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

Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd. Sept. 28 reported that it has received the permits necessary to begin exploration drilling at Cantoo and is gearing up to carry out drilling at this gold-silver-copper project near the town of Hyder in Southeast Alaska.

"With receipt of these permits, Blackwolf will expedite completion of heritage and botanical surveying and crew training to prepare the Cantoo property for drilling," said Blackwolf Copper and Gold CEO Robert McLeod. "Depending on the timing of winter conditions on the property, drilling may commence in October 2022 or spring of 2023."

Situated due east of the Premier gold-silver mining project currently in development by Ascot Resources Ltd., and likely part of the same metallogenic system, the Cantoo property hosts multiple shallow southwest dipping vein structures up to 30 meters true thickness.

According to Alaskan territorial records, ore was direct shipped from surface without blasting, and work ceased on any plans to develop Cantoo after the stock market crash of 1929.

Historic literature describes an upper gold-rich vein and a lower silver-rich vein, with a single historic sample from the upper collected by U.S. Geological Survey geologists in 1995 assaying 27.4 grams per metric ton gold.

Mining adits and two aerial tram line cables from the 1920s mining helped Blackwolf geologists locate the veins.

Samples collected during 2021 from Cantoo include 0.82 g/t gold, 418 g/t silver, 0.41% copper, 16.2% lead, and 0.08% zinc, as well as 1.99 g/t gold, 9.7 g/t silver, 0.27% copper, 1.06% lead, and 0.24% zinc.

Limited sampling along scree slopes below the cliffs returned assays with up to 30.4 g/t gold, 2,860 g/t silver, and 5.8% copper.

During the 2022 field season, Blackwolf completed mapping and sampling of multiple areas of the property, focusing on zones of veining and hydrothermal alteration, including sampling across the quartz veins.

Due to the meticulous exploration, the technical team at Blackwolf has targeted multiple, wide-stacked quartz veins on Cantoo, which has become the company's priority drill target once drilling gets underway.

Outcropping veins up to 30 meters wide that are associated with the mining a century ago were accessed, mapped, and sampled by experienced climbing technicians.

While the results are still pending from the surface exploration program, the work has confirmed the presence of a 25- to 30-meter-wide zone of silicification, quartz veining, brecciation, and up to 25% disseminated pyrite along the projection of the "Upper Vein" and historic workings.

This matches historical descriptions of mineralization from the target, including the USGS sample collected in 1995.

A series of these stacked, shallow southwesterly dipping structures along with zones of strong alteration and stockwork have so far been identified at Cantoo, spanning over 300 meters of exposed elevation.

"Geologically, these wide veins represent the most compelling exploration target that I've seen in the Golden Triangle, located adjacent to the historic Premier Mine with road and power access," added McLeod.

Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd.

Exploration work this year at Blackwolf's five Hyder area properties to date has included the collection of 326 rock grab and chip samples, geologic mapping, aerial photography, LiDAR surveys, and a high-resolution World-View 3 remote sensing survey.

So far, all assays from the sampling program are currently pending.

The authorized surface exploration work, which is subject to various terms and conditions that include an archaeological survey of drill locations, biological training of Blackwolf personnel for sensitive species, and bonding, also includes detailed geologic mapping and rock sampling; soil sampling for geochemical analysis; and diamond core drilling at a maximum of 13 sites on Cantoo and 15 on the Texas Creek project a few miles to the west.