Eskay Mining Corp (TSX-V:ESK, OTCQX:ESKYF) told investors that last year's exploration campaign had confirmed a major new precious metal-rich VMS mineralized system at Scarlet Knob-Tarn Lake at its Eskay project in British Columbia.
A rock sample collected here on the eastern margin of Bruce Glacier yielded 56.9 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 154 g/t silver and displayed similar geology and setting to the main Eskay Creek deposit, which sits around 7 kilometers (km) to the west.
The company reckons that mineralization at Tarn Lake and Scarlet Knob potentially connect under the rapidly receding terminus of Bruce Glacier and said it plans to carry out first-ever drilling at Scarlet Knob and 'aggressive' follow-up drilling at Tarn Lake in 2023.
"A major focus of Eskay Mining's 2022 exploration program was identifying new precious metal-rich VMS mineralization in underexplored areas of the large Consolidated Eskay Property, said Dr John DeDecker, vice-president (VP) of exploration at the company.
"At Scarlet Knob-Tarn Lake, our team has confirmed the presence of a second major trend of Au- and Ag-rich VMS mineralization at the northern end of the Eastern anticline which runs parallel to the Eskay anticline that hosts the world-class Eskay Creek deposit located approximately seven km to the west.
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"Our rock chip samples from this area, some of which returned bonanza gold grades, display a similar appearance to mineralization at Eskay Creek."
He added: "Preliminary results from our maiden drill program at Tarn Lake confirm the discovery of a significant zone of Au- and Ag-rich VMS mineralization. We are particularly excited about the potential connectivity between Tarn Lake and Scarlet Knob. We are planning maiden drilling at Scarlet Knob and aggressive follow-up drilling at Tarn Lake in 2023."
Meanwhile, Mac Balkam, the CEO of Eskay, added: "Our large property has the right geology to host deposits comparable to the original Eskay Creek Mine, and we all know that VMS deposits typically occur in clusters.
"Our team's 2022 work in the Scarlet Ridge-Tarn Lake trend, 7 kilometers due east of the original mine, shows very encouraging gold and silver results from both rock chip samples and drill core."
Other highlight results from the 2022 campaign included a spot rock chip sample collected along the western margin of Bruce Glacier at Tarn Lake, which yielded 9.2 g/t gold and 9.3 g/t silver.
Its visual appearance and mineralogy are nearly identical to that of the high-grade sample collected around 800m to the east at Scarlet Knob, the company said.
Elsewhere, preliminary results from the first-ever drill holes completed at Tarn Lake included 4.10 g/t gold and 98.30 g/t silver over 5.43m within a longer intercept of 2.47 g/t gold and 72.20 g/t silver over 11.34m.
That was within 0.80 g/t gold and 22.97 g/t silver over 41.41m in one hole, and provided confirmation of a significant new VMS discovery.
Toronto-headquartered Eskay is an exploration company focused on the exploration and development of precious and base metals along the Eskay rift in a highly prolific region of northwest British Columbia known as the "Golden Triangle," 70km northwest of Stewart.
The company currently holds mineral tenures in this area comprised of 177 claims (52,600 hectares).
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com