PolarX Ltd. Aug. 21 announced that assay results confirm that drilling has tapped copper and gold well below the currently outlined Zackly skarn deposit at the Australian explorer's Alaska Range project.

Based on historical drilling and 13 holes completed last year, the Zackly deposit hosts 3.4 million metric tons of inferred resource grading 1.2 percent (90.4 million pounds) copper, 2 grams per metric ton (213,000 oz) gold and 14 g/t (1.5 million oz) silver.

This resource meets reporting standards of the Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, or JORC, which is similar to National Instrument 43-101 standards in Canada.

With the goal of building sufficient copper‐gold inventory to support a feasibility level study, PolarX is focusing on expanding Zackly to depth and along strike.

Toward this goal, hole ZX-18018 has cut three zones of copper‐gold mineralization 100 meters below the nearest hole in the current JORC-compliant resource.

From a depth of 261.6 meters, this hole cut 25.5 meters averaging 0.6 percent copper, 1.5 grams per metric ton gold; and 5.5 g/t silver; 13.9 meters of 0.6 percent copper, 1.1 g/t gold and 4.7 g/t silver from 300.8 meters; and 4.7 meters of 1.3 percent copper, 2.1 g/t gold and 10.6 g/t silver from 326.1 meters.

Higher grade sections of these longer intercepts include 1.4 meters of 3.2 percent copper, 9.3 g/t gold and 38.2 g/t silver from 285.8 meters; and 2.5 meters of 2.3 percent copper, 3.5 g/t gold and 18.5 g/t silver from 326.1 meters.

Another hole, ZX-18022, aimed to tap the Zackly skarn about another 100 meters deeper but mechanical difficulties prevented its completion. Hole ZX‐18033 will now test the deeper mineralization at a similar depth about 60 meters to the west.

Last week, PolarX reported a broad intercept of copper and gold mineralization in hole ZX-18020, drilled some 850 meters east of the Zackly resource.

Starting at a depth of 2.5 meters, this hole cut 54.6 meters averaging 2.8 g/t gold, 9.4 g/t silver and 0.6 percent copper, including a 0.3-meter section from 56.7 meters averaging 27.3 percent copper, 2.5 g/t gold and 82.5 g/t silver.

PolarX Ltd.

Assays are pending for hole ZX-18023, which encountered bornite, the red colored mineralization in this half core, and chalcopyrite, the interspersed yellow mineralization.

Two early 2018 holes testing the eastern extension of Zackly – ZX‐18016 and ZX‐18017 – did not return any significant results. This is despite the observation of visible gold in a short section of hole 16, which was drilled about 350 meters east of the resource. PolarX said the inability of assays to detect the gold is likely due to its nuggety nature.

The company anticipates further assay results soon, including two holes drilled near the wide high-grade intercept in hole ZX‐18020.

–SHANE LASLEY