Snowline Gold Corp. (CSE: SGD) (US OTC: SNWGF) intersected a broad zone of gold mineralisation associated with visible gold in sheeted vein arrays in Phase I drilling at the Valley zone on its Rogue gold project in the Yukon Territory, Canada.
Hole V-21 averaged 1.01 g/t Au over 136.75 m from 35.25 m downhole, within a broader zone of mineralisation averaging 0.85 g/t Au over 186.0 m from 31.5 m downhole. These results mark the in-situ discovery of a potentially significant gold system and demonstrate the fertility of the bulk-tonnage Valley gold target.
“This is Snowline’s second significant drill discovery in as many drill programmes in 2021,”said Scott Berdahl, CEO and director of Snowline.
“We launched the company around the idea of an unrecognised gold district hiding in a relatively unexplored package of prospective rocks here in the Yukon’s Selwyn Basin.
“Beyond our excitement for the Valley discovery itself, we are similarly excited at the implications these results have toward validating our district-scale exploration thesis. With two discoveries in hand and many additional prospective targets, we are eager to get started on our 2022 exploration season.”
Drill hole V-21-002 totalled 242 m in length and averaged 0.69 g/t Au over 239 m (excluding the top 3.0 m of overburden which was not assayed). The hole ended in elevated to anomalous gold mineralisation, with the final 6.5 m of drilling averaging 0.25 g/t Au, including 1.01 g/t Au over 0.5 m from 235.5 m.
“These results and related geochemical metal associations with bismuth and tellurium conclusively characterise Valley as a classic reduced intrusion-related gold system,” said Snowline chair and director Dr. Craig Hart.
“It has lots of similarities to Kinross’ Ft. Knox Gold Mine in Alaska and Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold Mine in the Yukon, and most importantly these early results yield some very good grades. These systems are well understood, and these early Valley drill holes are in just one shoulder of the system – so there is still lots of room to follow-up.”
V-21-002 was collared in hornfels Ordovician siltstones of the Road River group on the edge of a newly-discovered Cretaceous-aged felsic intrusion belonging to the fertile Mayo plutonic suite. It was drilled obliquely towards the intrusion and encountered alternating zones of sediments and intrusive rocks, interpreted as dikes along the edges of the Valley stock.
Gold is thought to be carried primarily in arrays of subparallel (“sheeted”), low-sulphide quartz veins present throughout the core, with the total volume of quartz in each sample acting as a control on grade. Trace amounts of visible gold was observed in sixteen veins along the hole, commonly associated with bismuthinite.
Valley is a discovery-stage bulk-tonnage prospect with no estimated resources nor reserves. It is still too early-stage to determine the size of the mineralised system nor whether it will prove to be economically viable.
Upcoming programmes
With over C$8.6M in the treasury, Snowline is actively preparing for a busy 2022 exploration season. The upcoming program will see at least two drills turning on an 8,000+ m programme focused on the company’s Jupiter and Valley discoveries along with nearby targets. This work continues to build toward establishing North America’s newest gold district in the Yukon’s Selwyn Basin.
The company currently has a drill under contract and on site at Valley, overwintering for a quick and cost-effective resumption of drilling in Spring 2022. Given the scale of the associated geochemical anomaly, the extent of sheeted veins observed on surface and the potential for higher vein densities within the intrusion, a programme of grid drilling is planned at Valley to establish the scale and continuity of the mineralised zone.
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