VR Resources Ltd (CVE:VRR) (OTCMKTS:VRRCF) told shareholders Tuesday that it has decided to pause its seven-hole drill campaign on the Ranoke property in Ontario.
The junior explorer said that all of the surface water around the northern Ontario property had frozen, rendering it inaccessible for drilling activity.
“We can’t drill without water, and as of late last week, all surface waters at Ranoke were completely frozen, all ponds and all creeks,” VR's CEO Michael Gunning said in a statement.
READ: VR Resources excited to be back drilling at Ranoke copper gold project
Gunning said that delays and difficulties related to water has both impeded the length of the holes completed, and pushed drill costs to “unacceptable levels.”
“(In) the broader context of current market uncertainty and volatility, VR is responding by suspending drilling with three holes complete, with plans to return later this spring or summer to complete the first-pass drill program when ground conditions for water will foster more efficient drilling,” the CEO told investors.
“Strategic thinking is required during the current market cycle, and VR will recognize that this is simply not the right time to be fighting our drill costs.”
Three holes were sunk on the property to a depth of between 500 to 650 metres. An intercept from Hole 3 showed fluorite-carbonate veins that are often concurrent with copper and gold grains and a key attribute of an iron oxide copper-gold breccia body, according to the company.
Ranoke, which has never been drilled, lies 15 kilometres. (km) west of a CNR railway spur and is 25 km north of road access to Otter Rapids, an Ontario hydro-electric facility serviced by Highway 634.
VR Resources is planning to fully test the centres of the anomalies on the property for copper and gold hosted in a large-scale breccia body or carbonatite intrusion.
The Vancouver-based firm is continuing to advance its Big Ten gold project in the Walker Lane in Nevada and will provide an update on the project shortly, the CEO promised.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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