesis Gold Inc. Dec. 20 reported that its 2023 drill program has cut strong gold mineralization at JK Zone, a sparsely drilled target between the Thesis Structural Corridor and Bonanza-Ridge Zone on the company's Ranch project in the Toodoggone mining district of Northern British Columbia.
"The overall area of known mineralization at Ranch continues to expand, demonstrating the significant upside that remains beyond the known zones of mineralization," said Thesis Gold President and CEO Ewan Webster.
Following the August merger with Benchmark Metals Inc., Thesis consolidated the adjacent Ranch and Lawyers properties into a single 325-square-kilometer (125 square miles) gold-silver project.
Lawyers, the most advanced of the two properties, hosts 67.38 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 1.26 grams per metric ton (2.74 million ounces) gold and 24.39 g/t (52.9 million oz) silver; plus 4.87 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 2.39 g/t (378,000 oz) gold and 39.41 g/t (6.2 million oz) silver.
A 2022 preliminary economic assessment based on this resource envisions ore from open-pit mines at three Lawyers deposits – AGB, Cliff Creek, and Dukes Ridge – feeding a centrally located mill that would produce 1.7 million oz of gold and 26.7 million oz of silver over an initial 12 years of mining.
Ranch, which lies immediately north of Lawyers, is an earlier-stage property with near-surface zones of gold mineralization that will likely bolster the annual production and lifespan of the proposed mine at Lawyers.
Prior to the merger, Benchmark launched a 20,000-meter drill program focused on expanding higher-grade underground mineable resources at Lawyers, and Thesis initiated a 30,000-meter program focused on building resources at Ranch that could support an expanded operation at Lawyers.
Once the merger was finalized, the merged Thesis Gold continued with both programs.
The 2023 resource drilling at Ranch primarily targeted the 1,500-meter-long Thesis Structural Corridor (TSC) and the 700-meter-long Bonanza-Ridge zone to the north but also included smaller and earlier staged zones to the south, such as BV and Steve.
Highlights from previously reported results from the 2023 Ranch drilling include:
• 4.1 meters averaging 119.49 g/t gold in hole 23BNZDD001 (Bonanza-Ridge).
• 12.6 meters averaging 3.87 g/t gold in hole 23BNZDD004 (Bonanza-Ridge).
• 79.7 meters averaging 1.52 g/t gold and 0.42% copper in hole 23BNGDD01 (Bingo Zone – TSC).
• 24.8 meters averaging 3.38 g/t gold and 0.36% copper in hole (Bingo Zone – TSC).
• 24.7 meters averaging 5.37 g/t gold in hole 23BNGDD012 23BNGDD08 (Bingo Zone – TSC).
• 6.3 meters averaging 14.87 g/t gold in hole 23BVDD001 (BV Zone).
• 71 meters averaging 1.2 g/t gold from 221 meters in hole 23STVDD005 (Steve).
The latest batch of results from the 2023 Ranch program are from 11 holes drilled at JK Zone, which lies about 270 meters north of the main access road at Ranch, midway between Bonanza-Ridge and TSC.
Highlights from the 11 holes drilled at JK Zone this year include:
• 20 meters averaging 2.93 g/t gold from a depth of 11 meters in hole 23JKDD001.
• 69.8 meters averaging 1.28 g/t gold from a depth of 22 meters in hole 23JKDD005.
• 9.4 meters averaging 2.03 g/t gold from a depth of 103.2 meters in hole 23JKDD011.
Prior to 2023, limited drilling at JK had defined a mineralized gold trend that extended for about 60 meters, a trend that has now been traced for 230 meters along strike.
Much like the Steve zone, Thesis says JK is an early-stage target with lots of opportunity for further testing, definition, and continued expansion.
"The JK Zone has grown significantly in strike length, exhibits near surface high-grade mineralization, and remains open for testing in 2024," said Webster. "The expansion of mineralization and the identification of new targets underscore our commitment to realizing the full potential of the Ranch project."
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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