Pan deposit gets a boost

Vancouver — A new resource estimate indicates that Castleworth Venture‘s (WTH-V) Pan gold deposit in Nevada holds some 467,000 oz of gold.

The findings, made by Reno-based Mine Development Associates, marks a 33% increase over previous estimates and includes 17.9 million tons of material grading 0.019 oz gold per ton in the indicated category with 8 million tons grading 0.016 oz gold in the inferred section.

The independent resource estimate, which includes two distinct mineralized zones: North Pan and South Pan-Horseshoe, uses a cut-off grade of 0.01 oz gold and is based on 476 drill holes totaling 129,255 ft.

The bulk of the drilling, some 253 holes, were collared in the Pilot Ridge area of North Pan. Out of these holes, 74 bottom in mineralization grading more than 0.01 oz per ton. At South Pan-Horseshoe, scattered drilling has defined mineralized zone measuring 1,000-by-200 ft.

Located in White Pine City, the deposit lies along the southeastern extension of the Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend, which hosts the Lone Tree, Pipeline, Cortez, Gold Bar and Archimedes deposits. Mineralization occurs in sediments primarily in the basal portions of the Pilot shale.

Exploration on the property dates back to 1978, when Lyle Campbell, a Nevada prospector, staked the property under a joint venture arrangement with Amselco, a subsidiary of British Petroleum. Over the next eight years, the partners punched 85 reverse circulation drill holes outlining a low-grade resource at what is now known as the North Pan zone. Hecla Mining (HL-N) took a shot at the project in 1986, but most of the exploratory drilling occurred between 1987 and 1992 under an Echo Bay Mines, now part of Kinross Gold (K-T), and Alta Gold joint venture. During this time over 250 drill holes were completed in the North Pan area and the South Pan zone was discovered.

By 1998, the property was under the control of Latitude Minerals (LTU-V). The junior completed a resource study, which outlined two potentially mineable resources totaling 254,000 oz of gold and drilled over 60 holes in the North and South Pan areas, as well as drill testing several new target areas dubbed Syncline, Red Hill and Horseshoe. In 2002 Latitude relinquished the property.

Early in 2003, Castleworth picked up where Latitude left off by inking a deal to acquire 11 properties in Nevada, including the Pan project. The lease arrangement calls for annual work expenditure and advance minimum royalty payments of US$140,000. The vendor retains a sliding production royalty of 2.5 to 4% of gross revenue.

“When combined with our joint venture project at Thunder Mountain, these properties provides a solid base for the future that includes known resources, excellent discovery potential, and strategic positions within three of Nevada’s most prolific trends,” says company President, John Watson.

The Thunder Mountain project lies along the western edge of the Hannapah mining district in the Tonopah Trend portion of the Walker Lane structural zone. The deformation zone is characterized by a series of parallel-to-sub-parallel northwest-trending strike-slip faults extending for hundreds of km, paralleling the Nevada-California border, south of Lake Tahoe.

The Tonopah trend is orientated east-west and defined by low-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver districts along the major Warm Springs and Kawich-Toyaibe lineaments.

Mineralization occurs along both west-northwest and north-south structural zones and comprises quartz and quartz-carbonate vein textures indicative of the upper levels of a low-sulphidation epithermal mineral system.

In the 1960s, the property was mined, on a small scale, for gold and silver. Activity was focused on a pronounced ridge of silicified rhyolite that hosts a series of high-level epithermal veins.

The junior is currently in the midst of a 2,000 metre drill program on the project with assay results expected shortly.

Castleworth can earn a half stake in the property from a subsidiary of Seabridge Gold (SEA-V) by spending US$1.5 million and issuing 1.5 million shares over three years.

At Pan, Castleworth aims to drill test two target areas for deeper, higher-grade mineralization related to “feeder” structures believed to have been the conduits for the near-surface deposits. Previous drilling showed indication of higher -grade potential with values of up to 0.22 oz gold over 5 ft and 0.14 oz gold over 20 ft.

“In the past, these deeper zones have proved challenging to find,” states Watson. “We’ve implemented detailed mapping of the most prospective areas and plan on using the pattern of near-surface mineralization and structure as vectors to locate these feeder zones.”