Royal Standard to test ‘Carlin’ potential at Goldwedge

Vancouver Several recent holes drilled by Royal Standard Minerals (RSM-V) have returned modest results from the company’s Goldwedge property in Nevada’s Manhattan district, at least relative to two spectacular holes previously pulled from the property. Even so, the company is encouraged by the results, which they believe show potential for ‘Carlin-style’ mineralization at the property.

Goldwedge was previously explored by several companies, including Sunshine Mining and Crown Resources. The historic district was originally known for its coarse, vein-type deposits, though several companies, notably Echo Bay, developed small open-pit operations in the district during the 1980s and ’90s.

Among the more impressive results from past drilling by previous operators were hole MH-72, which returned 265 ft. of 0.257 oz. gold, and hole MH-16, which returned 225 feet of 0.357 oz.

These results prompted Royal Standard to acquire and explore Goldwedge for its potential to host an underground mine. Toward that end, the company recently launched a test-mining program based on a measured and indicated resource estimated at about 300,000-450,000 tons grading between 0.3-0.5 oz. gold per ton.

After examining drill data acquired to date, however, the company believes that the carbonate-hosted structurally controlled deposit "may include a well developed, stratabound gold system proximal to the primary mineralized structural zones under development."

Recent drilling by the company has defined a thick zone of jasperoidal replacement overlying the deeper resource and extending into the shallower resource under development. Results from several recent holes testing the zone include: 75 feet of 0.033 oz. gold; 75 feet of 0.084 oz. gold; and 195 feet of 0.035 oz. gold. The company notes that a carbon zone surrounds the deposit and the silificication, a common characteristic of a ‘Carlin-style’ deposit.

Royal Standard plans more step-out drilling beyond the known structural zones to better test the extent of the carbonate-hosted disseminated gold occurrences, and to better develop the stratabound gold model for the property.