PolarX Limited (ASX: PXX) has encountered thick, low-grade gold mineralization throughout most of the RC holes drilled at Star Canyon, Nevada, USA project in December 2022.
The low-grade gold mineralization is hosted in similar geology to the nearby Rochester Mine (400Moz Ag, 3.0Moz Au) and neighbouring Spring Valley project (4.1Moz Au) which already demonstrate commercial potential for large scale bulk tonnage mining.
Detailed geological logging has identified a concealed fault structure that has offset the depth continuity of the bonanza gold and silver vein previously identified at Star Canyon, Nevada, which intersected 9.1m @124.4g/t gold and 48.6g/t silver.
The bonanza vein and other mapped vein sets remain high priority active drill targets with continuity potential along strike in the near-surface hanging wall and at depth in the footwall. A normal fault structure has caused an abrupt discontinuity in the geological units.
The fault strikes approximately north-south and dips approximately 60-70o to the east.
Drill pads for the 11-hole programme were all collared into the footwall, with 10 holes drilled entirely into the footwall. Detailed relogging of the May 2022 RC programme’s chip trays that were drilled into the hanging wall, have now assisted the company’s geologists to establish the displacement between footwall and hanging wall units and the confirmation of mineralized Rochester Rhyolite Formation rock units.
Drilling during the December 2022 campaign tested only the southern portion of Star Canyon. Testing the northern portion remains to be undertaken and will also now be amended to drill into the hanging wall targets.
The Black Canyon claims at the northern end of Humboldt Range are less than three km from the currently operating Florida Canyon Mine, which hosts 5.0Moz gold/
The 400Moz silver / 3.0Moz gold Rochester Mine is about 15km south and the 4.0Moz Spring Valley gold project is just nine km south- southeast of PolarX’s Fourth of July claims.
PolarX will focus on identifying mineralized targets within the regional Rochester Rhyolite Formation which has already demonstrated the commercial potential of very large yet modest grade resources.
PolarX considers Induced Polarization (IP) and airborne magnetic surveys across both Black Canyon and Fourth of July projects to be the best geophysical techniques to assist in generating drill targets for bulk-tonnage mineralization.
The May and December 2022 RC drill programmes at Star Canyon identified wide mineralized intercepts that frequently range in Au grade from 0.1 to 0.4 g/t Au which is associated with relatively weak sulphide metal concentration.
IP surveys are intended to identify higher sulphide metal concentrations than drilling has encountered to date at Star Canyon and Fourth of July. This geophysical work will assist prioritsing future drill targeting.
For further information please visit: https://www.polarx.com.au/
