The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Plans to incorporate underground mining in updated PEA in Q3 North of 60 Mining News – January 12, 2024
Thesis Gold's 2023 drilling at Lawyers focused on underground extensions of the surface mines outlined in a 2022 PEA.
Cliff Creek deposit cross section showing open pit designs, conceptual underground stopes, and select 2023 drill results.
Thesis Gold Inc. Jan. 11 reported that its 2023 deep drilling targeting an underground mineable extension of the Cliff Creek deposit at its Lawyers exceeded expectations, adding further credence to the company's plan for both underground and open-pit mining at this gold-silver property in Northern British Columbia's Toodoggone Mining District.
Following the August merger with Benchmark Metals Inc., Thesis consolidated Lawyers with its adjacent Ranch property 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.
Optimization studies indicated that underground mining at Lawyers could significantly improve the economics of the operation outlined in the PEA.
"The 2022 PEA highlighted significant, easily accessible underground potential beneath the conceptual pits at Cliff Creek and Dukes Ridge, which were not previously included in the mineable resource," said Thesis Gold COO Ian Harris.
The 2023 drilling at Lawyers focused on realizing this underground potential by testing the deep, high-grade gold and silver extensions below the proposed open pits at Duke's Ridge and Cliff Creek.
"The results have been promising, indicating potential extensions of these zones," Harris added.
Highlights from previously reported assays from the 2023 deep drilling at Duke's Ridge include:
• 68 meters averaging 1.25 g/t gold and 65.7 g/t silver from a depth of 370 meters in hole 23DRDD002.
• 53 meters averaging 2.12 g/t gold and 105 g/t silver from a depth of 388 meters in hole 23DRDD003.
• 46 meters averaging 2.29 g/t gold and 132.1 g/t silver from a depth of 325 meters in hole 23DRDD011.
• 37 meters averaging 2.09 g/t gold and 85.3 g/t silver from a depth of 392 meters in hole 23DRDD011.
The latest batch of assays are from 29 holes drilled to infill and expand high-grade mineralization below modeled open pits at Cliff Creek. Highlights include:
• Six meters averaging 4.83 g/t gold and 346.1 g/t silver from a depth of 257 meters in hole 23CCDD001.
• 7.22 meters averaging 5.59 g/t gold and 199.9 g/t silver from a depth of 471 meters in hole 23CCDD020.
• 128 meters averaging 1.97 g/t gold and 41.7 g/t silver from a depth of 378 meters in hole 23CCDD022.
• 22 meters averaging 3.71 g/t gold and 148.7 g/t silver from a depth of 244 meters in hole 23CCDD028.
In addition, Thesis reports that hole 23CCDD029 cut 54.32 meters averaging 1.8 g/t gold and 116.9 g/t silver at the bottom of a Cliff Creek open pit outlined in the 2022 PEA.
"We are thrilled with the outcomes of this year's drill program at the Lawyers project, which not only confirmed the continuation of deep mineralized zones but also achieved the specific objectives we set out at the beginning of the program," said Thesis Gold President and CEO Ewan Webster. "The extension of mineralization at depth, beyond our initial expectations, presents an exciting opportunity for further upside."
The 2023 deep drilling at Lawyers also demonstrated continuity of deeper mineralized zones at both Cliff Creek and Dukes Ridge to depths of over 540 and 400 vertical meters, respectively.
Thesis says these deeper intercepts are consistent with geological modeling and fall in line with stope models, meaning they have the potential to be combined with previously established deeper mineralized zones that may be included in an underground mining scenario in economic studies expected later this year.
"We are now looking forward to incorporating these findings and evaluating the integration of underground bulk tonnage mining early in the mine plan for an updated PEA, targeted for completion in Q3-2024," said Harris. "This approach aims to not only increase the overall mineable resource, but also to bring higher-grade material into the mine plan sooner. We believe this could be transformative for the project, significantly enhancing both the design and economic outcomes."
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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