PolarX Ltd (ASX:PXX) is in the midst of preparing for the first exploratory drilling campaign for the new year, finalising permits and logistics for a 20-hole reverse circulation (RC) campaign focused on exploring gold-silver targets within the Humboldt Range Project in Nevada, US.
The 3,000-metre campaign will test three gold-silver targets in the Fourth of July claims after which the drill rigs will move on to assess outcropping gold-silver mineralisation at Star Canyon in the Black Canyon claims.
PolarX expects the rigs will be mobilised later this quarter, with drilling planned to take four to six weeks.
Assays still pending for drill programs
Four major exploration programs across PolarX’s assets were completed last year. Assays are still pending, but drill core samples have confirmed mineralisation is present with:
- Massive sulphide drill intersections with visible copper sulphides from Caribou Dome, in Alaska;
- Widespread visible native copper drill intersections from the new discovery of basalt-hosted copper mineralisation at Caribou Dome, which extends over 1.1 kilometres in strike-length;
- Channel sampling of the outcropping, high priority Star Canyon gold-silver mineralisation in the Humboldt Range Project, Nevada; and
- Infill soil sampling at several gold anomalies in the Humboldt Range Project.
Strong demand for lab services, staff shortages and COVID-19 restrictions have combined to produce unprecedented delays in assay turnaround times, exacerbated by a reported cyber attack on the lab’s digital systems, which PolarX says has since been rectified.
In response to these conditions, PolarX has air-freighted duplicate massive sulphide and native copper samples from Caribou drill core to a different lab in Nevada, ensuring assays are not held back by long wait times.
These independent assays are expected in about one month, with all other outstanding assays due before the end of this quarter.
The results will be used to finalise and prioritise the 2022 exploration program in Alaska.
About PolarX
PolarX is an Australian exploration and development company with a project portfolio exclusively in the United States.
The company’s primary interest is exploration and development of the Alaska Range Project, which contains the Caribou Dome Project and the Stellar Project.
PolarX also has an interest in the high-grade Humboldt Range Gold-Silver Project in northwest Nevada, which comprises 177 lode mining claims and complements the Alaskan project, providing year-round exploration.