Vancouver – Drills probing beneath the Bonanza trench at the Panorama Ridge property in southern British Columbia have returned some significant near-surface gold intercepts for Goldcliff Resource (GCN-V).
The drilling followed up on a highly successful trenching effort at Bonanza, where 518 channel samples taken at 1-metre intervals from a large exposed area returned an average grade of 3.31 grams gold per tonne. Within the 156-sq. metre area, the Bonanza horizon covered 10 sq. metres and yielded channel samples averaging 27.1 grams gold.
Goldcliff set up two drilling platforms – one west and the other north of the Bonanza trench – and drilled a fan pattern of holes from each. The west-east drilling from the west set-up tested for gold mineralization related to the conformity of the skarn alteration in the sediments, while the north-south pattern from the north platform sought mineralization related to crosscutting structures.
The west set up found what it was looking for – skarn alteration hosting significant gold mineralization. Hole 72 cut 12.7 metres grading 0.54 gram gold from 22 metres depth. Hole 72 returned 1.06 gram gold over 10.8 metres from 17 metres depth, including 1 metre of 4.31 grams gold. Hole 63 hit 1.29 grams gold over 6 metres from 21 metres downhole and hole 68 cut 8.3 metres of1.13 grams gold from 26 metres down. The longest intercept came from hole 66, which returned 0.53 gram gold over 20.7 metres, starting 20 metres below surface.
Holes drilled from the north platform also encountered gold mineralization, returned intercepts generally longer and slightly lower in grade. Hole 76 returned 0.64 gram gold over 15.3 metres from 30 metres depth, hole 78 cut 18.4 metres averaging 0.55 gram gold from 27 metres downhole, and hole 80 hit 14 metres carrying 0.53 gram gold from 25 metres depth.
The Bonanza horizon varies in width from 6 to 21 metres; the depth extent is as yet undetermined. Bonanza is on the southwest, downslope portion of the York-Viking zone, which is the largest of three gold zones at Panorama Ridge. The Nordic, York-Viking, and Tower gold zones are spread along a 1-km long northeast-southwest line.
Goldcliff discovered gold mineralization at Panorama Ridge in 2000 while prospecting new logging road outcrops. The property hosts an area of gold mineralization related to silica-iron alteration, also known as skarn, in sedimentary rocks that covers 2 sq. km on surface.
The company was not prospecting in uncharted territory – Panorama Ridge is 4 km east of the historical Plate-Mascot nickel mine that produced 2.5 million oz. gold. Both are near Hedley, which is some 230 km east of Vancouver.
On news of the Bonanza drilling results Goldcliff gained 1.5¢ to close at 8.5¢. The company has a 52-week trading range of 5¢ to 39.5¢ and has 50 million shares outstanding.
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