The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - May 1, 2024
Results from roughly 50,000 meters of drilling completed in 2023 have been incorporated into an updated resource estimate for the Ranch and Lawyers gold properties in Northern B.C.
Thesis Gold Inc. May 1 reported that its Lawyers and Ranch properties in Northern British Columbia now host a combined 82 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 1.11 grams per metric ton (2.92 million ounces) gold and 31.9 g/t (84 million oz silver, or 4 million oz gold-equivalent).
"Today's combined mineral resource is a major milestone for the project and a key step in our strategic plan to unlock the full potential of these outstanding assets," said Thesis Gold President and CEO Ewan Webster.
The new resource, which includes the inaugural calculation for Ranch, will serve as the basis for a preliminary economic assessment that outlines plans for a centrally located mill that will process ore from the neighboring properties in B.C.'s Toodoggone mining district.
This will supersede a 2022 PEA that envisioned 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.
Following the 2023 merger between Thesis and Benchmark Metals Inc., which brought the Lawyers and Ranch properties into the same company, Thesis completed a roughly 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.
This drilling was incorporated into an updated resource for Lawyers and an inaugural resource for Ranch.
According to this new calculation, Lawyers hosts 76.39 million metric tons of open-pit mineable measured and indicated resources averaging 1.04 g/t (2.55 million oz) gold and 32.3 g/t (79.4 million oz) silver; plus 1.36 million metric tons of out-of-pit indicated resource averaging 2.01 g/t (88,000 oz) gold and 77.4 g/t (3.4 million oz) silver.
Ranch hosts an additional 4.26 million metric tons of open-pit mineable indicated resource averaging 2.01 g/t (275,000 oz) gold and 9.5 g/t (1.3 million oz) silver.
In addition, the two properties host a combined 12.4 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.48 g/t (590,000 oz) gold and 20.9 g/t (8.3 million oz) silver.
"The drill results supported two key 2024 catalysts: today's updated global resource for both Lawyers and Ranch, and its integration into an improved PEA," said Webster. "We're on track, with a 32% increase in gold equivalent ounces, identification of higher-grade zones, and a revised mine plan that positions the project to deliver substantial improvements on already strong economics."
The 2024 PEA, slated for completion during the third quarter, is expected to evaluate the potential for bringing higher-grade ore into the mine plan early, especially from starter pits at Ranch.
"[T]here is the opportunity to develop much higher-grade starter pits to jump-start production and reduce the pay-back period. I see today's resource as just the beginning, with substantial growth ahead, particularly at Ranch, where we have only scratched the surface," said Webster.
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.
Reader Comments(0)