The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - January 3, 2025
Porphyry copper-gold mineralization encountered during the 2024 drill program at Chuchi's BP Zone.
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. Dec. 30 reported that it plans to spin its Yukon gold exploration properties out into a new company and acquire new projects in the United States that will complement its portfolio of copper-gold porphyry projects in Northern British Columbia.
"We are very excited about our future plans," said Pacific Ridge President and CEO Blaine Monaghan.
The company's focus on copper-gold assets in Northern B.C. and the U.S. comes on the heels of its successful inaugural drilling at Chuchi, a more than 16,000-hectare (39,500 acres) approximately 35 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of Centerra Gold's Mount Milligan copper-gold mine.
Pacific Ridge focused its inaugural drilling at Chuchi to expand upon near-surface porphyry copper-gold mineralization encountered at BP Zone, one of the targets along a six-kilometer- (3.7 miles) long porphyry trend on the property.
Highlights from historical holes drilled at BP Zone include:
• 194 meters averaging 0.21% copper and 0.21 grams per metric ton gold from a depth of 32 meters in hole CH-90-27.
• 250.5 meters averaging 0.21% copper and 0.12 g/t gold from a depth of 54 meters in hole CH-90-33.
• 207.8 meters averaging 0.22% copper and 0.12 g/t gold from a depth of 54.3 meters in hole CH-90-37.
The five holes drilled by Pacific Ridge in 2024 confirmed and expanded upon the historical results.
Highlights from the holes drilled along 750 meters of strike at BP Zone include:
• 413.9 meters averaging 0.15% copper and 0.15 g/t gold from a depth of 66 meters in hole CH-24-070, including 103 meters averaging 0.19% copper and 0.2 g/t gold.
• 382 meters averaging 0.19% copper and 0.12 g/t gold from a depth of 143 meters in hole CH-24-073, including 100 meters averaging 0.26% copper and 0.14 g/t gold.
• 298.2 meters averaging 0.21% copper and 0.11 g/t gold from a depth of 49.8 meters in hole CH-24-074, including 121 meters averaging 0.23% copper and 0.08 g/t gold.
Monaghan says the drill results suggest that Pacific Ridge is "in the upper part of a large porphyry copper-gold system that has not been adequately tested and remains open laterally and to depth."
In addition to drilling at Chuchi, Pacific Ridge carried out geophysical surveys at Kliyul, a copper-gold project about 160 kilometers (100 miles) to the northwest, and Redton, which adjoins the eastern boundary of NorthWest Copper Corp.'s Kwanika project.
The company is seeking a joint venture partner to advance Kliyul and to test the thesis that much of the porphyry system at the Kliyul Main Zone remains undiscovered and hidden to the north.
Pacific Ridge's Northern B.C. portfolio also includes the Onjo project southeast of Chuchi and RDP to the west of Kliyul.
To diversify this portfolio, the company is evaluating porphyry copper-gold opportunities on U.S. Bureau of Land Management or patented land in a mining-friendly state.
"Acquiring a copper porphyry project or projects in the United States complements our existing corporate strategy, copper-gold porphyry exploration in British Columbia, and will expand our footprint into areas that include some of [the] world's largest copper porphyry mines," said Monaghan.
With its sights set on exploring world-class porphyry copper-gold projects, Pacific Ridge is also beginning the process of spinning out its Yukon gold projects into a new company.
The company's Yukon assets include Mariposa, a 295-square-kilometer (114 square miles) property about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of White Gold Corp.'s 2.3-million-ounce namesake gold project, and Eureka Dome, an earlier stage project about 40 kilometers to the north.
One hole drilled at Mariposa in 2011 cut 39 meters averaging 2.44 g/t gold, including an 11.1-meter subsection averaging 6.49 g/t gold.
Pacific Ridge expects to announce the acquisition of one or more projects in the U.S. and begin the process of spinning out its Yukon properties early in 2025.
"I look forward to providing further updates regarding our plans over the weeks and months ahead," Monaghan 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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