Ymir, B.C. — Having cut a narrow interval of bonanza-grade mineralization,
The program is focused on the Gold Mountain zone, in the northwestern portion of the property and within the Silver King porphyry unit, adjacent to the older Elise volcanic package.
The target area stretches 700 metres north, 700 metres south and 400 metres west of the initial discovery. Once this stepout phase is completed, areas with higher-grade gold mineralization will be targeted for follow-up delineation drilling. In addition, a second drill will test geophysical and geochemical targets north and south of the Gold Mountain zone. Permits are being sought for an additional 20 holes.
The company recently tabled the first set of drill results from this stepout program. Four holes were drilled to test a 400-by-100-metre portion of a larger coincident geophysical and geochemical anomaly. All the holes were mineralized over their entire length, and several higher-grade intersections were encountered within the pervasive low-grade gold mineralization.
Holes 8, 9 and 10 were collared along line 1100-north. Each hole represents a 75-metre stepout west of the previous hole. All the holes were drilled toward the granite-intrusive contact to the east.
Hole 8 was the bonanza hole that cut a 2-metre interval of 172.1 grams gold per tonne. With the high-grade interval cut to 34.29 grams per tonne, the hole averaged 0.92 gram gold over 207.6 metres.
Hole 9 intersected 193.6 metres grading 0.31 gram gold starting at a down-hole depth of 3.7 metres. This included a 4-metre section of 1.34 grams gold.
Hole 10 cut 178.6 metres grading 0.26 gram gold, starting at 6.7 metres down-hole. This intercept included a 23-metre interval that averaged 1.12 grams gold, as well as a 2-metre section that assayed 6.5 grams gold.
Hole 11 was collared on line 1200-north, 100 metres north of holes 9 and 10. The hole cut 345.6 metres grading 0.37 gram gold starting at 1.8 metres down-hole. This included several smaller intervals that returned higher assays: 18 metres grading 1.22 grams gold; 2 metres of 5.9 grams; 0.64 metre of 10.92 grams; and 2 metres of 5.53 grams.
To date, Sultan has completed 10 diamond drill holes at Gold Mountain. Holes 18 and 19 are currently being drilled; the former, collared on line 1600-north, 75 metres west of holes 13 and 19, was collared on line 400-north.
The Kena property was first reported as a mineralized area in a report by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1888-1889. The report stated that gold mineralization is located within a “quantity of pyritized material which . . . appears to be practically unlimited.” In 1973, the property was staked for its gold-copper potential, and it was explored by several companies until 1991. Most companies were searching for low-grade, structurally controlled copper mineralization in areas peripheral to the Silver King porphyry.
“Most of the old work, before we picked up the property, was done on the Kena Gold zone,” says Linda Dandy, project geologist for Sultan Minerals. The Kena Gold zone, which is 500 metres southeast of the Gold Mountain zone, had 43 holes (6,466 metres) drilled into it.
In early 1999, Sultan picked up the property and examined old porphyry cores left by previous operators. It identified several drill sections that warranted further sampling. Infill sampling revealed that the average grade for a large mineralized interval either remained the same or increased slightly when the gold assays from the unsampled sections were incorporated into the old logs. Sultan determined that 38 of the 43 holes previously drilled intersected extensive mineralization.
Large gold anomaly
Prior exploration at the Gold Mountain prospect was generally conducted in the volcanic rocks along the margins of the porphyry contact since it was originally believed that gold mineralization was confined to the volcanic rocks. Sultan Minerals decided to expand an early gold-in-soil geochemical survey over the porphyry unit and delineated a large gold anomaly over the intrusion that measured 2,100 by 600 metres.
Follow-up prospecting and rock sampling returned assays of up to 5.48 grams gold along the intrusive-volcanic contact and up to 2.71 grams gold from chip sampling within the intrusive.
Excavator trenching and a subsequent chip sample program from six trenches returned an average grade of 1.43 grams gold over 181.7 metres.
The Silver King porphyry is a plagioclase porphyritic stock that has undergone various phases of alteration, from propylitic and siliceous to potassic and argillic. Mineralization consists of disseminated and fracture-filling pyrite, and lesser quantities of chalcopyrite, malachite, magnetite and specular hematite. Gold-copper mineralization in the volcanics is usually associated with brecciation, silicification and potassic alteration. Associated minerals include pyrite, chalcopyrite and finely disseminated magnetite.
Preliminary petrographic and alteration studies on Sultan’s drill core have confirmed that mineralization is consistent with a porphyry gold depositional setting (known for large-tonnage deposits) and that it contains low values of contaminants such as arsenic, cadmium and lead. Initial metallurgical tests on two composite core samples show that the material is not refractory, with recoveries hitting 92-97% when cyanide leaching is used.
Several zones
Work to date has highlighted several zones on the Kena property, namely Gold Mountain, Kena Gold, Shaft/Cat, South Gold and Kena Copper.
The Kena Gold zone is hosted in silicified and pyritized brecciated volcanics that are related to dioritic intrusions. Broad zones of disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite occur with potassic alteration and silicification along the margins of the dioritic intrusions. A historic diamond drill intercept returned 1.1 grams gold over 136.9 metres, including a 31.4-metre section that averaged 2.3 grams gold.
The Shaft and Cat showings are hosted in the volcanics and associated with a diorite intrusive rock. The showings are 800 metres apart are immediately southeast and northeast, respectively, of the Gold Mountain zone. Mineralization consists of chalcopyrite, with lesser pyrite and magnetite present as fine dissemination and fracture fillings.
Previous explorers drilled five short holes into the showings. Assays returned up to 9 grams gold and 1.13% copper over 4.1 metres. Sultan Minerals confirmed earlier trench results by reporting 1.14 grams gold and 0.66% copper over 10.3 metres in the Cat trench, and 5.6 grams gold and 0.95% copper over 12 metres in the Shaft trench.
Historical drilling
A review of historical drilling suggests that the diorite unit continues for an additional 700 metres to the south, giving the Shaft and Cat zones a total strike length of 1,500 metres.
The South Gold zone is 3 km southeast of the Kena Gold zone and follows the contact between the volcanics and the Silver King porphyry. It is defined by a 700-by-200-metre gold-in-soil anomaly. Historically, only one hole tested the anomaly; it contained low-grade mineralization, with a 4.6-metre section returning 1.1 grams gold. The hole was apparently collared off of the main target area.
The Kena Copper zone is 500 metres southwest of the South Gold zone, and represents a copper-gold target hosted in dioritic intrusive rocks. Portions of the zone were tested by short underground workings and a few drill holes. An 82-metre-long adit averaged 0.16% copper, and a nearby drill hole assayed 0.18% copper over 45 metres.
Last year, Sultan collected rock samples from the area, the best of which assayed 2.87 grams gold.
Three other showings were identified and sampled last year, when Sultan acquired additional claims south of the original Kena claim block. These include the Three Friends, Euphrates and the Gold Cup showings.
The Three Friends showing returned gold values of 0.74 gram from pyritic Silver King Porphyry rocks. A grab sample from the Euphrates showing, which is situated along a shear structure, returned 9.82 grams gold, 78.7 grams silver and 0.45% copper. A sample from the Gold Cup showing, farthest to the south, returned 16.72 grams gold, 84 grams silver and 0.21% copper from heavily pyritic bands within the Silver King porphyry.
To identify further targets, Sultan has undertaken a regional program of soil sampling, prospecting and reconnaissance geological mapping over the entire 17-km length of the porphyry. So far, crews have established 70 line km of grid and collected 1,250 soil samples. Once the geochemical survey has been completed and analyzed, an induced-polarization survey will be conducted over the best targets.
Kena is a 30-minute drive from Nelson and boasts excellent infrastructure. Power, gas and rail lines pass through the project area, as does a major highway. The property is also serviced by logging roads.
Be the first to comment on "Sultan sets sights on Kena’s Gold Mountain zone"