Oar Resources set to commence maiden drilling program at Douglas Canyon gold project

Perth-based explorer Oar Resources (ASX: OAR) has confirmed it will commence a maiden diamond drilling program at the high-grade Douglas Canyon gold project in the United States later this month.

The four-hole, 1,000-metre campaign will target outcropping high-grade mineralisation contained in shear-hosted epithermal quartz veining within the prolific Walker Lane gold-silver district of southern Nevada.

Oar will look to build on previously-reported “exceptionally high-grade” surface outcrop samples of 18 grams per tonne gold and 398g/t silver; 16.2g/t gold and 495g/t silver; and 14g/t gold and 423g/t silver.

The first two holes will target known near-surface mineralised structures while the last two will test down-dip depth extensions based on logging observations.

The initial two holes are expected to take up to five weeks to complete.

Thorough testing

Oar general manager (geology) Tony Greenaway said the program will give the company a chance to conduct thorough testing of each target.

“Drill testing of the stand-out targets has been a high priority for [us], given the exceptional results from our initial outcrop sampling and the project’s location in the Walker Lane district, where there is currently a significant amount of exploration activity,” he said.

“Our experienced contract geology team on the ground in Nevada gives us a high degree of confidence that we will achieve our on-ground goals… these targets will be given a thorough test and we will eagerly await the first results and observations from the core logging.”

High-grade location

The Douglas Canyon project is located in the Camp David-Mina district of southern Nevada which is host to numerous high-grade gold-silver epithermal projects.

The area surrounding the project is currently a major focus for Fortitude Gold Corporation at its Isabella Pearl gold mine, 24km to the northwest.

Isabella Pearl has an estimated reserve of 1.28 million tonnes at 3.88g/t gold (159,000 ounces of gold) and Fortitude is targeting an annual production of up to 45,000oz.

Fortitude also owns the nearby Mina gold project (with drill intersections of 15.24m at 3.86g/t gold from surface) and East Camp Douglas project (22.86m at 13.55g/t gold from 4.6m).

Gold mineralisation in the district is hosted in northwest trending shear-hosted epithermal quartz veins similar to those mapped at surface at Douglas Canyon.