Scottie Resources Corp. (TSX-V:SCOT) reported it has hit two high-grade intercepts of 34.5 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 4.7 metres (m) and 130 g/t gold over 1.05m at its Scottie Gold mine project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
Reporting new assays from the project, the company noted that both of the high-grade intercepts occur at the lithological boundary between andesitic and siltstone units of the Hazelton Group, a near vertical, north-south oriented target known as the Blueberry Contact Zone.
The high-grade intercept of hole SR22-186 is approximately 90m downdip from hole SR22-156 which intercepted 194 g/t gold over 2.4m, reinforcing the extremely high-grade nature of that northern area of the deposit, Scottie said. Drilling in 2022 extended the strike length of the zone to more than 1,450m and the depth to 390m.
"Our 2022 drill program continues to deliver high-grade intercepts,” Scottie president and CEO Brad Rourke said in a statement. “The team leveraged previously collected data in order to come up with aggressive, yet geologically prudent drill targets that would substantially increase the size of the deposit, as well as illustrate the continuity of high-grade zones within it.”
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The Blueberry Zone is located just 2 kilometres (km) northeast of the 100% owned, past-producing Scottie Gold Mine located in the Golden Triangle region. Historic trenching and channel sampling of the Blueberry Vein include results of 103.94 g/t gold over 1.43m and 203.75 g/t gold over 1.9m.
Despite high-grade surficial samples and easy road access, Scottie said the Blueberry Vein had only limited reported drilling prior to its exploration work. The target was significantly advanced during its 2019 drill program when an interval grading 7.44 g/t gold over 34.78m was intersected in a new splay-off zone of the main Blueberry Vein.
The drill results received in 2020 and 2021, coupled with surficial mapping and sampling suggest that this splay is a major north-south mineralized structure, of which the Blueberry Vein was only a secondary structure.
Strike length expanded
The company noted that this zone is much wider than pursued in previous exploration models and drilling in 2022 has expanded its strike length to more than 1,450m and its depth to 390m.
The zone is steeply dipping, and there is no current restraint on its potential depth; the mineralization at the adjacent Scottie Gold Mine has a vertical extent greater than 450m, it said.
"Our success rate along the structure points to a robust mineralizing system – which still offers tremendous upside through expansion,” Rourke added. “We've begun planning our 2023 program and are anticipating a minimum of 20,000 metres of diamond drilling for the area."
Scottie owns a 100% interest in the Scottie Gold Mine Property which includes the Blueberry Zone and the high-grade, past-producing Scottie Gold Mine. Scottie also owns 100% interest in the Georgia Project which contains the high-grade past-producing Georgia River Mine, as well as the Cambria Project properties and the Sulu property. Altogether Scottie Resources holds more than 59,000 hectares of mineral claims in the Stewart Mining Camp in the Golden Triangle.
The company's focus is on expanding the known mineralization around the past-producing mines while advancing near mine high-grade gold targets, to deliver a potential resource. All of the company's properties are located in the area known as the Golden Triangle of British Columbia which is among the world's most prolific mineralized districts.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com