Mining

Resolution Minerals drills second Alaska priority gold target, company chair to change hands

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By Robin Bromby - 
Resolution Minerals ASX RML drilling Echo Prospect Alaska 64North Craig Farrow

The Echo prospect is north-west of Northern Star’s Goodpaster prospect.

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Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML) has begun drilling its Echo prospect that lies within the company’s highly prospective 64North gold project in Alaska.

Echo is the second of four priority targets to be drilled. Rigs began work at Aurora last month with first assays due by the end of this month.

The E1 prospect is marked down for work in the fourth quarter, to be followed by drilling of Boundary in the first three months of 2021.

The 64North project surrounds the Pogo mine, owned by Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), which has so far produced 4 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 13.6 grams per tonne. Pogo has a total endowment of 10Moz of gold and is currently producing at a rate of 300,000oz per annum.

Echo, also known as the West Pogo block, lies adjacent to the Pogo mine and is located north-west of Northern Star’s Goodpaster project.

The first drill hole is testing a 180m to 300m-deep target zone as part of a planned 950m diamond drilling program.

Meanwhile, a regional field program is under way in the present summer season in Alaska to help the company delineate drill targets at E1 and Boundary.

New director appointed and will transition to chair

Craig Farrow has been appointed as a non-executive director of Resolution and will become chairman of the company in coming months, replacing Len Dean who intends to retire after 50 years in the mining and exploration industry.

Mr Farrow was a founding director of telecommunications business M2 Group and was instrumental in that company’s 2016 merger with Vocus (ASX: VOC). He has served as chairman at Bulletproof and Murray River Organics (ASX: MRG).

Mr Dean has been chairman of the company since its initial public offering and listing in 2017, followed by its acquisition last year of 64North and the November change of name to Resolution.

Alaska exploration fully funded

Resolution Minerals recently completed a $3.6 million placement, followed by a $1.5 million share purchase plan, which means the exploration budget in Alaska is fully funded.

The placement was notable for the inclusion of a new cornerstone investor, Canada’s Palisades Goldcorp, a new resources merchant bank that is working to become listed in Toronto.

The 64North project lies within the Tintina gold province, Alaska, which hosts more than 80 million ounces in gold, including Novagold’s Donlin Creek deposit. Other large deposits include Fort Knox and Livengood.

In all, Resolution has identified 30 prospects on its ground, and is working from a database covering 1998 through to 2012 which includes results from 40,000 surface samples.