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

Ascot Resources Ltd. Dec. 8 announced that the latest batch of assay results from drilling at the Big Missouri deposit includes the highest-grade gold intercept in five years at the company's Premier gold-silver mine project near Stewart, British Columbia.

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 4,752 meters of surface drilling completed in 50 holes at Big Missouri this year targeted layers of gold mineralization in and around planned stopes to be mined at the deposit.

Highlights from previously reported assays from the 2022 drilling at Big Missouri 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.

• Eight meters averaging 15.91 g/t gold and 31.5 g/t silver from a depth of 90.5 meters in hole P22-2420.

• 10.69 meters averaging 31.92 g/t gold and 22.21 g/t silver from a depth of 90 meters in hole P22-2428.

The long high-grade intercept in hole P22-2428 included a one-meter bonanza grade subsection averaging 330 g/t gold and 192 g/t silver.

The latest batch of assays includes an even higher-grade interval of one meter averaging 488 g/t gold and 181 g/t silver within 7.9 meters averaging 62.76 g/t gold and 27.4 g/t silver from a depth of 90 meters in hole P22-2445.

"The Big Missouri deposit continues to impress with more bonanza-grade gold and additional occurrences of coarse, visible gold," said Ascot Resources President and CEO Derek White. "The headline intercept of 488 grams per tonne is the highest-grade interval Ascot has drilled since 2017, and the fourth-highest assay ever recorded at Big Missouri."

Other highlights from this third batch of 2022 assay results from Big Missouri drilling include:

• 9.52 meters averaging 8.03 g/t gold and 19.1 g/t silver from a depth of 23.4 meters in hole P22-2441.

• 10.8 meters averaging 6.26 g/t gold and 8.1 g/t silver from a depth of 29.4 meters in hole P22-2442.

• 14.5 meters averaging 6.75 g/t gold and 12.4 g/t silver from a depth of 26 meters in hole P22-2444.

Ascot Resources Ltd.

Click on image for larger 3D cross-section related to holes drilled from pad BM-3/22 at Big Missouri.

• Three meters averaging 30.98 g/t gold and 9.4 g/t silver from a depth of 112 meters in hole P22-2445.

"Many of the high-grade intercepts were encountered within or around existing stope shapes, and some high grades were encountered in gaps between stope shapes – further strengthening our confidence that there is more gold to be discovered outside the existing resource model at Big Missouri," White added.

The remaining outstanding assay results from the 2022 drilling at Big Missouri include assays from 12 holes drilled from underground; four surface in-fill holes near the historical S1 pit; and 12 holes drilled from two surface pads at the Day Zone on the western side of the Big Missouri ridge.

Ascot anticipates the receipt of all outstanding assays in early 2023.