Nevada King Gold Corp. (TSXV: NKG) has received promising assay results from four reverse circulation (RC) holes recently completed at its Atlanta Gold Mine Project located 264km northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the prolific Battle Mountain Trend.
This drilling was designed to test the high-grade feeder zone associated with the Atlanta Mine Fault Zone (AMFZ) west of the historical Atlanta Pit. The feeder zone is located within the mineralized footprint of the Gustavson resource zone, however, this area was sparsely tested by historical drilling that failed to penetrate deep enough.
Highlights
- Gold grade and mineralized thicknesses returned in today’s holes are considerably higher than those found in nearby historical holes. In Group #1^, the two Nevada King holes AT22HG-16 and AT22HG-17 are more than double the thickness compared to three nearby historical RC holes and are higher grade. The two Nevada King holes in Group #2 greatly exceed the nearby historical holes in both grade and thicknesses, with AT22HG-19 showing a 50% increase in both grade and thickness compared to Gold Field’s AC-4.
- Three of today’s holes bottomed in mineralization, with the highest grades found at depth. Prior drilling did not penetrate deep enough and mineralization is still open at depth within the western block of the Atlanta West Fault (AWF). AT22HG-16 bottomed in 3m of 9.16 g/t Au and 39.2 g/t Ag, AT22HG-17 bottomed in 10.6m of 2.69 g/t Au, while AT22HG-19 intercepted 16.8m of 4.76 g/t Au and 86.8 g/t Ag near the bottom of the hole.
- Today’s holes include significant intervals of silver mineralization. Atlanta historically produced 800,000 ounces of silver and the Gustavson National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) resource includes an estimated 4.2Moz of Measured and Indicated silver resource and 1.2Moz of Inferred silver resource. Drill results indicate silver mineralization is concentrated within the AMFZ, with grades exceeding those previously drilled by the Company outside of the AMFZ in 2021 and 2022. As such, silver could end up playing a more significant role at Atlanta moving forward. The ompany is working on a compilation of significant silver intercepts from its prior drilling.
- Holes AT22HG-16 and AT22HG-17 intercepted gold-mineralized intrusive rock starting around 180m depth. Mineralization occurs within and around the dacite porphyry intrusion, which strongly suggests the Atlanta gold system is intrusive-dominated and tied to a larger intrusive body at depth. This intrusive association is important because it opens up potential for a much larger deposit at depth and for a wider range of deposit types. As such, the mineralization can now be characterised as a distal-disseminated type and related to deeper-seated intrusive processes similar to what is seen above and around large porphyry copper deposits.
Exploration Manager, Cal Herron, said this puts Atlanta into a very different league of potential deposit types and the company can only speculate at this time as to what might be found at greater depth, either in the volcanic/sedimentary section or beneath the Eureka Quartzite in the Pogonip Limestone unit.
“Recent drilling including this new set of deeper holes drilled across the AWF is significantly expanding our target resource envelope,” Mr Herron said.
“The intrusive ‘plumbing’ intercepted in holes AT22HG-16 and AT22HG-17 west of the AWF could be indicative of a deep crustal rupture coinciding with the ring fracture that bounds the eastern margin of the Indian Peak Caldera.
“Gold mineralization appears to be centred on a dacitic composition plug, dike or dome that intrudes the volcanic/sedimentary section along the western side of the AWF. We are very pleased with the thicknesses and grades returned in today’s drilling, confirming our view that these had both been significantly underestimated by historic drilling.
“Importantly as well this mineralization is open to depth with three of the four holes released today bottoming in mineralization, so we currently have no idea how deep the oxide gold mineralization extends at Atlanta.
“Given the presence of significant intrusive-hosted gold mineralization, deeper holes will undoubtedly shed more light on the Atlanta gold system’s genesis and in the process point us toward new targets to pursue.”
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