North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Freegold Ventures Ltd. July 6 said drilling is about to begin at its Shorty Creek copper-gold project near Livengood, Alaska.

The company acquired this project through a long-term lease with Fairbanks-based Gold Range Ltd. Freegold has carried out ground geophysics and soil sampling over the two target areas. This, in conjunction with compiling previous work and using State of Alaska airborne geophysical data, resulted in the identification of two significant target areas - Hill 1835 and Hill 1710.

Drilling in 2015 indicates the potential for a significant copper-gold porphyry deposit at Shorty Creek. Three of the four holes drilled at Hill 1835 last year intersected quartz feldspar porphyry and confirmed the junior's proposed model for this prospect.

Hole SC15-03 cut 91 meters averaging 0.71 percent copper-equivalent.

Results indicate that a magnetic high situated roughly 250 meters southwest of hole 15-03 hosts the highest grade copper mineralization, and Freegold said this correlates well with the previous groundwork completed to date.

The 2016 drill program will focus on extending known mineralization to depth as well as testing the center of the 750- by 1,000-meter magnetic high at Hill 1835.

The second target of the 2016 drill program, Hill 1710, is situated roughly 2,500 meters northwest of Hill 1835.

A series of magnetic highs have been identified at Hill 1710 blanket a 6,000- by 1,500-meter area with high coincident (up to 669 parts per million) copper and (up to 235 ppm) molybdenum in soil geochemistry.

The 2016 drill program will test a roughly 2,000- by 1,500-meter section of this target with a fence of holes spaced about 400 meters apart.

-SHANE LASLEY