The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - November 8, 2024
Banyan has drilled over 20,000 meters in 118 holes, revealing the robust gold mineralization at its AurMac property in the Yukon.
AurMac drill hole locations, with historic and recently completed diamond drill holes used in the resource estimate (grey, black and blue dots) and collar locations of 2024 drilling (red, green and yellow dots).
Banyan Gold Corp. Nov. 4 announced promising assay results from its 2024 drill program at the AurMac project in Yukon, showcasing new high-grade gold intercepts and confirming structural controls at the Powerline deposit.
Situated in Yukon's prolific Tombstone Gold Belt, the AurMac project covers 173 square kilometers (67 square miles) of mineral-rich terrain, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Mayo and 356 kilometers (221 miles) from Whitehorse, the territory's capital.
The project is supported by established infrastructure, including road access, a three-phase power line, and cell coverage, making it well-suited for ongoing exploration and future development.
In February, Banyan updated its 2023 resource estimate for AurMac, raising the total contained ounces to approximately 7 million.
Per the latest calculation, the project hosts 6.16 million ounces in inferred resources within the expanded Powerline deposit – which now includes the former Aurex Hill deposit – averaging 0.61 grams per metric ton gold, and an additional 845,000 ounces in inferred resources at the nearby Airstrip deposit, averaging 0.75 g/t gold.
Kicking off the season in early June, Banyan aimed to expand the resource base and confidence in its more high-grade zones. Focusing primarily on Powerline and Airstrip, the company targeted infill drilling to confirm grade continuity, as well as step-out drilling to test new areas for potential resource expansion.
Initially planning for roughly 5,000 meters of drilling, strong progress saw the company exceed this target, completing over 21,000 meters. The first assay results from this expanded program highlighted impressive high-grade intervals and continuity of gold mineralization. Highlights include:
• 197 meters averaging 0.72 g/t gold from a depth of 10.5 meters in hole AX-24-524.
• 184.3 meters averaging 0.6 g/t gold from 24.9 meters in AX-24-522.
• 138.7 meters averaging 0.52 g/t gold from 6.1 meters in AX-24-519.
• 111.4 meters averaging 0.52 g/t gold from 45.5 meters in AX-24-521.
AurMac drill hole locations, with historic and recently completed diamond drill holes used in the resource estimate (grey, black and blue dots) and collar locations of 2024 drilling (red, green and yellow dots).
Following encouraging near-surface gold mineralization from earlier results, Banyan's latest assays continue to build on the project's potential. Highlights include:
• 154.1 meters averaging 0.58 g/t gold from surface in hole AX-24-542.
• 90 meters averaging 0.68 g/t gold from surface in AX-24-541.
• 56.7 meters averaging 0.36 g/t gold from a depth of 166.3 meters in AX-24-540.
• 48 meters averaging 0.53 g/t gold from 75.1 meters in hole AX-24-534.
• 3.7 meters averaging 20.19 g/t gold from 34.8 meters in AX-24-544.
"The 2024 definition drilling program at AurMac, has intersected multiple instances of high-grade gold veins, exceeding 11 g/t gold and up to 539 g/t," said Banyan Gold President and CEO Tara Christie. "These East-West oriented vein sets align with the direction of continuity of the structurally controlled Powerline gold mineralization."
With drilling efforts focused on gathering denser, high-resolution data, Banyan is refining its model of the Powerline deposit's structural controls and mineralization.
"The increased drill density realized through this year's work will improve the interpretation of the quantity, distribution and thickness, of these high-grade gold veins and their significance within the framework of the Powerline Gold mineralization, which is in turn expected to result in refinements to the primary structural controls of the deposit," added Christie. "The successful 2024 AurMac exploration program, combined with record high gold prices, have strategically positioned Banyan for a resource update, preliminary economic assessment; and, importantly, has provided clear exploration and definition drill targets for 2025."
Banyan has completed over 21,000 meters of drilling across 118 holes at AurMac, with assay results for 19 of those holes reported to date. The company continues to log and process core samples, with additional assay results pending.
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