Drill Program Currently Underway At The Alpha Gold Project


VANCOUVER - Sitka Gold Corp. reported on the drill program currently underway at its Alpha Gold Project located at the southeast end of the Cortez Trend in northern Nevada.  This phase of drilling is designed to test southeastward extensions of the Carlin-Type gold system that was identified earlier this year in holes AG21-02 & 03.  AG21-08, the fifth hole of the summer drill program, is currently in progress.  All of the holes have encountered strong silicification, decalcification, and pyrite in the lower Horse Canyon Equivalent and upper Devils Gate Limestone, except AG21-05 which was lost in the Horse Canyon Equivalent unit as it went into the target zone.  AG21-04, 06, and 08 have encountered significant dike or sill zones with associated strong silica, clay, pyrite, and sooty pyrite in both the dikes/sills and wall rocks.  Drilling is clearly testing a strong Carlin-type alteration system.

Assay and geochemical results have been received for AG21-04 and 05.  AG21-04, collared 510 meters (1,673 feet) southeast of AG21-02, intersected strong intervals of jasperoid, decalcification, silicified mudstone, and skeletal silica after decalcified limestone in the Horse Canyon equivalent unit and uppermost Devils Gate Limestone.  From 735 to 950 feet (224 to 290 meters) the hole encountered a set of dikes or sills not evident on surface.  Sample intervals contained up to 25% pyrite and sooty pyrite in both the dike rocks and silicified and decalcified, mudstone and limestone wall rocks.  This zone spanned the Horse Canyon Equivalent to Devils Gate contact.  The interval had anomalous gold with a high of 0.13 g/t and averaged 622 ppm arsenic over 215 feet (66 meters).  Peak pathfinder values included 3580 ppm arsenic, 22.7 ppm mercury, 185 ppm antimony, and 52.1 ppm thallium.  These results and the associated alteration are much stronger than anything seen on surface and are very strong representations of a Carlin-type alteration system.

AG21-05 stepped out 910 meters (2,986 feet) south of AG21-04 to continue testing the extensions of the target zone related to surface alteration.  The hole encountered highly fractured rock related to faulting throughout its entire length in the Devonian Shale and then hit karst cavities below.  This resulted in the drill pipe becoming stuck for part of a shift and ultimately the hole was abandoned at 430 feet (131 meters).  The last 40 feet (12.19 meters) of the hole averaged 0.41 g/t gold going into the upper part of the Horse Canyon Equivalent unit (Figure 2).  Strong Carlin-Type pathfinder element concentrations occurred throughout much of the hole.  Peak values included 502 ppm arsenic, 3.76 ppm mercury, 544 ppm antimony, and 10.4 ppm thallium.  AG21-07 has subsequently tested the Horse Canyon Equivalent and upper Devils Gate limestone from the same pad, encountering strong silicification, decalcification and pyrite through the target horizon.  AG21-06 tested the Horse Canyon Equivalent to Devils Gate contact 560 meters (1,837 feet) to the south of AG21-05 and cut a significant zone of jasperoid and decalcification in the target horizon.  Drilling continues at this time on hole AG21-08 which is cutting a silica, clay, pyrite altered dike zone in the Devonian Shale unit above the stratigraphic target horizon.

Geology, alteration, gold assays, and extremely high Carlin pathfinder element values indicate this drilling is testing a very strong Carlin-type gold system.  The situation remains that the target area is very large, and the target relatively blind with only cryptic surface alteration and mineralization leakage patterns to guide this early drill targeting.  A wealth of targets remain to be tested including laterally along newly recognized fault and dike/sill structures as well as additional prime host rocks of the Denay and McColley Canyon formations down section.  Testing the McColley Canyon Fm would be analogous to testing the Wenban 5 in the Goldrush area.  Understanding of the geology at Alpha Gold is advancing and evolving rapidly and plans are to conclude this phase of drilling and compile information after AG21-08 has been completed through its target zone into the upper Devils Gate limestone.  Assays are currently pending for AG21-06 through 08.