VR Resources Ltd (TSX-V:VRR, OTCQB:VRRCF) has told investors it is planning a first-pass drill program at its Amsel gold-silver project in Nevada, as the company moves closer towards receiving a final permit for drilling there.
The United States Forest Service (USFS) has now reviewed VR's drill permit application and given the go-ahead meaning the firm will now post an environmental bond, a standard condition for a final permit.
The hill at Amsel is one of the seven properties that make up VR's Big Ten epithermal gold project in the Walker Lane belt of Nevada - a 20 kilometer (km) long mineral trend. Amsel itself consists of 66 claims covering 1,363 acres and includes a large topographical feature with a surface footprint defined by a 2 km x 2 km gold-silver soil anomaly.
Gold was confirmed in three short holes completed during cursory exploration in the early 1980s, where work was restricted to the hilltop at Amsel. The new IP anomaly on the southwestern flank of the hill was never explored or drilled, VR noted.
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The company plans to complete up to six priority drill holes among numerous permitted locations. Both the northern and southern parts of the large IP anomaly will be tested.
"We have 4 years of exploration under our belt on our 20 km long Big Ten mineral trend since first acquiring the Danbo property and its high-grade gold veins in 2016, but it is Amsel which has produced by far the most compelling target for a large-scale epithermal gold-silver system," said VR’s CEO Dr Michael Gunning in a statement.
"With regard to the planned drilling, we know the logistics of this region well, we have worked with this drill company before, and we will build upon our relationships with key geochemical and hyperspectral service companies in Reno in order to optimize the quality of the data from this maiden program," he added.
VR also revealed that it has now received final data from age date samples collected at Amsel in 2019, which showed it has the same geological age as Kinross Mining's 20 million ounce (Moz) Round Mountain gold deposit, which sits 40 km to the northwest.
Artisanal mining began in 1906 at Round Mountain, while large-scale mining by modern pit and heap leach methods commenced in 1977 and continues to this day. The deposit surpassed 20 million ounces of production last year.
VR is a junior exploration company focused on greenfield opportunities in copper and precious metals in the western United States and Canada.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com