HighGold Mining Inc (TSX-V:HIGH, OTCQX:HGGOF) has announced an updated NI43-101 mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Johnson Tract Deposit (JT Deposit) at the company’s Johnson Tract polymetallic gold project located in coastal southcentral Alaska.
The Vancouver-based mineral exploration company's updated MRE is based on new diamond drilling completed in the second half of 2020 and 2021. The previous estimate was completed in the second quarter of 2020, added the firm.
“We are delighted to establish a high-grade Indicated Resource of more than 1 million ounces gold equivalent at Johnson Tract,” HighGold Mining CEO Darwin Green said in a statement. “The JT Deposit stands well above the crowd for grade, thickness, and a geometry which will enable lower-cost mining. It also benefits from being close to tidewater with CIRI Alaska Native Corporation land title and strategic energy metal co-products. In concert with recent metallurgical results, this new resource provides an excellent foundation for future engineering and economic studies.”
READ: HighGold Mining announces positive metallurgical test results for the Johnson Tract polymetallic project in Alaska
Green noted that the company looks forward to continuing to expand the JT Deposit and “test several other targets in the extensive exploration pipeline at Johnson Tract, including the exciting high-grade DC and Milkbone prospects.”
The company reported the following JT Deposit Mineral Resource highlights:
- Updated Indicated Resource – 3.49 million tonnes (Mt) grading 9.39 grams per ton (g/t) gold equivalent (AuEq) for 1.05 million ounce AuEq
- Updated Inferred Resource – 0.71 Mt grading 4.76 g/t AuEq for 108,000 ounce AuEq
- Growth – This signifies a 40% increase in Indicated AuEq ounces and 54% increase in total tonnes (+60% Indicated and -19% Inferred) over the 2020 MRE
- High Confidence – The company said 91% of the total AuEq ounces is in the Indicated Resource category
- Peer-Leading Thickness – Indicated resource averages 40-meter horizontal width, roughly 10 times the mineable width of most high-grade (+5 g/t) underground gold deposits
- Ideal Geometry for Low-Cost Methods of Underground Mining – The thick, subvertical deposit represents potential for lateral development from the valley floor to access the deepest and highest-grade portions of the deposit first and for gravity-assisted, bottom-up mining
- Excellent Metallurgy – High metal recoveries, including global gold recovery up to 97%, utilizing conventional processing at a coarse grind size
- Expansion Potential – Open to expansion along strike/down-dip/down-plunge with numerous high-priority property-wide targets including the Difficult Creek and Milkbone prospects
HighGold Mining recently started a US$9 million exploration program at Johnson Tract with plans to complete 13,000 meters of diamond drilling with two drill rigs currently on site. The focus of the 2022 drilling is two-fold: to continue expanding the JT Deposit; and to explore high-priority property-wide targets, including the high-grade Difficult Creek and Milkbone prospects.
The company said its plans include commissioning an onsite sample preparation facility for crushing and pulverizing drill core samples, which is expected to significantly reduce assay turnaround time and enable efficient follow-up of positive results during the 2022 drill program.
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