Aussie drills massive sulfides in Alaska

White Rock Minerals Ltd. June 5 reported that massive sulfide mineralization was tapped in two of the first three holes drilled this year at Red Mountain, a zinc enriched volcanogenic massive sulfide project about 60 miles south of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Last year, Australia-based White Rock commissioned a resource calculation for the two main deposits at Red Mountain – Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats – that meets modern reporting standards.

This maiden Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (JORC) compliant calculation found that these deposits host 16.7 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.1 percent (1.49 billion pounds) zinc; 1.7 percent (630 million lb) lead; 0.2 percent (57.3 million lb) copper; 99 grams per metric ton (53.5 million ounces) silver; and 0.7 g/t (352,000 oz) gold.

The initial focus of the 2018 drill program at Red Mountain, which got underway in May, is on upgrading and expanding these deposits.

"The commencement of the company's first exploration program at our globally significant high-grade zinc VMS project at Red Mountain in Alaska is a significant milestone for us," said White Rock CEO Matt Gill.

The first hole drilled at Dry Creek, DC18-76, cut an 8.8-meter zone of massive to semi-massive sulfide with coarse sphalerite (a zinc mineral) and galena (a lead-silver mineral) from a depth of 63.9 meters. This hole is some 20 meters from DC97-33, a historical hole that cut 7.1 meters averaging 15.1 percent zinc, 6.8 percent lead, 334 grams per metric ton silver, 0.94 g/t gold and 0.3 percent copper.

The first hole at West Tundra Flats, WT18-27, drilled down a steep angled fault and did not intersect any significant base metal sulfide mineralization.

The second hole at West Tundra Flats, WT18-28, cut a zone of massive to semi-massive sulfide with visible sphalerite and galena from a depth of 60.6 meters. This hole is roughly 75 meters from WTF82-05, a historical hole that cut 1.7 meters averaging 11.4 percent zinc, 6 percent lead, 374 g/t silver and 1.7 g/t gold.

While the drills are turning at Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats, crews are carrying out ground electromagnetic geophysical surveys and possibly geochemistry exploration across the deposits. By comparing the results with what is known about the mineralization there, this orientation exercise will help determine the best geophysics and geochemistry exploration tools to use to prioritize the 30 earlier staged prospects across the Red Mountain property.

White Rock plans to prioritize these targets with further sampling and geophysics and drill the highest priority targets towards the end of the season.

"We look forward to advancing our knowledge of this VMS field, and the news flow that should come from a successful exploration program here," said Gill.

White Rock is submitting mineralized intercepts to ALS laboratories and expects the first assay results from the program sometime in late June.

–SHANE LASLEY