North Bay Resources Inc. (OTC:NBRI) said it has produced a gold concentrate grading 8.52 ounces per ton from ore at its Fran Gold Project, processed through the gravity circuit at the company's Bishop Gold Mill.
The results align with previous metallurgical studies in December that yielded 8.54 ounces per ton gold concentrate using gravity separation, the company said.
North Bay added that it is continuing to process ore and optimize the mill in coordination with its refinery partner.
The Fran gold project spans 34,360 acres and is located 20 miles from Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine in British Columbia. The project has undergone over 50,000 feet of diamond drilling across 104 holes, primarily at the Bullion Alley Zone, delineating a gold deposit extending 3,700 feet in length, up to 120 feet in width, and over 700 feet in depth.
North Bay said the deposit contains three to four well-defined parallel gold veins grading up to 2.6 troy ounces of gold per ton, alongside wider sections of lower- and mid-grade mineralization. Surface trenching has identified a near-surface sub-zone with expanded gold-bearing veins accessible from the surface.
Additional assays from the project have returned copper grades of up to 1.68% and silver grades of up to 5.1 troy ounces per ton, the company said, adding that the property has potential for further gold and copper discoveries beyond the Bullion Alley Zone.
North Bay estimates about 5,000 tons of surface material is available for shipment.