Drill Program Results At Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project
SASKATOON - GFG Resources Inc. reported the remaining assay results and provide a summary of its 2017 exploration drill program at its 100% controlled, Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project in Wyoming, United States. The 2017 exploration program consisted of 46 holes or 13,783 meters of drilling focused on four brownfield targets and four greenfield targets. The program was designed to take an aggressive approach to expand the areas of known mineralization and to test new targets in the district that have similar geological and geophysical signatures to North Stock and Antelope Basin. Historic drilling and the 2017 brownfield drilling will be incorporated in a maiden National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate expected to be announced in the second quarter of 2018.
Brian Skanderbeg, President and CEO, said, “The results from our 2017 drill program met our main objective of expanding the areas of known mineralization and demonstrating the scale of the district. We were successful at significantly expanding the western and southwestern extensions at North Stock by 175 meters and 150 meters, respectively. Drilling in the Middle Ground between North Stock and Antelope Basin continued to outline a sheet of mineralization connecting the two deposits which will have a significant impact in future geological and resource modeling. And at the Antelope Basin deposit, we drilled three holes targeting the eastern flank of the deposit and demonstrated gold mineralization extents at least 200 meters eastward and may link with the Cowboy target. Our focus is now on interpreting the geological data from nearly 100,000 meters of drilling to move ahead with a maiden resource estimate in the second quarter of 2018.”
Step-out drilling on the west side of North Stock returned the most significant assay results from the 2017 program. Drilling expanded the North Stock deposit by 175 meters and is highlighted by newly released hole RSC-189 that returned 0.82 g/t Au over 99.1 m, including 1.30 g/t Au over 54.9 m, 0.48 g/t Au over 57.9 m and 0.71 g/t Au over 50.3 m outlining a broad zone of mineralization over a core length of approximately 360 meters. Mineralization in hole RSC-189 starts at a vertical depth of approximately 35 meters below surface. These results are significant as they successfully tested the breccia zone adjacent to North Stock as well as the contact between the diatreme breccia and the schist. Core logging indicates that strongly potassically-altered heterolithic breccias and mineralized phonolite intrusive contacts are hosting the highest-grade mineralization. Additional drilling around the North Stock deposit in 2017 focused on expanding gold mineralization to the southwest. Results from hole RSR-013 (0.49 g/t Au over 19.8 m) and hole RSR-014 (0.88 g/t Au over 27.4 m and 0.36 g/t Au over 76.2 m) successfully extended gold mineralization by 150 meters. The Company will continue to prioritize drilling in the North Stock area in 2018 as it remains open to the west and southwest.
The Middle Ground area, between North Stock and Antelope Basin, continues to be an area of interest as drilling has outlined a thick zone of gently west-dipping mineralization. The results suggest the potential to link the two deposits over a distance of nearly 1.1 kilometers. Highlights from this area include previously reported RSR-011 (0.59 g/t Au over 53.3 m, including 0.70 g/t Au over 25.9 m) and new results from RSR-033 (0.32 g/t Au over 38.1 m). Additional drilling will be planned for this area in 2018 with a goal to prove continuity of mineralization in the Middle Ground area between Antelope Basin, North Stock and the western extension of the North Stock deposit.
The drill program at Antelope Basin was focused on testing the east flank of the deposit and a potential linkage with the 2016 Cowboy discovery. A total of three holes were drilled on the east side of Antelope Basin and five holes to follow-up on hole RSC-185 (0.84 g/t Au over 38.1 m). Each of the three holes drilled toward the east of the Antelope Basin intersected thick zones of gold mineralization with the best hole, RSC-184, returning an intercept of 0.43 g/t Au over 73.2 m, including 0.61 g/t Au over 36.6 m. Hole RSR-026 returned 0.60 g/t Au over 9.1 m and 0.52 g/t Au over 19.8 m before being lost in a mineralized fault zone. These results are significant as they intersected a broad zone of mineralization, hosted in brecciated Precambrian schist, that extends nearly 200 meters east of the quartz monzodiorite dike that hosts gold mineralization at Antelope Basin. Furthermore, drilling to date and modeling indicate a potential link to the Cowboy target, 230 meters to the northeast.
To the northeast at the Cowboy target, five holes were completed with RSR-030 returning 0.88 g/t Au over 9.2 m, 0.28 g/t Au over 24.4 m and 0.24 g/t Au over 38.1 m, extending the Cowboy target 75 meters northeast from the discovery hole RSC-185. Mineralization in this area is associated with potassically-altered, igneous and heterolithic breccia and feldspar porphyry dikes. Further drilling is warranted to evaluate both the eastern flank of Antelope Basin and the potential continuity with the Cowboy target.
The drill program at Blackjack was designed to test an extensive soil anomaly and several geophysical anomalies. Results from the drilling beneath the soil anomaly were encouraging as holes BJR-001 (0.51 g/t Au over 10.7 m) and BJR-005 (0.79 g/t Au over 18.3 m) indicate mineralization remains open to the west. Hole BJR-002 (0.20 g/t Au over 27.4 m) targeted the east side of the soil anomaly, intersected lower grade material but demonstrated the system remains open towards the east as well. Results and targets will continue to be evaluated to determine the next priority step at Blackjack.
In 2018, the Company will continue to advance the Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project with a focus on expanding the brownfield environment and testing several greenfield targets. Over the next several months, the Company’s main focus will be to complete geological and resource modeling to support a maiden National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate. The Company expects to announce the resource estimate in the second quarter of 2018.
GFG Resources is a North American precious metals exploration company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company controls 100% of the Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project, a district scale gold exploration project located approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Casper, Wyoming.