The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Geos outline 3,800-meter-long gold, silver, and copper zone North of 60 Mining News – September 24, 2021
Nova Minerals Ltd. Sept. 20 announced that its 2021 reconnaissance exploration has discovered an extensive gold, silver, and copper mineralized zone between the Korbel gold deposit and RPM target on the company's Estelle property in Alaska.
While investigating what appeared to be high-grade mineralization at the Stoney vein, a color anomaly at what is now referred to as the Rainy Day vein, and determine the source of the magnetic anomaly at the T5 prospect, Nova Minerals geologists have begun to uncover what appears to be a large polymetallic system that extends for at least 3,800 meters.
With thicknesses ranging from three to ten meters and a vertical relief of 300 meters, Nova says the massive to semi-massive sulfide vein at Stoney is quite extensive and initial sampling results look promising. Stoney strikes roughly to the south and dips steeply to the west.
T5 is a magnetic anomaly thought to be associated with Stoney, however, small outcrops beneath a rock glacier revealed a strongly magnetic mafic dike and intermediate intrusive with little to no mineralization.
While working in the vicinity of Stoney, crews discovered the Rainy Day vein, another massive polymetallic vein to the northwest of the main Stoney occurrence. This vein is similar in nature to Stoney with massive pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite, which Nova says is likely a splay off of the main Stoney Vein.
The Rainy Day vein is about two to five meters thick, with at least ten meters of vertical relief and 100 meters of strike length exposed. A representative chip sample across this vein averaged 8.12 grams per metric ton gold and 1.7% copper over three meters. A select outcrop sample ran 5.39 g/t gold and 0.5% copper.
Highlights from an additional 26 rock samples collected at Stoney, T5, and Rainy Day include:
• 2.04 g/t gold, 513 g/t silver, and 0.77% copper.
• 0.63 g/t gold, 2,720 g/t silver, and 1.1% copper.
• 0.17 g/t gold, 435 g/t silver, and 2.4% copper.
• 48.4 g/t gold, 16 g/t silver, and 0.36% copper.
• 8.12 g/t gold, 62 g/t silver, and 1.7% copper.
"These rock chip sample results, which include high-grade silver, copper, as well as gold, open up another dimension for Estelle with the discovery of an extensive polymetallic vein system," said Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen. "This now unlocks three priority deposits, which are all company makers on their own, within the Estelle District. The Korbel Main deposit with a resource that continues to advance in both size and confidence on the path to production, the RPM deposit with a maiden resource coming soon. In addition, the 2021 recon exploration field program has identified further prospects with promising geology also observed."
The company says geophysical programs will be planned to better define the extent of Stoney and nearby splays, as Stoney warrants drilling in 2022.
Results from sampling of other prospects on the Estelle property are pending.
Assays are also pending from more than 10,000 meters of drilling completed at the 4.7-million-ounce Korbel gold deposit and emerging RPM gold deposit.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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