Mining Explorers 2017: Freegold Ventures Ltd.
Freegold Ventures Ltd. kicked off its 2017 exploration with a drill program focused on expanding the oxide gold resource at the Golden Summit property in Interior Alaska. Located about 25 miles north of Fairbanks and about four miles from Kinross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox gold mine, Golden Summit hosts 61.5 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.69 grams per metric ton (1.36 million ounces) gold; and 71.5 million metric tons of inferred resource of averaging 0.69 g/t (1.58 million oz) gold. The oxide portion of this deposit, largely within the upper 60 meters, has 16.2 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.66 g/t (345,000 oz) gold; and 9.6 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.59 g/t (183,000 oz) gold. In 2016, Freegold published a preliminary economic assessment that evaluates a 10,000 metric-tons-per-day heap leach facility to process the oxide material and a 10,000 tpd plant for the sulfide material. In May, Freegold set out to expand the heap-leachable oxide resource to the north of the Dolphin deposit with a series of rotary-air-blast holes. Highlights from this drilling include 39 meters of oxidized material averaging 0.72 g/t gold; 56.5 meters averaging 0.51 g/t gold; 52.5 meters of 0.56 g/t gold; and 54 meters of 1.09 g/t gold. The spring program demonstrated the expandability of the shallow, heap-leach portion of Dolphin. The 2017 program at Golden Summit also included a ground geophysical program to the west of Dolphin. Combined with soil geochemistry, this induced polarization survey has outlined an expansion target covering a 1,500- by 300-meter area well west of the previously identified expansion area. Freegold said ground geophysics also indicate the potential of expanding the high-grade Cleary Hill vein system, an area that could enhance the overall grade of the resource at Golden Summit.
In July, Freegold had drills turning at Shorty Creek, a copper-gold project about 75 road miles northwest of Fairbanks. The company first tapped porphyry style mineralization at Shorty Creek in 2015 and expanded upon its find in 2016. Hole SC 16-01, drilled last year at the property’s Hill 1835 target, cut 434.5 meters averaging 0.57 percent copper-equivalent, which accounts for the value of the copper, gold and silver. Hole SC 16-02, drilled 120 meters southwest of SC 16-01, cut 409.6 meters grading 0.41 percent copper-equivalent. In addition to the copper, gold and silver, the 2016 drilling also tapped significant tungsten in the form of wolframite. SC 16-01 cut 2017 meters averaging 0.045 percent tungsten trioxide; and SC 16-02 cut 409.6 meters averaging 0.03 percent tungsten. The 2017 program focused on further expansion of mineralization at Hill 1835 and initial drilling at the Steel Creek and Quarry targets. Steel Creek is a large magnetic and geochemical target directly northeast of Hill 1835. Quarry, situated about 5,000 meters east of Hill 1835, is a northeast trending magnetic high that extends more than 10,000 meters (six miles) across the Shorty Creek property. Ground magnetics and soil geochemistry analysis also were completed. Soil sampling over a small portion of this very large anomaly returned strong copper and molybdenum values.
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