The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - November 1, 2024
Geologists investigate outcropping mineralization during 2016 exploration at Todd Creek.
ArcWest Exploration Inc. Oct. 29 provided an update on partner-funded exploration on its Oweegee Dome and Todd Creek copper-gold project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
ArcWest acquired Oweegee Dome and Todd Creek from Millrock Resources in 2020.
The 76,600-acre (31,000 hectares) Oweegee Dome project has the potential to host several porphyry copper-gold centers similar to those found on Seabridge Gold's world-class KSM copper-gold mine project about 28 miles (45 kilometers) to the west.
One of the primary porphyry copper-gold targets at Oweegee Dome is Delta.
Limited historical drilling at Delta has cut intriguing porphyry mineralization, including 70.4 meters of 0.26 grams per metric ton gold and 0.12% copper, 22.8 meters of 0.28 g/t gold and 0.17% copper, and 138.7 meters averaging 0.19 g/t gold and 0.07% copper.
ArcWest optioned Oweegee Dome to Santana Resources Inc. in 2021. Over the ensuing three seasons, Santana has completed mapping, sampling, geophysics, and early staged drilling at the project.
Four holes drilled at the Delta target in 2022 cut similar mineralization as historical drilling, including one hole that cut 214.5 meters averaging 0.2 g/t gold and 0.1% copper.
This year, Santana completed 2,359 meters of drilling to test extensions of Delta and buried induced polarization IP anomaly called Junction.
The two holes drilled at Delta cut visible mineralization and alteration, expanding porphyry copper-gold mineralization there. Assays are pending. The holes testing the Junction IP did not hit the porphyry mineralization being sought.
"We are encouraged by our 2024 drill program as it has given us valuable vectoring information that will guide future drill programs. We expect that the assay results will provide further guidance," said Santana Resources CEO Peter Miles.
Much of the 2024 exploration at Todd Creek focused on a 2,000-meter-long IP anomaly covering the Fall Creek and Ice Creek targets.
Todd Creek, which lies adjacent to Newmont's high-grade Brucejack gold mine, is being funded by Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc.
Historical drilling at Todd Creek has intercepted significant copper-gold mineralization, including up to 29.75 meters averaging 0.27% copper and 3.61 g/t gold at the South Zone, 20.95 meters averaging 0.55% copper and 1.78 g/t gold at Ice Creek, and12.65 meters averaging 1.58% Cu and 7.61 g/t Au at Fall Creek.
Last year, Freeport-McMoRan funded a C$2.8 million program that included one of the largest 3D IP geophysical surveys ever in British Columbia. The highest chargeability anomaly identified with this geophysical survey was located in the Fall Creek-Ice Creek area. ArcWest says that none of the high chargeability zones and conductors identified in the 2023 IP program have been drill-tested.
The 2024 Todd Creek exploration program focused on ground-truthing geophysical anomalies, as well as follow-up sampling and evaluations in the vicinity of high-grade copper-gold occurrences discovered during the 2023 program.
ArcWest says the sampling, prospecting, and geological evaluation program validated geophysical anomalies identified during the 2023 IP survey and bolsters the thesis that the west side of Todd Creek Valley has strong potential for the discovery of multiple copper-gold mineralized intrusive centers.
A significant drill program is planned for Todd Creek in 2025.
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)