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

Golden Predator Mining Corp. Nov. 4 reported significant gold mineralization in nine of the first 10 holes from the fall drill program at its Brewery Creek Mine project about a 45-minute drive from Dawson City, Yukon.

From 1996 through 2002, Viceroy Resource Corp. produced 280,000 ounces of gold from seven open-pit mines at Brewery Creek.

Since acquiring this past producing gold property about a decade ago, Golden Predator has outlined 14.15 million metric tons of indicated oxide resource averaging 1.27 g/t (577,000 oz) gold, 9.31 million metric tons of inferred oxide resource averaging 0.93 g/t (279,000 oz) gold; plus 3.46 million metric tons of indicated sulfide resource averaging 1.28 g/t (142,000 oz) gold, and 12.41 million metric tons of inferred sulfide resource averaging 1.37 g/t (546,000 oz) gold.

This resource served as the basis for a 2014 preliminary economic assessment that outlined plans for a heap-leach operation at Brewery Creek that would produce an estimated 372,000 oz of gold over nine years. This includes mining 10.2 million metric tons of open-pit material from eight deposits averaging 1.35 g/t gold and reprocessing material located on the former heap leach pad.

With the goal of preparing Brewery Creek for redevelopment work slated to begin next year, Golden Predator launched an expansive fall drill program designed to upgrade and expand the current resource.

This includes developing shallow, oxide mineralization along strike from known mineralization in the Fosters-Kokanee, Golden-Lucky and Camp-Pacific structural corridors, as well as down-dip of the Fosters, Kokanee, Golden and Lucky zones that were historically mined.

The completed 15,223 meters of drilling in 138 holes during the fall program.

This first batch of assay results are from three holes drilled at Lucky and seven at Camp.

Highlights from these holes include:

• 6.1 meters averaging 9.33 g/t gold from a depth of 32 meters in hole RC19-2554, drilled at Lucky zone;

• 10.7 meters of 5.19 g/t gold from surface in RC19-2553, also drilled at Lucky; and

• 24.4 meters of 0.61 g/t gold from a depth of 3.05 meters in RC19-2543, drilled in the emerging Camp zone.

The 2019 drilling at Lucky included infill drilling to upgrade resources in this zone included in the 2014 PEA, as well as extensions of the deposit.

Camp is an emerging zone identified during the late stages of the 2012 season, which was the last major drill campaign at Brewery Creek. Golden Predator says this zone, which is not included in the PEA, appears to be a roughly 500-meter western extension of the past producing Pacific zone. All seven holes drilled this year at Camp cut gold mineralization.

With assay labs in western Canada backed up, Golden Predator is experiencing a significant delay in the turnaround time for results from its 2019 drilling at Brewery Creek.

Assays are pending for 33 holes drilled at Lucky; all 67 holes drilled at Golden zone; and all 28 holes drilled at the Kokanee and Fosters zones.

–SHANE LASLEY