Resolution Minerals confirms Pogo-style mineral system at 64North gold project
Resolution Minerals has intersected a potentially large mineral system at 64North with similarities to the nearby Pogo gold mine.
Maiden drilling at Resolution Minerals’ (ASX: RML) 64North gold project in Alaska has confirmed the presence of a large mineral system similar to the nearby multi-million-ounce Pogo gold mine.
The explorer kicked off a drilling program at its Aurora gold targets earlier this month. It has now completed the first diamond drill hole for 462m and has reached 194m of a planned 600m second hole, with detailed logging, cutting and sampling underway.
According to the company, early visual signs have shown that drilling has intersected the same host rock, with strong alteration and sulphide-bearing quartz veins, as the Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) operated Pogo mine.
“We are very pleased that Resolution Minerals has achieved the aim of our maiden drilling program, which was to successfully identify a Pogo-style mineral system on our side of the fence, pending assay results for final confirmation,” Resolution managing director Duncan Chessell said.
Resolution also advised the market on Tuesday that COVID-19 related concerns have prompted the drilling contractor to suspend drilling and remove crew from site.
Drilling at Resolution Minerals’ Alaskan gold project is expected to resume in mid-May.
The company said drilling is scheduled to restart in mid-May and is “most likely” to be with an Alaskan drilling contractor to “minimise travel restrictions and costs”.
In the meantime, assay results from the initial samples are expected in about four weeks, thanks to the US deeming assay laboratories as “essential infrastructure” permitted to continue operating.
Pogo lookalike targets
In Alaska’s Tintina gold province, the 64North project lies adjacent to Northern Star’s world-class, high-grade Pogo mine, which has produced more than 4Moz of gold since it started production in 2006 and holds another 6Moz of contained gold in current reserves and resources.
Northern Star’s project also contains the Goodpaster discovery, located just 450m from Resolution’s tenement boundary and remaining open in all directions.
Resolution planned to drill four to five holes totalling 2,000m in its maiden diamond drilling program, focusing on the eastern Aurora targets located close to Northern Star’s boundary and believed to share significant geophysical similarities to Goodpaster and Pogo.
The company recently completed a $4.5 million capital raise, attracting strong demand from institutional and sophisticated investors, and is now fully funded for multiple drilling programs.