The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Program aimed to support PEA for Alaska gold-copper project North of 60 Mining News - August 23, 2023
U.S. GoldMining's phase-one drilling is focused on upgrading and expanding the Whistler deposit, which currently hosts 1.75 million oz of gold and 399.4 million lb of copper in the indicated resource category, plus 1.71 million oz of gold and 455.3 million lb of copper in the inferred category.
U.S. GoldMining Inc. Aug. 21 announced the start of the first phase of a 10,000-meter drill program at the company's Whistler gold-copper project 105 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
"The start of our inaugural exploration drilling campaign at Whistler marks an important milestone for U.S. GoldMining," said CEO Tim Smith.
U.S. GoldMining was formed specifically to advance exploration and development of the 53,700-acre Whistler project that was acquired by its parent company, GoldMining Inc., in 2015.
According to a 2021 calculation, Whistler hosts 118.2 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.51 grams per metric ton (1.94 million ounces) gold, 2.19 g/t (8.3 million oz) silver, and 0.16% (422 million pounds) copper; plus 317 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.46 g/t (4.67 million oz) gold, 1.58 g/t (16.1 million oz) silver; and 0.1% (711.4 million lb) copper.
These resources are based on 70,247 meters of diamond drilling completed in 257 holes from 1986 to the end of 2011. Of these holes, 52 were drilled in the Whistler deposit area, 94 holes in the Raintree West area, and 36 holes in the Island Mountain area. Another 75 holes were drilled across the wider property.
U.S. GoldMining, which listed on Nasdaq earlier this year with a US$20 million public offering, is now carrying out drilling focused on upgrading and expanding the current resource, as well as exploring some of the targets across the wider land package.
"Whistler has not been actively explored in more than a decade, and by utilizing new technology and applying our team's technical expertise, we aim to gain a better understanding of the mineral systems and the potential development options for Whistler," said Smith. "The program will explore extensions along strike and to depth, as well as prioritize the improved delineation of higher-grade zones within the existing Whistler gold-copper deposit."
In addition to supporting an updated resource estimate for Whistler, the drill program is designed to collect geotechnical and geometallurgical data to support a preliminary economic assessment that is expected to be finalized before the end of next year.
The company plans to complete an initial phase of 5,000 meters of drilling this year.
"We are excited that drilling has commenced and look forward to releasing assay results from the drill program as they become available," the U.S GoldMining CEO 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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