Drilling starts at Whistler (June 06, 2005)

An 8-hole drill program is under way at the Whistler gold property in Eureka Cty., Nev., held by Pacific Ridge Exploration (PEX-V).

The reverse-circulation holes will test two targets on the 3.7-sq.-mile property, about 12 miles northwest of Eureka. Both targets were outlined in a surface geochemical survey last year and confirmed by a very-low-frequency electromagnetic survey (VLF-EM) this spring.

The target areas are in sedimentary rocks flanking the west side of a Jurassic-age felsic intrusion on the Cortez gold trend. The host rocks Pacific Ridge is targeting are Devonian limestone and Mississippian shale, partly exposed and partly covered by overthrust younger rocks. There are several northeast- and northwest-striking faults in the sediments, which are the site of zones of hydrothermal brecciation.

The geochemical survey defined two areas where surface materials were high in gold and arsenic (a frequent pathfinder element for gold deposits in Nevada). The VLF-EM survey found conductive zones, which Pacific Ridge interprets as faults; these run roughly north-northwest, parallel to the long direction of the geochemical anomalies.

One geochemical anomaly, to be tested by six of the holes, is about 5,000 ft. long and coincides with hydrothermal breccias mapped in the Mississippian-aged Chainman limy-shale formation near its contact with the intrusion. The VLF-EM survey showed a network of intersecting conductors in the same area.

The second geochemical anomaly, almost 7,000 ft. long and extending to the western property line, sits over younger upper-plate sediments and also coincides with a VLF-EM conductor. Pacific Ridge believes the conductor may represent structures in the lower shales or limestones beneath the upper plate, which could be feeder zones for gold mineralization. The other two holes will test for those deeper structures.

Pacific Ridge is earning a 100% interest in the property from a private vendor by drilling a minimum of 5,000 ft. annually and making staged cash payments of US$150,000 and issuing 1.1 million shares, also in stages. The vendor keeps a 4% net smelter return royalty, half of which Pacific Ridge can buy out for US$2 million up to the time of a production decision.