Mining

Resolution Minerals hits target rock in all holes at Sunrise maiden drilling

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By Robin Bromby - 
Resolution Minerals ASX RML Sunrise Gold drilling program 64North Alaska Fort Knox Kinross

Resolution Minerals has completed 27 shallow RAB holes at Sunrise to test outcropping mineralisation.

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Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML) has completed the company’s first drilling program at the Sunrise gold target, part of its 64North project in Alaska, with drilling “encouragingly” intersecting the target rock in all holes.

Results are expected within four weeks. 

Resolution sank a 1,400m-long “fence line” of 27 shallow rotary air blast drill holes, designed to test outcropping mineralisation.

Managing director Duncan Chessell said the Sunrise prospect is potentially a large intrusion hosted gold mineralisation system, analogous to Kinross Gold’s Fort Knox Gold Mine, which is one of Alaska’s most profitable mines.

Over a 20-year mine life, Fort Knox has produced 8 million ounces.

“If the drilling program at Sunrise proves successful in identifying this style of gold mineralisation it also opens up other look-a-like prospects across the 64North Project and demonstrates the potential for this under explored region to host multiple gold mines,” he added.

Last year Resolution reported that Sunrise, in the company’s West Pogo block, returned positive assay results from the entire 137m of samples.

Tintina gold low grade but high margins

The 64North gold project is located in Alaska’s Tintina gold province. 

The belt, which was discovered by Russian explorers in 1848 (Alaska then being part of the Russian Empire and was sold to the US in 1867), extends in an arc from northern British Columbia, through the Yukon and across southwestern Alaska to the Pacific Ocean.

The arc spans approximately 2,000km and is about 200km wide.

More than 200Moz of hard rock gold resources have been documented within the belt over the past decade. Tintina contains what has been described as “untold millions of ounces” of historic placer gold.

The gold is typically in bulk tonnage, low in grade (typically about 1 gram per tonne) but with high margins.

Fully funded for exploration drilling

Resolution says it is fully funded for multiple drilling programs in Alaska and Australia, testing gold and copper prospects, following the recent $3.25 million raising.

The company begins its next drilling program at East Pogo in late May.

Resolution has the right to earn an 80% interest in 64North.

The Sunrise prospect was identified by Resolution in 2020 and is located less than 5km from the Pogo gold mine, owned by Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST). 

The 64North project surrounds the Pogo mine which has so far produced 4Moz of gold at 13.6g/t.

Pogo has a total endowment of 10Moz of gold and is currently producing at a rate of 300,000oz per annum.