Gold Standard’s Geophysical Program Identifies New Targets
VANCOUVER - Gold Standard Ventures Corp. reported results from a controlled source audio magneto-telluric (CSAMT) survey recently completed over a significant portion of the Dark Star Corridor (DSC) which hosts the high grade North Dark Star gold discovery and the Dark Star resource on its 100%-owned/controlled Railroad-Pinion Project in Nevada’s Carlin Trend. The survey successfully defined a series of drill targets with structural signatures similar to last year’s North Dark Star discovery.
Jonathan Awde, CEO and Director of Gold Standard commented: “We are very excited about the new targets identified through this year’s CSAMT as they are a key factor in this year’s exploration program. We are in the very early stages of what we believe will be a major discovery on our Dark Star target.”
The CSAMT survey was designed to: (1) provide further subsurface definition of the DSC and its associated horst-bounding faults; (2) identify the favorable Pennsylvanian-Permian carbonate rocks which host gold mineralization in the DSC and; (3) guide the 2016 drill program. Within the DSC, the gold mineralization at both the new North Dark Star discovery and the Dark Star maiden resource occurs within a horst (uplifted block) of permissive Pennsylvanian-Permian host rocks in the footwall of a large-displacement normal fault on the east side of the horst. This configuration is a well-documented control for gold mineralization on the Carlin Trend and is amenable to definition by CSAMT.
Nine east-west oriented CSAMT lines totaling 21.6 line-km were completed by Zonge International Inc. and interpreted by James Wright of Wright Geophysics Inc. in April 2016. Individual lines were spaced 200 to 500m apart to cross the north-striking, dike-filled Dark Star Corridor (DSC) at right angles.
The survey successfully defined horst-bounding faults associated with the DSC, a critical element in planning drill holes targeting the east side of the horst. In this location, CSAMT identified a significant north-striking, east-dipping normal fault that juxtaposes favorable Pennsylvanian-Permian carbonate rocks in the footwall against Tertiary volcanic rocks to the east. The intercepts of 15.4 meters of 1.85 grams gold per tonne (g Au/t) and 97.0 meters of 1.61 g Au/t in 2015 core hole DS15-13 occur in this setting.
Running parallel to the DSC, and offset approximately 450m to the west, is a separate and distinct north-striking horst. This horst is bounded on its east and west sides by major structures. The horst does not crop out and is covered by about 80m of Tertiary and Quaternary overburden. This horst has not been previously drill tested and represents a highly prospective new target at North Dark Star.
The CSAMT survey indicates that the DSC extends an additional 0.7 km north along strike and under cover, off the northern end of mapped bedrock, where the horst is covered by about 200m of Tertiary and Quaternary overburden. This northern extension represents a new, previously undrilled target.
Gold mineralization at Dark Star and North Dark Star is proximal to the intersection of the DSC and a major west-northwest-striking fault that appears to splay off of the Bullion Fault Corridor to the west.
Mac Jackson, Gold Standard’s Vice president of Exploration stated: “CSAMT is a very important targeting tool for us. We use gravity as first pass coverage to identify important, gold-controlling fault zones. Then, we follow with CSAMT to provide greater resolution in locating individual fault strands and structural blocks with host rock that may have been mineralized. This methodology has been particularly effective in the Dark Star Corridor, and we look forward to drilling the many quality targets highlighted in this CSAMT survey.”