Alaskan rock sample returns 50.80 grams gold for Rhyolite

Rock and soil samples from highly altered metasediments at the Paxson project in eastern Alaska have yielded some interesting results for owners Rhyolite Resources (RYE-V).

Rock sampling from the junior’s 2010 exploration program include 8.85 grams gold per tonne (weighted average) from a 7.0-metre continuous chip sample in the Shalosky zone. Three km east-southeast of the Shalosky zone, a 3.0-metre continuous chip sample in the Low zone returned 13.37 grams gold (weighted average); and at the Hunter prospect,1 km south-southeast of the Shalosky zone, a rock grab sample returned 50.80 grams gold.

The Shalosky zone was defined in 2001 when an exploration program funded by Placer Dome outlined a 1,100-metre by 500 metre, greater than 100 parts per billion, gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly.

The Paxson gold project, in the eastern Alaska Range, about 50 km southwest of Tok, consists of seven mineral claims over an expanse of 453 hectares.

Between 1998 and 2001, Grayd Resources and Placer Dome spent about $1.3 million exploring for gold deposits on and immediately next to the current Paxson property.

In 2001, Placer funded 26 line-km of gridding, 23.5 line-km of geophysics, 24 man-days of prospecting, the collection of 1,023 soil samples, the collection of 325 rock samples, 72 metres of hand trenching and 1,743 metres of diamond drilling in 12 holes, seven of which were collared on the current Paxson property for a total of 1,174.7 metres.

Re-sampling and re-logging of historic drill core this year has validated the tenor of mineralization, with hole WG01-01 returning 0.83 gram gold per tonne over 38.2 metres, including a higher grade interval averaging 6.45 grams gold per tonne over 2.1 metres. A second mineralized zone lower down in the hole returned 17.8 grams gold per tonne over 1.3 metres.

Hole WG01-02 was collared 50 metres to the northeast and returned 1.22 grams gold per tonne over the 17.4 metre interval, including a 6.9 metre interval averaging 1.98 grams gold per tonne.

During the 2010 field season, a series of eight contiguous channel samples (0.50-to-1.0 metre long) were collected roughly 50 metres west of hole WG01-01, and returned values ranging from 1.7 grams gold to 36.6 grams gold, for a length weighted average of 8.85 grams gold over 7 metres.

Rhyolite has 9.2 million shares outstanding and about $1.1million of cash in its treasury.

At presstime the Vancouver-based junior was trading at 60¢ per share. Over the last year it has traded in a range of 26¢-65¢ per share.