PolarX Ltd (ASX:PXX) has launched a 3,000-metre reverse circulation (RC) campaign at the highly promising gold-silver Star Canyon target near Black Canyon, part of its Humboldt Range Project in Nevada, USA.
Ten holes are being drilled at Star Canyon, at an average depth of 150 metres for 1,500 metres, scheduled over a two-week period.
The RC drill rig will then move south to drill a further 10 holes at the Fourth of July claim block, testing multiple targets for gold-silver mineralisation over a similar-sized area.
Black Canyon is at the northern end of Humboldt Range and is less than 3 kilometres from the operational Florida Canyon Mine, which hosts 5 million ounces of gold.
Strong infill soil sampling and final channel sample assay results have given PolarX confidence that it will strike bulk-tonnage mineralisation at the northern end of the Humboldt Range during the drill program.
Highly anomalous values
Highly anomalous gold and silver values have been found in six of 11 channel samples over a cumulative length of more than 275 metres perpendicular to the estimated 645-metre strike length of altered and mineralised volcanic rocks:
- Channel 1: 54 metres at 17.3 g/t silver and 0.22 g/t gold;
- Channel 2: 72 metres at 11.7 g/t silver and 0.21 g/t gold;
- Channel 3: 175 metres at 2.2 g/t silver and 0.13 g/t gold;
- Channel 4: 48 metres at 11.4 g/t silver and 0.18 g/t gold;
- Channel 10: 6.8 metres at 4.1 g/t silver and 0.12 g/t gold; and
- Channel 11: 7.7 metres at 1.5 g/t silver and 0.19 g/t gold.
These detailed channel samples were taken within a coherent gold-in-soil anomaly measuring 645 metres by 500 metres at more than 50 parts per billion (ppb) gold, concealed under thin soils to the north and south. It remains open and untested beneath that cover.
The company says the area is now Black Canyon’s best-known target for large-tonnage, low-to-moderate grade gold-silver mineralisation.
Sampling highlights gold, silver and lead
The infill sampling highlights a very large, cohesive gold anomaly in the Star Canyon soil across a 2,300-metre by 900-metre strike at more than 30 ppb gold. It also highlights that the large gold anomaly is associated with highly anomalous levels of silver, lead and arsenic, consistent with observations of mineralised samples in the field.
Previous geochemical orientation soil surveys by the company confirmed that 30 ppb gold is considered anomalous and may represent bedrock mineralisation.
Humboldt Range Project
The Humboldt Range Project consists of 333 lode mining claims in Nevada in two claim groups: Black Canyon and Fourth of July, and is between two large-scale active mines: the Florida Canyon gold mine and the Rochester silver-gold mine.
Access to the project is straightforward, using roads off the I-80 Interstate Highway, which lies less than 15 kilometres to the west of the claims.
Humboldt Range contains geology consistent with bonanza-style epithermal gold-silver mineralisation and bulk mineable epithermal gold-silver mineralisation, both of which are well known in Nevada.