The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - March 13, 2024
Thesis Gold CEO Ewan Webster inspecting core from the 2023 drilling at the Ranch gold project in Northern British Columbia.
With a better understanding of the structures, Thesis Gold has identified a third expansion target at Bingo Zone and a fourth at the southeastern end of the Thesis Structural Corridor.
Thesis Gold Inc. March 12 reported that high-grade gold, along with associated silver and high-grade copper, drilled at the Bingo Zone enhances the upside potential of the company's Ranch project in Northern British Columbia.
Located in the Toodoggone mining district east of B.C.'s Golden Triangle, Ranch is the northern half of a 325-square-kilometer (125 square miles) gold-silver property. Lawyers, a gold-silver project Thesis acquired through the 2022 merger with Benchmark Metals Inc., makes up the southern half of the large land package.
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 surface mining.
Last year, Thesis initiated an ambitious 50,000-meter drill program that included approximately 20,000 meters of drilling focused on expanding the Lawyers deposits to depth for underground mining and 30,000 meters of drilling focused on establishing a maiden resource for surface deposits at Ranch that could be processed through a future centralized mill at Lawyers.
The 2023 resource drilling at Ranch targeted the 1,500-meter-long Thesis Structural Corridor (TSC) and the 700-meter-long Bonanza-Ridge zone about 2,000 meters to the east, as well as the smaller and earlier staged BV and Steve zones.
Bingo Zone, which lies at the northeastern end of TSC, was a primary target along this structural corridor. Highlights from previously reported holes from the 2023 drilling at Bingo Zone include:
• 79.7 meters averaging 1.52 g/t gold and 0.42% copper in hole 23BNGDD01.
• 24.8 meters averaging 3.38 g/t gold and 0.36% copper in hole23BNGDD08.
• 24.7 meters averaging 5.37 g/t gold in hole 23BNGDD012.
Highlights from the latest batch of assays from the 2023 program at Bingo Zone include:
• 20 meters averaging 8.46 g/t gold, 36.96 g/t silver, and 1.72% copper in hole 23BNGDD024.
• 15.3 meters averaging 2.06 g/t gold, 7.4 g/t silver, and 0.23% copper in hole 23BNGDD028.
• 38.9 meters averaging 2.79 g/t gold, 4.79 g/t silver, and 0.58% copper in hole 23BNGDD029.
• 29.2 meters averaging 2.64 g/t gold, 51.14 g/t silver, and 0.7% copper in hole 23BNGDD035.
"These step-out drilling results at the Bingo Zone define strong near-surface mineralization, particularly the high-grade intercepts in drillholes 23BNGDD024, 23BNGDD029, and 23BNGDD035, underscoring the prospect's significant potential," said Thesis Gold President and CEO Ewan Webster. "Doubling the drilling efforts in 2023 has not only expanded the deposit footprint but also provided valuable geological insights, guiding our strategy for future exploration."
With a better understanding of the structures, Thesis Gold has identified a third expansion target at Bingo Zone and a fourth at the southeastern end of the Thesis Structural Corridor.
This enhanced understanding includes the discovery of several intersecting faults that are key controls of the gold-silver-copper mineralization at Bingo Zone. This new understanding is helping Thesis target expansion areas of very little outcrop north of Bingo Zone. The combination of topographical, geophysical, and geochemical evidence, however, indicates that there is potential for further discoveries in this largely unexplored region.
The high-grade copper, along with geochemical and geological evidence encountered with the 2023 drilling, also indicated the potential for a nearby porphyry system. The company says copper mineralization will become a key focus for advancing its understanding of the mineralizing system and optimizing targeted exploration at Ranch.
"The consistent presence of high-grade copper further enhances the project's value and hints at the proximity to a potential porphyry system," said Webster.
The results from Thesis Gold's expansive 2023 drilling at Ranch and Lawyers will be used to calculate a new mineral resource estimate during the second quarter, which will be incorporated into an updated PEA slated for completion after midyear.
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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