Iskut Drill Program Expands Bronson Deposit And Identifies Its Source
TORONTO - Seabridge Gold reported on core drilling that discovered an unusually large, well-mineralized breccia pipe beneath the historic Bronson Slope skarn deposit at its Iskut project in northwestern British Columbia's Golden Triangle. The extensive quartz-magnetite pipe, which has been identified as the source of the Bronson Slope deposit, holds broadly disseminated gold and copper mineralization from multiple hydrothermal eruptive events believed to originate from a major porphyry intrusive source. A 2023 drill program is being planned to (1) target an increase in the Bronson gold-copper resource and (2) find the intrusive source of the breccia pipe.
Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk, said, "Our team proposed a porphyry gold-copper source for the historical Bronson Slope resource and our program was designed to test this concept. The results from the pipe confirm our concept was correct. The next step is to locate the source of the pipe. All the evidence we have gathered as well as the historical precedents tell us the source is a gold-copper porphyry intrusive similar in age to those we discovered at our nearby KSM project. We have also identified other related opportunities at Iskut within a regional trend that, similar to our KSM district, could host multiple porphyry deposits. Our plan for 2023 is to prioritize locating the source of the breccia pipe and carrying what we learn across the rest of our large Iskut property.”
Seabridge completed 10 drill holes at the Iskut project this past season, totaling 10,162 meters. Assay results have been compiled. Drill holes SBS-22-01 through 04 were collared on the margins of the Bronson Slope resource and drilled at various orientations to evaluate the dip projection of the resource. Intervals in these holes that correspond with the existing Bronson Slope resource are consistent with the interpolated block grades. Below the resource, hole SBS-22-01 also encountered a short interval of the quartz-magnetite breccia pipe.
Drill holes SBS-22-05, 06, 08, 09 and 10 targeted the quartz-magnetite breccia pipe below the Bronson Slope resource. These holes encountered a complexly brecciated massive quartz-magnetite pipe-like body. The feature has an indicated diameter of about 320 meters containing varying size clasts of wall rock, chiefly porphyritic monzonite, and Triassic sedimentary rocks in a matrix of quartz-magnetite. Clasts in the breccia display intense textural destruction and hydrothermal alteration. Matrix to the breccia consists of massive magnetite, massive quartz, and ribbon-banded quartz-magnetite veins. Veins of quartz-magnetite, quartz-sulfide and magnetite are observed cutting the breccia clasts and matrix.
Drill Hole SBS-22-07 tested a discrete intensely magnetic anomaly east of the Bronson resource. This hole encountered peripheral porphyry-style alteration with a 186-meter interval of copper-gold mineralization and other narrow grade zones. This separate target zone seems to be less eroded than Bronson Slope and warrants additional drill testing.
Regional geophysical surveys and continuous surface geology work on the property have confirmed a distinct structural feature that connects the Quartz Rise, Bronson Slope and Snip North targets. All the prospective gold-copper intrusions recognized on the property fall along this regional trend and this observation has led us to envision a cluster of gold-copper deposits as at KSM.
The Bronson Slope target contains a measured and indicated resource of 187Mt of 0.36 g/t gold and 0.12% copper. Our current view of this mineralization is that it represents the interaction between fluids that generated the quartz-magnetite breccia pipe and the overlaying wall rock. Drilling at the remnant lithocap on Quartz Rise and historical drilling at the Snip North target has encountered meaningful gold-copper grades that will be investigated further in 2023.
Exploration activities by Seabridge at the Iskut Project are being conducted under the supervision of William E. Threlkeld, Registered Professional Geologist, Senior Vice President of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Threlkeld has reviewed and approved this news release. An ongoing and rigorous quality control/quality assurance protocol is employed in all Seabridge exploration campaigns. This program includes blank, duplicate and reference standards. Cross-check analyses are conducted at a second external laboratory on at least 10% of the drill samples.