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

ATAC Resources Ltd. Sept. 13 reported high-grade gold and copper from drilling and additional rock samples collected from the Bobcat skarn target at Rau, a 660-square kilometer (255 square miles) project at the western end of the company's 185-kilometer- (115 miles) long Rackla Gold property in the Yukon.

While prospecting Bobcat this year, crews collected grab samples with 41.9 grams per metric ton gold and 10.55 percent copper; and 16.15 g/t gold and 7.24 percent copper.

Drilling in the area where these samples collected also encountered high gold and copper grades. The veins encountered in these holes were narrow, indicative that the mineralization is distal to the mineralized fluid source.

RPP-19-002, one of the holes drilled in the area of the grab samples, cut 0.51 meters of 17.75 g/t gold within a broader alteration envelope of 2.47 g/t gold across 1.95 meters.

RPP-19-003, drilled about 100 meters southwest of hole 2, cut a narrow vein (five centimeters with 173 g/t gold and 1 percent copper, within a 0.59-meter envelope that averaged 3.33 g/t gold and 0.77 percent copper.

While the drill results confirm the well-mineralized nature of the veins themselves, ATAC said the relatively thin nature of the fracture controlled veins at Bobcat, along with limited skarn alteration of carbonate wall-rocks, are indicative of a distal setting with respect to the Rackla Pluton, which is believed to be the source of the mineralization.

The company's unusually high copper and gold grades of mineralization encountered so far, however, have provided the company with strong incentives to target more intensely developed copper-gold skarn mineralization located closer to the Rackla Pluton.

Reconnaissance drilling is continuing at three other nearby skarn targets that are more proximal to the pluton.

"I want to commend our team for making such exciting progress on a true greenfield exploration target in a matter of months," said ATAC Resources President and CEO Graham Downs. "The early results from Bobcat have been very successful in confirming the presence of high-grade, gold-copper skarn mineralization in both drill core and surface samples. These preliminary results provide critical geological information as we target highly prospective areas closer to the Rackla Pluton. We will shortly also be drilling to expand the near-surface oxide component of the Tiger gold deposit to build upon the positive 2016 economics."

Tiger, which is about 4,000 meters west of Bobcat, was the first exploration target at Rau and continues to be the most advanced deposit on the project.

A carbonate replacement style deposit, Tiger hosts 5.68 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 2.66 g/t (485,700 ounces) gold; plus 3.23 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.81 g/t (188,500 oz) gold.

A preliminary economic assessment completed in 2016 outlined an open-pit mine that will produce 302,300 oz of gold over a six-year mine life.

ATAC Resources Ltd.

ATAC plans to drill four step-out holes east from Rau-17-159, a 2017 hole at Tiger that cut 51.82 meters of oxide mineralization averaging 5.66 g/t gold.

With the recent strength of gold prices, ATAC believes it is important to further explore Tiger's potential and opportunities related to near-term development at Rau.

ATAC also expects final approval for its planned 65-kilomter (40 miles) road linking Rau to the Yukon highway network by March of next year. This industrial access road could help lower the costs of exploration and development at Rau, as well as provide a staging area for further exploration of Orion and Osiris, two gold projects that make up the balance of the expansive Rackla Gold property.

–SHANE LASLEY