The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Drills tap high-grade in early mining areas of Premier deposit North of 60 Mining News – September 16, 2022
Visible gold encountered in a hole drilled at Big Missouri that cut two meters averaging 71.28 g/t gold and 23 g/t silver.
Click on image for larger map of drilling and planned underground stopes at Big Missouri.
Ascot Resources Ltd. Sept. 13 reported high-grade gold intercepts in the first batch of assay results from the 2022 drilling at Big Missouri, the first deposit the company plans to mine when it resumes production at the Premier gold-silver mine near Stewart, British Columbia.
"This season's drill program at Big Missouri is important as it enables us to refine and gain more confidence on our initial stoping areas for underground mining," said Ascot Resources President and CEO Derek White.
A 2020 feasibility study details plans for a new operation at Premier that is expected to produce roughly 1.1 million ounces of gold and 3 million oz of silver over the first eight years of mining.
This production is based on 3.63 million metric tons of probable reserves averaging 5.45 grams per metric ton (637,000 oz) gold and 19.1 g/t (2.23 million oz) silver within the Silver Coin, Big Missouri, and Premier deposits; plus 2.55 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 6.52 g/t (534,000 oz) gold and 20.6 g/t (1.69 million oz) silver at the nearby Red Mountain property.
The Big Missouri deposit, which lies about six kilometers (3.7 miles) north of the newly refurbished Premier mill, hosts 809,000 metric tons of the probable reserve averaging 7.15 g/t (186,000 oz) gold and 12.2 g/t (317,000 oz) silver.
The first batch of 2022 Big Missouri assays is from 15 in-fill and exploration holes drilled from surface.
Highlights from these holes include:
• 12 meters averaging 5.09 g/t gold and 6.6 g/t silver from a depth of 37.5 meters in hole P22-2404.
• Two meters averaging 71.28 g/t gold and 23 g/t silver from a depth of 57.7 meters in hole P22-2405.
• Two meters averaging 16.55 g/t gold and 25.4 g/t silver from a depth of 57 meters in hole P22-2406.
• 14.65 meters averaging 3.28 g/t gold and 7.4 g/t silver from a depth of 78.3 meters in hole P22-2412.
"We are pleased to see high-grade intercepts and visible gold encountered in the first batch of assay results from this area," said White. "The drilling revealed various locations where planned stope shapes can be extended, where existing stope shape geometry was confirmed, and provide useful information in previously undrilled gaps in the historical database."
So far, Ascot has completed more than 4,260 meters in 46 holes at Big Missouri this season.
Drilling is currently being carried out from surface at Day Zone, a high-grade gold target on the western side of the Big Missouri ridge.
While drills test from the surface, crews are advancing underground development that will provide a platform for underground drilling that will tighten the drill spacing in areas of high-grade gold mineralization in order to fine-tune the mine plan for the start of production.
"We look forward to seeing continued success from the drill program at Big Missouri this season, and in combination with ongoing underground development and sampling, vastly improving the confidence in our geological model at PGP as we advance towards production," White added.
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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