The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News – June 04, 2024
Goliath Resources has mobilized equipment and crew for a 15,000-meter drill program at its Golddigger project in Northern British Columbia.
Goliath Resources Ltd. June 3 announced that it is ramping up a 15,000-meter drill program to expand the high-grade gold zones at Surebet and test three discovery targets across the wider Golddigger property in Northern British Columbia.
Located in the neighborhood of Dolly Varden Silver Corp's Kitsault Valley and Hecla Mining Company's Kinskuch gold-silver projects, Goliath's 52,756-hectare (130,363 acres) Golddigger property is in an increasingly active precious metals exploration region at the southern tip of B.C.'s Golden Triangle.
Over the past three years, Goliath has focused much of its exploration on Surebet, a roughly 1,800-meter-long corridor at the southern end of the district-scale Golddigger property that hosts three interrelated high-grade gold zones – Surebet, Bonanza Shear, and Golden Gate.
According to a 2023 geological model, the Surebet, Bonanza Shear, and Golden Gate zones host an estimated 22.9 million cubic meters of mineralized rock averaging 7.74 grams per metric ton gold-equivalent, which accounts for the value of both the gold and silver.
The more than 34,000 meters of drilling carried out last year, however, has significantly expanded these zones.
Some of the highlights from the 2023 drilling at Golddigger include:
• 9.7 meters averaging 10.8 g/t gold and 6.2 g/t silver (10.94 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GD-23-113 (Bonanza Shear).
• 7.85 meters averaging 4.76 g/t gold and 5.8 g/t silver (4.96 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GD-23-133 (Golden Gate).
• 23 meters averaging 18.95 g/t gold and 95.3 g/t silver (21.08 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GD-23-157 (Surebet Zone).
• 26.9 meters averaging 5.81 g/t gold and 719.1 g/t silver (14.68 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GD-23-173 (Surebet Zone).
• 7.9 meters averaging 64.88 g/t gold and 8 g/t silver (65 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GD-23-180 (Bonanza Shear).
• 27 meters averaging 11.07 g/t gold and 23 g/t silver (24.83 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GD23-197 (Golden Gate).
A new model that integrates the 2023 drill data identified six new vein horizons connected to the previously identified zones:
• Big One is estimated to host 12 million to 15 million metric tons of mineralized material.
• Eldorado is estimated to host 8 million to 11 million metric tons of mineralized material.
• Goldzilla is estimated to host 4 million to 5 million metric tons of mineralized material.
• Hotspot is estimated to host 2 million to 3 million metric tons of mineralized material.
• Whopper is estimated to host 2 million to 3 million metric tons of mineralized material.
The majority of the 62 holes planned for this year will focus on continued expansion and testing for the feeder source of the gold zones within the Surebet corridor.
"We are very pleased to have mobilized for another aggressive drill campaign after extensive analysis and updated modeling post our successful 2023 drill campaign at our 100% controlled Golddigger property," said Goliath Resources CEO Roger Rosmus.
The balance of the 2024 drill program will target three new highly mineralized gold-copper outcropping targets – Jackpot, Treasure Island and Full Contact – across the wider Golddigger property.
"All of these new untested targets provide for additional blue-sky and material drill discovery potential for this year," said Rosmus.
Lying about 1,000 meters southeast of the Surebet corridor, Jackpot provides a compelling target that appears to be connected to the main gold zones outlined so far.
One sample collected from a shear zone identified at Jackpot last year averaged 636 g/t gold, 1,690 g/t silver, and 7.96% copper.
This high-grade discovery consists of at least 10 shear-hosted quartz-sulfide veins within a 15-meter-wide stockwork that extends for 50 meters along strike before being covered by overburden at either end.
Samples collected within 150 meters of Jackpot outcrop returned assays of 44.4 g/t gold, 1,629 g/t silver, and 5.22% copper; 13.5 g/t gold, 32.1 g/t silver, and 0.09 % copper; and 8.43 g/t gold, 694 g/t silver, and 0.39% copper.
Located on the Cambria Icefields about 36 kilometers (22 miles) north of Surebet, Treasure Island represents the wider potential of the Golddigger property.
Goliath geologists have discovered multiple polymetallic zones over a 450- by 550-meter area at Treasure Island that remains open under the ice cap around its edges.
Highlights from channel samples collected from the recently exposed rock at Treasure Island include: 20.6 g/t gold, 63.6 g/t silver, and 5.04% copper over 0.85 meters; and 3.54 meters averaging 0.13 g/t gold, 23.96 g/t silver, and 2.34% copper over 2.48 meters.
Lying about 19 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Surebet, Full Contact is another distal target that demonstrates the potential for additional discoveries across the wider Golddigger property, which covers a 56-kilometer (35 miles) stretch of B.C.'s famed Red Line, a geological contact zone. Most of the major deposits in B.C.'s Golden Triangle lie within a few thousand meters of the Red Line.
The Full Contact discovery consists of a 1,400-meter-trend on the Red Line, where multiple gossans (intensely oxidized and weathered rock indicative of underlying mineralization) have been identified.
Samples collected from Contact have returned assays as high as 101 g/t gold, 10 g/t silver, and 1% copper.
Goliath says Contact shares the same geological setting and alteration as the Bonanza Shear at Surebet.
"The Golddigger Property is in a geopolitical safe mining jurisdiction, a key geologic setting where many world-class deposits have been discovered to become mines and remains a key area of interest for many producers," said Rosmus. "We look forward to reporting our 2024 exploration and drilling results as they are received, compiled, and interpreted."
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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