Sierra Nevada Gold (ASX: SNX) has commenced a 5000m RC drill programme designed to test highly prospective targets across its Colorback, New Pass and Warrior gold projects in southern Nevada, USA.
In this initial programme, SNX will test high impact targets across its portfolio, comprising the first drill testing in more than 40 years of the exciting high-grade gold New Pass vein system, where two parallel north trending veins were mined for more than 100 years.
Additionally, SNX has planned the first ever drill testing of the Gold Coin and Discovery Shaft mine areas at its Warrior project, where historical underground sampling of these mines returned outstanding results from remnant vein material that has never been drill tested.
Drilling commenced following delivery delays of the RC rig, but this has now completed commissioning activities at Colorback to begin the drilling program. Co
mbined with the core rig currently drilling at SNX’s Blackhawk Project, the addition of the RC rig is planned to enable SNX to complete its initial drill test of its entire portfolio within six months of listing on the ASX.
Colorback
The Colorback project is situated within the heart of the Battle Mountain Trend (BMT). The BMT is a remarkable gold province that hosts several world-class gold deposits with total production and reserves of more than 100Moz Au.
The giant Pipeline deposit (20Moz Au), Cortez Complex (15Moz Au) and Barrick’s recent Goldrush and Fourmile discoveries (+15Moz Au and growing) are all within 25km of the Colorback project.
Sierra Nevada’s Colorback project displays several key similarities to the nearby world-class Carlin gold mines such as the Pipeline deposit and the Cortez Complex deposits. Importantly, controlling structures from these deposits transect and intersect within the Colorback project.
Through its data acquisition and exploration programme, Sierra Nevada has identified large-scale fertile structures with the potential to host a significant Carlin style mineral system.
New Pass
The New Pass mineral system displays all the characteristics of a large-scale epithermal system. It has witnessed both historic and recent mining with vein hosted mineralisation exposed at surface.
North-south oriented gold-bearing veins are present at the historically and recently worked New Pass, Superior, Thomas West and Valley View mines and the unexploited Julie, Lander, True-Blue, and Wildcat zones. Complementary datasets across the project indicate a large-scale and highly prospective structural, hydrothermal, and geochemical setting for the formation of epithermal deposits.
With targeted drilling both down dip and along strike of already defined veins, SNX believes that a pathway to a high-grade gold resource can be mapped within 18 months.
Considerable potential exists north of the mine area within the “Saddle Target”, an area of extensive argillic and pyrite alteration displaying highly enriched zinc anomalism. A priority NW vein target is 4.5km in length and is covered by shallow post mineral Tertiary and Quaternary rocks.
Warrior
Warrior is located within the Walker Lane Trend of southern Nevada. The Walker Lane Trend is a mineral province that host numerous world-class mineral deposits including the giant Round Mountain gold deposit (20Moz Au), Comstock (8.5Moz Au, 200Moz Ag), Yerington Porphyry (4Mt Cu) and Candelaria (230Moz Ag), among others.
The Warrior Project is centred on a large historic mining centre hosted within a substantial alteration system that is prospective for high-grade vein and disseminated Au-Ag epithermal, skarn breccia and carlin style deposits. The Warrior Project exhibits many similarities to and is located just 15km southeast of the Paradise Peak high sulphidation epithermal mine (2Moz Au & 40Moz Ag).
The Warrior Project hosts a large mining camp with four main centres, each of which exploited high-grade epithermal mineralisation, with the Warrior, Hillside, Cute Maid, and Lou Mines mutually aligned on a prominent northeast lineament.
The largest of these is located at the northeast of the camp where records from the 1920s reveal bonanza grade veins were sampled, over significant vein lengths including 90m at 52.38g/t Au (Discovery Shaft Level 1), 15m at 59.93g/t Au (Discovery Shaft Winze) and 33m at 27.35g/t Au (Gold Coin Shaft).
To date, no follow up drilling has been recorded. SNX’s initial drilling programme targets the historically mined Discovery Shaft and Gold Coin mine areas, where historic sampling of remnant vein material (circa 1920s) suggest bonanza grade veins are present.
Next Steps
SNX expects the phase 1 RC drilling programme to be completed by early November 2022, with first assay results to be received by early December 2022. Together with this drilling program, SNX will have intensive exploration programs in progress across both the New Pass and Warrior Projects.
At New Pass, this includes detailed 3D infrastructure and void modelling of historic workings, together with geomechanical investigations.
Once these studies are complete and the mine workings declared safe, SNX will commence a programme of detailed underground mapping and sampling of available ore positions with a view to confirming the historic estimates of past production and prospective remnant mineralisation.
SNX is confident that a pathway to a high-grade gold resource can be outlined within 18 months. SNX will also undertake a program of geochemical sampling, mapping and drill targeting at its Warrior Project to aid in developing drill targets across this camp.
For further information please visit: https://sngold.com.au/
