American Eagle Gold Corp (TSX-V:AE) reported impressive assay results from NAK22-01, the first hole of its 2022 program on its flagship NAK copper-porphyry property, 85 kilometers (km) from Smithers, in the Babine copper-gold porphyry district of west-central British Columbia.
The Toronto-based company noted that all five holes drilled on NAK have intersected “broad intervals of porphyry-style mineralization from surface to end-of-hole, the longest of which was 984 meters (m)”.
Investors responded to the news, sending American Eagle Gold shares up 529% to close at $0.1850 on the TSX Venture Exchange.
NAK is a classic porphyry copper-gold target whose current 5,000m drill program tests the potential for a mineralized footprint greater than 1.5 km by 1.5 km.
According to the company, all five holes drilled to date hit broad mineralization from surface to a maximum depth of 984m downhole. Assay results for NAK22-02 to -05 are pending.
"Our objective at NAK is to discover a world-class copper-gold deposit with a high-grade core at depth. Today's results exceeded our expectations. We have encountered mineralization in every hole and intersected a wide, high-grade interval from surface on the first hole,” American Eagle CEO Anthony Moreau said in a statement.
“The bounds of the system are entirely unknown, including depth extensions of high grade. These early results set us up for an exciting remainder of 2022 and 2023," he added.
The company said that assay results from hole 1 confirm and expand upon NAK's historically discovered copper-gold South Zone, which typically shows strong gold and copper results beginning at the bedrock surface.
Mineralization is best developed in hole 01 between 29.30m (depth to the bedrock beneath glacial overburden) to 155.50m (125.78m of 1.02% CuEq). It remains strong until a depth of 251.00m (221.28m at 0.68 CuEq) within host intermediate volcanic rocks and intruding Babine Suite porphyry dykes. Mineralization through the zone is characterized by consistently high copper grades and conspicuously strong gold results, said the company. The gold appears to be associated with abundant quartz veinlets, mineralized fractures, and related dissemination.
Below 250m in depth, the hole encountered Babine Suite porphyritic intrusive rocks mineralized with fracture and vein-hosted chalcopyrite and bornite. From 784m to 819m, a zone of more intensely mineralized rock was encountered, with the robust copper results in the hole occurring between 801m and 818m (17m of 2.23% copper equivalent).
American Eagle's highlighted length-weighted assay intervals are available here. Investors can also find drill core descriptions for holes NAK22-01 to -05 here.
The five holes drilled to date are mineralized to an average of 900m depth, along a strike length of nearly 750m, said the firm, and the mineralized zone remains open in all directions.
Assays for holes 2, 3, 4, and 5 are pending, and the drilling of hole 6 is about to start. A total of seven holes and 5,500m will be completed in the 2022 drill program, according to American Eagle.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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