Mining News: Drilling, sampling expand gold zone, find new targets at Unga

Redstar Gold Corp. Aug. 23 reported that the initial phase of drilling at its Unga project on the Alaska Peninsula has extended the Shumagin gold zone. “Preliminary drilling has extended the known strike length of Shumagin to 1,600 meters by intersecting the Shumagin structure in 10 out of 12 holes,” said Redstar President and CEO Peter Ball. The summer drill program was designed to understand and to test a previously undrilled area extending about 500 meters southwest of Shumagin zone. Two infill holes – 17SH033 and 17SH034 – targeting a 100-meter gap in the Shumagin zone. Hole 33 cut 0.7 meters averaging 5.7 grams per metric ton gold and 30 g/t silver; and hole 34 cut 2.2 meters averaging 9.9 g/t gold and 29.3 g/t silver. Hole 17SH032, drilled some 250 meters southwest of the previously drill defined Shumagin zone, cut one meter averaging 2.1 g/t gold 27 g/t silver. Redstart said the visible gold-bearing stockwork encountered in hole 32 is identical to what has been encountered in holes previously drilled in Shumagin. Redstar said this indicates the potential for high-grade mineralization below the area drilled so far in the Southwest Extension zone.

Additionally, Redstar reported that a soil sampling carried out this summer has defined multiple target areas that exhibit similar geochemical signatures to the Shumagin Gold zone. Soil sampling completed in 2014 covered roughly 750 meters of this zone. This year, Redstar expanded that coverage to the entire Shumagin zone; north to the Shumagin scarp; and southwest to grid soil sampling completed at Red Mountain in 2016. With this program, continuous gridded soil sample data is available along 4,500 meters of the Shumagin Gold trend, from Orange Mountain to Shumagin zone. Redstar said this sampling has identified some very high anomalous gold and silver zones that the company plans to follow up with prospecting work this fall. “This has provided the key information on where to focus our next drill program and efforts at Shumagin and elsewhere within the Unga gold project,” said Ball. “Geological mapping and sampling towards the southwest from Shumagin indicates a very strong expansion potential along strike for an additional approximate 3 kilometers towards the Orange Mountain Zone, the interpreted hydrothermal center along the Shumagin Trend.” The second phase of 2017 drilling is slated to begin in September.

–SHANE LASLEY