ATAC Resources Ltd. Jan. 28 reported that its initial phase of 2019 exploration will focus on Rau, a 660-square kilometer (255 square miles) property at the western end of the company's Rackla Gold property in the Yukon.

Currently, this property is anchored by Tiger, a carbonate replacement body with 5.68 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 2.66 g/t (485,700 oz) gold.

"The Rau project is an emerging 20-kilometer- (12.5 miles) long polymetallic district hosting numerous early-stage precious and base metal targets, anchored by the demonstrated economics of our Tiger deposit," said ATAC Resources President and CEO Graham Downs.

It is believed the neighboring Bobcat target reflects outward fluid flow and the development of gold-copper skarn mineralization. This mineral zonation continues to transition outwards to a gold-silver dominated carbonate-replacement system exemplified by Tiger at the periphery, and silver-zinc-lead mineralization has developed at the Ocelot target, demonstrating distal components of fluid flow.

"While the majority of exploration to date has focused on Tiger and similar carbonate-replacement gold targets, the recent re-evaluation of project data highlights the significant exploration potential for new discoveries of intrusive-related mineralization," said Downs. "The strength of prospecting results at two skarn targets, including 6.07 grams per metric ton gold with 7.41 percent copper at Bobcat, and 7,080 g/t silver and 3.27 g/t gold at Spotlight, provides compelling evidence for this interpretation."

Investigating Rau

The first phase of ATAC's 2019 exploration program will begin with ground induced polarization and magnetic geophysical surveys over an area that is centered on the Rackla Pluton, which is interpreted to be a hydrothermal fluid source that mineralized many of the targets identified on the Rau property.

This survey will cover both the Bobcat and other nearby skarn targets.

The 2018 exploration at Bobcat, situated about 1,500 meters east of the mapped surface expression of the Rackla Pluton, returned strong copper and gold mineralization in grab samples.

Results from prospecting and hand pitting early in the 2018 program include: 6.07 g/t gold with 7.41 percent copper; and 5.08 g/t gold with 3.69 percent copper.

Follow-up work completed in September identified additional gold mineralization including a surface grab sample grading 9.53 g/t gold, expanding the length of the skarn target area to roughly 250 meters.

Grid sampling east of Bobcat has identified a 1,200- by 1,000-meter silver-lead-tin soil anomaly that remains open to the east. The easternmost line of this grid contained a soils sample grading 14.55 g/t silver.

Spotlight, a skarn target located 6,500 meters north of Bobcat, will also be investigated further this year.

ATAC discovered Spotlight while carrying out contour soil sampling in 2017. Limited follow-up prospecting work has resulted in the collection of high-grade grab samples, including 7,080 g/t (227.6 ounce per metric ton) silver and 3.27 g/t gold.

A 2,200-meter-long gold and silver anomaly trending west from spotlight will be investigated further this year.

ATAC has been successful in identifying new targets through soil sampling with follow-up prospecting and hand pitting. The majority of targets discovered to date have been identified in this manner, yet significant portions of the property remain unsampled. This program will see continued use of this systematic approach, with a focus on prospective untested ground proximal to the intrusion.

Committed to Orion, Osiris

While the initial phase of the 2019 program will be conducted at Rau, ATAC said the Orion and Osiris projects to the east remain high quality assets.

Orion, a 780-square-kilometer (301 square miles) immediately east to Rau, was previously under option to Barrick Gold Corp. After two years of exploration, however, the gold major gave up its option on the property.

Despite Barrick dropping the property as it merged with Randgold Resources, the 7,410-meter drill program at Orion last year tapped some promising results.

Much of this drilling targeted the 5,300-meter-long Anubis Fault corridor, where AN-12-001, a hole previously drilled by ATAC, cut 8.5 meters of 19.85 g/t gold in the Anubis zone and AN-16-010, another ATAC hole, cut 61.3 meters of 2.75 g/t gold in the Orion zone.

Four widely-spaced holes drilled by Barrick last year extended the high-grade gold mineralization along the Anubis Fault corridor.

• BDO-18-008, drilled 535 meters down-dip of AN-12-001, cut 4.66 meters of 6.95 g/t gold, the deepest intersection to date at Orion;

• BDO-18-017, drilled 390 meters below AN-12-001, cut 7.61 meters of 10.48 g/t gold;

• BDO-18-018, targeting shallow mineralization along the Anubis Fault 285 meters east of AN-12-001, cut 10.73 meters of 7.2 g/t gold; and

• BDO-18-019, which tested the Anubis Fault 2,300 meters northwest of AN-12-001, cut 2.78 meters of 9.49 g/t gold.

Osiris is a 302-square-kilometer (117 square miles) property at the eastern end of the Rackla property where ATAC originally discovered Carlin-type gold mineralization in the Yukon.

In 2018, ATAC announced a maiden inferred resource of 1.69 million oz of gold in 12.4 million metric tons of material averaging 4.23 g/t gold.

A successful follow-up expansion drill program was conducted, extending mineralization in multiple directions at the Osiris, Conrad and Sunrise zones.

Rotary air blast (RAB) drilling approximately 1,000 meters southwest of Conrad identified a new high-grade gold discovery of 6.1 meters of 3.38 g/t gold from surface.

While ATAC has decided to focus its initial 2019 exploration on Rau, the company says it remains committed to Osiris and Orion and is currently evaluating funding mechanisms that minimize share dilution to meaningfully advance them.

Shane Lasley

A helicopter flies over the Osiris, a project at the eastern end of the Rackla property where ATAC Resources originally discovered Carlin-type gold in the Yukon.

–SHANE LASLEY