NV Gold Corporation (TSX-V:NVX, OTC:NVGLF) told investors that a technical update for its 100%-owned Slumber gold project in Nevada’s Humboldt Country has identified an estimated exploration target of 150,000 to 450,000 ounces of gold.
The company noted that the potential ounces at Slumber, which is located 80 kilometers (km) northwest of Winnemucca, and 37 km west of the Sleeper gold deposit, were modelled by geologist Jesse Wellman, with the result that it has successfully delineated a substantial near-surface, oxide gold system at the property.
“The gold zone is very homogenous and comprehensive, and preliminary AuCN (gold cyanide) tests returned potentially high gold recoveries. The gold system remains open in multiple directions and at depth, and last year's mercury vapor survey has identified numerous additional targets to be drill-tested,” NV Gold vice president of exploration Thomas Klein said in a statement.
READ: NV Gold outlines its promising 2023 drill priorities and exploration activities in Nevada
“I am confident that the Slumber gold system will grow significantly and has potential for higher gold grade (Sleeper-like) structures; and that more drilling could lead to the next oxide gold discovery in Nevada," he added.
Exploration target summary
Like nearby epithermal volcanic-hosted gold deposits, such as the Sleeper mine and the Sandman resource, 45 km southeast, NV Gold said gold occurs in rhyolitic to rhyodacitic tuffs, breccias, and other volcanic rocks. Alteration consists of silicification, veining, and argillization and nearly all the mineralization is oxidized, the company added. Drilling to date suggests zones of mineralization can occur in both sub-horizontal stratigraphically hosted deposition, as well as sub-vertical, structurally controlled deposition.
NV Gold noted that there have been 29 reverse circulation drill holes by the company from 2019 to 2022 and six reverse circulation drill holes by Amax Gold Inc in 1988, both of which were combined for the analysis.
Based on the data from both drilling periods, the company said there is not presently sufficient drilling density to calculate an Inferred Resource, as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
It explained that an ‘exploration target’ is an identified zone or zones of mineralized rock that potentially could be subsequently converted to a NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Resource with at least one additional drill program, adding that the data currently available does provide an exploration target that contains between 35 million tons and 50 million tons, with grades ranging from 0.15 gram per ton (g/t) to 0.31 g/t.
It said the target has been developed and modeled in 3-dimensional and in 2-dimensional sections using the average grade for mineralized intercepts from all holes on or on nearby 50-meter spaced sections.
A range of density values from 2.3 g/cm3 to 2.5 g/cm3 was used in the tonnage calculation based on a 2020 geophysical report on local and regional gravity written by Thomas V Weis and Associates Inc.
This exploration target is based on 29 intervals (25 from the company and four from Amax Gold) of at least 3.1 meters (m) downhole thickness, considered mineralized, covering a surface area of approximately 400m east to west, and 700m north to south, with the largest distance between the drill holes of 200m.
"The Slumber project checks most of the boxes of a textbook volcanic-hosted epithermal style gold setting,” commented Jesse Wellman, CPG. “This should be an exciting project exploring and developing the full picture of what appears to be a primarily covered, potentially intact, well-mineralized gold system.”
NV Gold has a stated vision of seeking to discover North America’s next multimillion-ounce gold resource through focused exploration activities in Nevada.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com