Sultan confirms continuity at Kena (April 09, 2002)

Vancouver The latest round of drilling by Sultan Minerals (SUL-V) on the Gold Mountain zone has confirmed that high-grade mineralization occurs in an envelope of lower-grade material on the Kena property just north of Ymir in southeastern British Columbia.

This year’s first bout of drilling comprised 4 reverse circulation holes and 11 diamond drill holes. The drilling covered less than 200 metres of the prospective gold-bearing zone in two, southerly, step-out section lines.

The reverse circulation holes returned mixed result with the first hole failing to hit target depth. Hole 2 was collared some 6 metres northwest cutting multiple zones of less than 2 grams gold per tonne with a high-value coming in at 3.3 grams gold over 2 metres from 160 metres downhole.

Moving some 100 metres northeast, hole 3 cut 6.45 grams gold over 5.1 metres from 18.3 metres downhole. This high-grade zone is enveloped by material generally grading less than 1 gram gold. The last reverse circulation hole cut a high-value of 4.21 grams gold over 1.5 metres from 45.7 metres downhole.

Switching back to diamond drill holes, hole 30 cut three higher-grade, 2 metre intervals running 8.21 grams gold from 20 metres downhole, 9.48 grams gold from 52 metres downhole and 6 grams gold from 112 metres downhole. Holes 31, 32 and 36 failed to hit higher-grade sections returning best values of 4.04 grams gold over 2 metres, 1.66 grams gold over 2 metres and 2.16 grams gold over 2 metres, respectively.

Hole 33 yielded the highest results, 4 metres averaging 19.46 grams gold from 9 metres downhole, plus a 2 metre section running 10.28 grams gold from 62 metres downhole. Holes 34 and 35 cut 2-metre sections running 7.48 grams gold from 178 metres downhole and 15.03 grams gold from 117 metres downhole, respectively. Assay results from the 4 holes are still pending.

Last year, Sultan drilled 29 holes over the 1.4-km-by-500-metre coincidental geophysical and geochemical anomaly that marks the Gold Mountain zone. Sultan considers the area prospective for both large-tonnage bulk minable targets, as well as high-grade, gold-bearing structures.

The latest results confirm that high-grade gold values occur within envelopes of lower-grade material generally averaging less than 1 gram gold. Most of the high-grade intersections lie close to the contact of the Silver King porphyry intrusion and the Elise footwall volcanics, occurring in both rock units.So far every hole drilled into the zone returned anomalous gold values with 13 of the 36 diamond drill holes yielding intervals of greater than 10 grams gold. So far, the highest grades cut on the zone came in hole 3, where 1.2 metres returned 240 grams gold, and hole 8, which returned 2 metres of 172.1 grams gold. These holes were collared 125 metres apart, covering a vertical depth of 40-190 metres.

Preliminary petrographic and alteration studies on the drill core indicate the mineralization is consistent with a porphyry-gold depositional setting. Initial metallurgical tests on two composite core samples show that the material is not refractory, with recoveries hitting 92-97% using cyanide leaching.

The Frank Lang-led junior has tabled a $500,000 budget for the next round of work, which is expected to begin next month. The next round of drilling will be aimed at the southern extension of the Gold Mountain zone, as well as reconnassiance testing of five target areas, the Silver King Mine property, the Great Western, Toughnut and Cariboo showings and the South Gold zone geochemical anomaly.