The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Mining Explorers 2024 - January 15, 2025
Outcropping mineralization at Senator, a copper prospect about midway between the Caribou Dome and Zackly deposits on PolarX's Alaska Range project.
With financial backing from Northern Star Resources Ltd. in its pocket and a compelling scoping study under its belt, PolarX Ltd. is focused on expanding high-grade copper resources and optimizing mining plans for its district-scale Alaska Range project.
Lying just north of the Denali Highway about 160 miles (250 kilometers) northeast of Anchorage, the 22-mile-long Alaska Range land package comprises three primary groups of claims – Caribou Dome, Senator, and Stellar.
Caribou Dome, which is found toward the southwest end of this large land package, hosts 7.2 million metric tons of measured, indicated, and inferred resources averaging 3.1% (224,375 metric tons) copper and 6.5 grams per metric ton (1.5 million oz) silver.
The Zackly skarn deposit, which lies about 13 miles to the northeast on the Stellar property, hosts an additional 4 million metric tons of indicated and inferred resources averaging 1.1% (45,000 metric tons) copper, 1.6 g/t (213,000 oz) gold, and 12.6 g/t (1.6 million oz) silver.
Senator is an early-stage prospect area that lies roughly midway between the two deposits, where rock chip samples have returned grades as high as 12.1% copper.
A scoping study updated early last year outlines plans for a 750,000-metric-ton-per-year centralized mill that would process ore from both Caribou Dome and Stellar.
The mill, which would be constructed next to Caribou Dome and begin by processing material from that deposit, is expected to produce 148,155 metric tons (326.6 million pounds) of copper, 102,577 oz of gold, and 1.38 million oz of silver over 9.5 years of mining.
This operation is forecast to generate a pre-tax net present value (7% discount) of US$418 million (A$625 million) and an internal rate of return of 73.9%, with a capital payback period of 1.6 years.
The Alaska Range project has attracted the interest of Northern Star Resources, which has participated in two PolarX financings and owns a roughly 16% interest in the exploration company.
With its treasury topped off with a A$4.92 million (US$3.2 million) financing underwritten by Northern Star, PolarX carried out resource upgrade and expansion drilling at Caribou Dome during the 2024 field season.
Highlights from early 2024 drill results include:
• 8.7 meters (6.1 meters estimated true thickness) averaging 4.3% copper and 10.5 g/t silver from a depth of 116.9 meters in hole CD24-002.
• 15.5 meters (10 meters estimated true thickness) averaging 7.4% copper and 21.4 g/t silver from a depth of 121.2 meters in hole CD24-003.
These holes cut a deeper fault offset extension of Lens 5 and Lens 6 encountered in CD21-001, a 2021 drill hole that cut 9.8 meters (6.5 meters estimated true thickness) averaging 6.8% copper and 7.8 g/t silver from a depth of 25.3 meters (Lens 6); and 19.1 meters (12.6 meters true thickness) averaging 7% copper and 11.2 g/t silver from a depth of 45.2 meters (Lens 5).
The company says its 2024 drill program has extended the depth and continuity of the very high-grade copper that will assist in future underground mine planning.
Samples from the program will also be used for additional metallurgical work that could improve copper recoveries, which would further bolster the economics of a mine at Alaska Range.
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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