Pilot Gold lifts off on latest results

A small market cap can be a wonderful thing as evidenced by the market action of two different companies on Tuesday.

While Teck Resources (TCK.B-T, TCK-N) holds 60% of the TV Tower property in Turkey, it was its minority joint venture partner, Pilot Gold (PLG-T) that got all the glory from the latest drill results from the project.

In Toronto on May 10 the Pilot shares were up 9% or 27¢ to $3.42 on 814,000 shares traded, while the news had no impact on the much larger Teck, as it shares actually fell 1.7% to $48.13.

The results represented the last of the assays from the first phase of drilling on the Kucukdag and Kayali targets.

At the Kucukdag target highlight intercepts included 136.2 metres grading 4.28 grams per tonne gold, 0.68% copper, and 15.82 grams per tonne silver starting from 12.3 metres. A second hole intercepted 24.2 metres grading16.62 grams gold, 2.49% copper, and 55.21 grams silver over starting from a depth of 78.2 metres.

Over at the Kayali target the grades weren’t as impressive but the widths were still strong as one hole returned 0.87 grams gold over 114.5 metres starting from 4.5 metres depth, while a second returned 0.78 grams gold over 88.6 metres starting from 0.4 metres depth.

The near surface mineralization wasn’t a surprise as the companies focused the drills on zones of outcropping epithermal mineralization at the targets.

“Given our history of discovery and project advancement in this part of Turkey over the past seven years, and our continued success at the neighboring Halilaga copper-gold porphyry, we are well positioned to make additional discoveries on the TV Tower property,” Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, Pilot’s COO said in a statement.

The Kucukdag target is characterized by a 750 metre by 100 metre zone of strong silicification. Gold-copper-silver mineralization is related to multi-phase sulphidic breccias cutting a north-dipping sequence of silicified felsic ash and ash-lapilli tuff. The geometry and extent of this breccia development is unknown at this time and is the focus of further drilling.

The Kayali target, 8 km south of Kucukdag, comprises extensive outcroppings of massive to vuggy silica and a strong advanced argillic-argillic alteration pattern over a 2 km by 1.5 km area. Oxide gold mineralization is hosted mainly by an east west trending structural zone within a silicified lapilli tuff unit.

A second phase of drilling, that will see 15,000-metres drilled, began in April. Pilot is on the hook for $1.5 million of the costs involved in executing the program.

The company says the program will look to expand on results from Kucukdag and Kayali while exploring two additional targets.

Kucukdag and Kayali make up only two of eight high priority targets defined on the property.

TV Tower is a large, road-accessible property covering more than 65 sq-km located in the Biga District of northwest Turkey.