The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - November 21, 2024
Contango has received permits to build a road that connects the camp at the bottom of this photo to a proposed portal at the base of the prominent mountain that hosts the JT Deposit.
Contango Ore Inc. Nov. 21 said the results from its inaugural drill program at Johnson Tract highlights the exceptional continuity of high-grade polymetallic gold mineralization within the JT Deposit on the company's newly acquired project about 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
"The infill drilling serves as a reminder of the exceptional grade, continuity, and width of the JT Deposit," said Contango Ore President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse.
Lying on lands owned by Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) regional corporation more commonly known as CIRI, Johnson Tract hosts the 1.1-million-ounce JT Deposit as well as a series of similar gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) targets along a 7.5-mile-long corridor that runs across the property.
According to a 2022 calculation, JT Deposit hosts 3.49 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 5.33 grams per metric ton (598,000 oz) gold, 6 g/t (673,000 oz) silver, 5.21% (400.8 million pounds) zinc, 0.59% (43.1 million lb) copper, and 0.67% (51.5 million lb) lead.
Seeing the potential to direct ship ore (DSO) mined from this deposit located near tidewater on the west side of Cook Inlet to a third-party mill for processing, Contango picked up Johnson Tract through an all-shares acquisition of HighGold Mining Inc. valued at $33.6 million.
Even before the July closing of the transaction, Contango was putting all the pieces in place to carry out a roughly 3,000-meter drill program to upgrade resources within the upper third of the JT Deposit; collect samples for more detailed metallurgical testing; and gather geotechnical and hydrologic information in preparation for permitting and developing a tunnel to support detailed drilling of the JT Deposit.
"We are focused on advancing the project towards feasibility and a mine development decision using our DSO approach," said Van Nieuwenhuyse. "Right now, that means advancing geotechnical, hydrologic, and other environmental and engineering studies in preparation for permitting an approximately 1.6-kilometer (one mile) exploration tunnel to support definition drilling of the deeper two-thirds of the JT Deposit."
Highlights from this year's drilling at JT Deposit include:
• 93 meters averaging 6.65 g/t gold, 7.7 g/t silver, 1.14% copper, and 2.23% zinc (9.1 g/t gold-equivalent) in hole GT24-007, including a 17-meter high-grade subsection averaging 21.3 g/t gold, 7.75 g/t silver, 1.16% copper, and 3.66% zinc (24 g/t gold-eq).
• 223.5 meters averaging 8.89 g/t gold, 6.1 g/t silver, 0.45% copper, and 4.42% zinc (11.5 g/t gold-eq) in hole GT24-008, including a 55.5-meter subsection averaging 27.61 g/t gold, 8.3 g/t silver, 0.73% copper, and 3.54% zinc (30.25 g/t gold-eq).
• 30.2 meters averaging 3.63 g/t gold, 4.2 g/t silver, 0.48% copper, and 4.95% zinc (6.31 g/t gold-eq) in hole JT24-159, including a 14.7-meter subsection averaging 6.27 g/t gold, 6.3 g/t silver, 0.53% copper, and 8.6% zinc (10.58 g/t gold-eq).
Upgrading the resources in the lower part of the JT Deposit with close-spaced drilling from underground is needed to support a feasibility study for a DSO mine that could later use the exploration tunnel for access and haulage.
Toward its goal of developing this exploration tunnel, Contango has received a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers to construct a 2.6-mile (four kilometers) road to access the proposed tunnel's portal, as well as expand the airstrip at Johnson Tract.
"Planning is underway for a 2025 program," the Contango CEO said.
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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