Drilling uncovers surprising skarn-like copper-gold, nickel-platinum zones.

GT Resources Inc. Dec. 10 announced the final drill results from its 2024 exploration at the Canalask nickel-copper project in Yukon, Canada, reporting the discovery of skarn-like copper-gold mineralization and confirming the potential for more extensive mineralization on the property.

Formerly Palladium One Mining Inc., GT Resources underwent a rebranding to better reflect a new focus on metals critical to clean transportation, electrical grid infrastructure, and conventional internal combustion engines.

Acquired from Victoria Gold Corp. in mid-2022, Canalask is a 3,400-hectare (8,402 acres) property located near Beaver Creek and the Alaska Highway, roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Whitehorse.

Known for its strong potential for massive nickel-copper-platinum group metal (PGM) sulfide mineralization that dates to the 1950s, Canalask has been the target of intermittent exploration over the decades that has uncovered numerous high-grade showings such as 4.7% nickel, 0.6% copper, and 6.82 grams per metric ton PGMs in surface samples.

Kicking off its 2024 season mid-July, GT Resources began its maiden drilling program at Canalask with a 2,000-meter diamond drilling program aimed at testing significant electromagnetic anomalies identified in previous seasons.

The program targeted areas with known high-grade nickel-copper-PGM mineralization within the White River Intrusive Complex, a favorable setting for sulfide mineralization and considered a "feeder system", focusing on the primary feeder dike along with surrounding structures to explore the potential for massive sulfide deposits and further expand the historical showings at Canalask.

In its most recent results, GT Resources announced the discovery of skarn-like copper-gold mineralization, marking the first documented occurrence of skarn-type mineralization on the property.

"There is known skarn-related copper mineralization to the south and west of the property, but this is the first documented occurrence of skarn-like mineralization on the Canalask property," said GT Resources President and CEO Derrick Weyrauch. "Locating this skarn-like mineralization opens up a much wider swath of prospective geology on the property and suggests the potential exists for much more extensive mineralization, as skarn mineralization is well documented regionally."

GT Resources

Location map of Canalask project, 2024 drill program (yellow dots), background with total field magnetics. Newly staked claims are outlined in blue on inset image in the top right-hand corner.

Highlights from the final assays include:

• 6.1 meters averaging 1.84% copper and 1.17 g/t gold from a true depth of 140 meters in hole CSK24-05, including one meter averaging 2.4% nickel and 3.1 g/t gold.

• 46.5 meters averaging 0.26% nickel, 0.14 g/t palladium, and 0.07 g/t platinum over 46.5 at a true depth of 50 meters in CSK24-003, with four meters averaging 0.32% nickel, 0.15 g/t palladium, and 0.33 g/t platinum.

In addition to the copper-gold discovery, the drilling program also revealed platinum and palladium-rich nickel mineralization within the ultramafic dyke (magnesium-rich intrusive rock), something that Weyrauch said was an "unexpected surprise."

While the ultramafic dyke was not the primary target of this year's drilling, the company says that the significant thickness and near-surface nature of the mineralization have made it an attractive potential bulk tonnage target.

Supported by high-resolution geophysical surveys, the company successfully refined its drilling targets and identified the most prospective zones for exploration. Building on these results, GT Resources plans to drill the prospective gabbro zone at the base of the ultramafic dyke in 2025, a primary target for massive-sulfide deposits with high-grade potential.

Future exploration will also focus on further defining the sulfide-hosted component, with the aim of uncovering additional high-grade deposits similar to the historic Footwall deposit.

"The favourable gabbro zone at the base of the ultramafic dyke remains to be drill tested, the company plans to test the gabbro zone/basal contact during the 2025 drill program," said Weyrauch. "Gabbro hosted mineralization within this zone, returned 0.8% nickel and 0.2% coper over 3 meters in historic hole VQ-7 and is the primary massive-sulphide target at Canalask."