The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - October 11, 2024
Sitka has outlined 1.34 million oz of gold in the Blackjack and Eiger deposits on its RC project in the Yukon.
Priority target areas within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex include the Rhosgobel intrusion south of Blackjack and Eiger.
Sitka Gold Corp. Oct. 9 announced multiple observations of visible gold in the first two diamond drill holes ever completed at the Rhosgobel intrusion, located approximately five kilometers (three miles) south of its Blackjack deposit on the company's flagship RC Gold project in Yukon, Canada.
Located in the heart of Yukon's Tombstone Gold Belt, the 431-square-kilometer (166 square miles) RC Gold project lies roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Dawson City, in a fertile and underexplored placer mining district between the past-producing Eagle and Brewery Creek gold mines.
According to an inaugural calculation completed last year, the Blackjack deposit hosts 33.7 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.83 grams per metric ton (900,000 ounces) gold at a cutoff grade of 0.25 g/t gold; and the Eiger deposit hosts an additional 27.4 million metric tons averaging 0.5 g/t (440,000 oz) gold at the same cutoff for a combined total of 1.34 million oz of gold.
In late June, Sitka acquired the Clear Creek project from Victoria Gold Corp., which comprised a large central piece to its otherwise complete land package. Upon finalizing the deal, the company was able to add that final portion and completely consolidate the region for which it is exploring in Yukon.
Priority target areas within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex include the Rhosgobel intrusion south of Blackjack and Eiger.
Within Clear Creek lies a highly prospective region referred to as the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex, which includes four high-priority areas that have undergone previous reverse circulation and diamond drilling, warranting follow-up. These areas are:
• Rhosgobel intrusion, where historical drilling intersected 67.1 meters averaging 1.03 g/t gold.
• Contact zone, with drill results returning 10.7 meters averaging 20.3 g/t gold.
• Bear Paw Breccia, where one hole cut 26.7 meters averaging 2 g/t gold.
• Pukelman intrusion, with drill results that include 10 meters averaging 1.02 g/t gold.
Kicking off a 15,000-meter diamond drilling program at RC in early March, Sitka expanded its initial schedule to include diamond drilling, soil sampling, geological mapping, prospecting, data integration, and analysis at the new property.
The first area planned for testing was Rhosgobel, where shallow drilling in the mid-1990s by Kennecott outlined a large area of intrusion-related gold mineralization. Sitka's first drill hole was a step out to test underneath the mineralized zone, and the first results have hit pay dirt.
"The visuals of the first two diamond drill holes to ever be completed at the Rhosgobel intrusion-related gold target have exceeded expectations with several occurrences of visible gold observed in DDRCRG-24-001 and 002," said Sitka Gold CEO Cor Coe. "The visual results from our first pass of drilling at Rhosgobel are very encouraging and highlight the significant potential of the many high-priority targets we have yet to drill within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex."
Both holes drilled at Rhosgobel have revealed significant mineralization beneath historical reverse circulation drilling, extending the gold-bearing zones by at least 250 meters beyond the previous 70-meter depth limit.
Hole DDRCRG-24-001, drilled to a depth of 303.6 meters, intersected approximately 200 meters of mineralized quartz monzonite rock. Visible gold was observed at depths of 118.3 and 119.5 meters, highlighting key zones of potential gold enrichment within the intrusion.
Similarly, hole DDRCRG-24-002, drilled to a depth of 400.8 meters, also returned notable visual results. Visible gold was observed at eleven different intervals, ranging from 229.3 meters to 307.4 meters, within quartz veins and breccias. The gold is associated with minerals like bismuthinite, scheelite, and molybdenite – trace minerals that often indicate the presence of larger, higher-grade gold systems – making these findings even more significant.
"We eagerly await the assays from these holes which suggest that robust gold mineralization continues from surface to a vertical depth at least 250 meters below the extent of historical drilling and showcase the potential for Rhosgobel to host another significant intrusion-related gold deposit within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex analogous to our growing Blackjack deposit," said Coe.
These findings at Rhosgobel offer new insight into the potential scale and depth of mineralization within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex. The holes not only confirmed the presence of visible gold but also extended known mineralization well beyond the historical drilling limits.
Sitka's technical team will continue to analyze the geological data from these holes, with assay results expected to provide further clarity on the grade and extent of gold mineralization observed.
"Diamond drilling utilizing oriented core at Rhosgobel has provided valuable information to Sitka's technical team confirming the similar structural and geological controls on gold mineralization that occur at the Blackjack and Eiger deposits, located approximately 5 kilometers to the north, and the team is excited to apply the knowledge gained from our geological modelling to further advance this exciting target," finished the Sitka CEO.
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