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

ATAC Resources Ltd. Sept. 13 reported one of the highest grade drill intercepts so far at the Sunrise deposit in its latest round of results from Osiris, a Carlin-type gold project at the eastern end of the company's expansive Rackla Gold property in the Yukon.

In June, ATAC Resources reported an inaugural resource for Osiris with 12.38 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.23 grams per metric ton (1.69 million ounces) gold.

Most of the gold outlined so far at Osiris is found in the Conrad zone, which hosts 6.49 million metric tons averaging 4 g/t (835,000 oz) gold considered amenable for open pit mining and 3.17 million metric tons averaging 4.46 g/t (455,000 oz) gold better suited for underground mining.

Another 309,000 metric tons of open-pit inferred resource averaging 4.23 g/t (42,000 oz) gold; and 531,000 metric tons of underground inferred resource averaging 5.53 g/t (95,000 oz) gold has been identified at Osiris.

Gold mineralization at Sunrise occurs as a structurally-controlled zone paralleling the Sunrise Fault. This year's drilling focused on extending mineralization beneath OS-17-249, a hole drilled last year that cut 10.42 meters of 7.97 g/t gold and 15.24 meters of 13.52 g/t gold.

OS-18-273, drilled this year below OS-17-249, cut 26.7 meters averaging 12.95 g/t gold at Sunrise, extending mineralization at this deposit 70 meters deeper.

Drilling at Conrad continues to test beyond the eastern edges of the deposit within the 650-850 fault corridor, where last year's drilling encountered structurally controlled high-grade gold associated with brittle faulting, including 12.5 meters of 20.78 g/t gold in OS-17-238.

Initial step-out drilling in 2018 east of OS-17-238 included holes OS-18-261, 262 and 263. All three holes cut near-surface mineralization, including 64 meters averaging 1.55 g/t gold in hole OS-18-263.

Another six holes reported on Aug. 13 all tapped gold mineralization within the highly prospective 650-850 fault corridor at Conrad, including 52.91 meters of 2.83 g/t gold in hole OS-18-266.

"The 2018 expansion drilling program at the Sunrise and Conrad deposits continues to be very successful as highlighted by the impressive intersection in hole OS-18-273," said ATAC Resources President and CEO Graham Downs. "Mineralization identified this season clearly demonstrates the potential to increase near-surface gold resources at the Osiris deposit, which hosts one of North America's highest-grade, pit-constrained gold deposits of over one million ounces."

-SHANE LASLEY