Scarlet Phase Two Drill Program And Structural Extensions Of Isabella Pearl
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Fortitude Gold Corp. reported on the 2021 Scarlet phase two drill program including 4.57 meters of 3.19 grams per tonne (g/t) gold within 19.81 meters grading 1.57 g/t gold. This mineralization is associated with the northwestern structural extensions of its Isabella Pearl mine located in Mineral County, Nevada. Fortitude Gold is a gold producer, developer, and explorer with operations in Nevada.
During the second quarter of 2021, a 15-hole reverse circulation program targeted the south Scarlet area located approximately 650 meters northwest of the Company's operating Isabella Pearl mine (see map below). This program was designed to build on first quarter Scarlet drill results. Substantial widths and gold grades intercepted oxide mineralization with potential to be processed at the Company's Isabella Pearl heap leach pad and gold process plant.
"This latest drill program at Scarlet was designed to further define the lower oxide-sulfide boundary, as well as test the margins of the know mineralization," said, Barry Devlin, Vice President of Exploration. "Multiple holes again returned sizable widths of oxide mineralization with grades as high as 3.19 grams per tonne gold. Scarlet remains a high priority target for additional delineation drilling. We plan to move a reverse circulation drill rig back to Scarlet early in the fourth quarter of 2021, once the current delineation drilling at Golden Mile is complete, to build on these positive Scarlet drill results."
Jason Reid, CEO and President, said, "We are excited with these continued high grade drill intercepts including 4.57 meters of 3.19 grams per tonne gold within a much wider interval of 19.81 meters, or 65 feet, grading 1.57 grams per tonne gold. This mirrors similar intercepts from the prior drill program which included 3.05 meters of 3.94 grams per tonne within the wider intercept of 24.38 meters, or 80 feet, of 1.60 g/t gold. In a world where many open pit mines chase an average 0.5 grams per tonne gold grade, these high-grade gold Scarlet drill results are very exciting.
While we expected to find the margins of this mineralization to the southeast, in the direction where we previously completed condemnation drilling for the heap leach pad expansion, this high-grade mineralization remains open to the northwest along trend. We recently announced the permit receipt to expand the Isabella Pearl heap leach pad. Included in this permit was an expansion of the Isabella Pearl mine plan boundary to the northwest, which opens up additional acreage associated with the Scarlet target for exploration within the permitted mine plan. Scarlet is just one of multiple gold targets associated with our 9,800-acre Isabella Pearl property covering over six miles of an important mineralized fault corridor in the Walker Lane Mineral Belt."