Mr. Tara Christie reports
BANYAN INTERCEPTS EXTENSIVE MINERALIZED ZONE AT AUREX-MCQUESTEN GOLD PROJECT, YUKON
Banyan Gold Corp. has released analytical results from three additional diamond drill holes from the recently completed 12-hole, 2018 exploration campaign on the Aurex-McQuesten property, central Yukon, which is located where two highly mineralized belts conjoin: Alexco Resource Corp.'s high-grade silver deposits and Victoria Gold's Eagle project, which is currently being constructed and scheduled to produce over 200,000 ounces of gold starting in second quarter 2019.
"The results from these three additional infill drill holes from the McQuesten zone of the Aurex-McQuesten gold project continue to demonstrate the potential for a recently recognized near-surface gold-mineralized target with economic potential," stated Tara Christie, president and chief executive officer. "It was postulated, before this season's drill program began, that the target area contained near-surface gold mineralization. Thus far, the broad zones of mineralization intersected with Banyan's drilling have averaged 0.57 gram per tonne gold, validating the newly developed geologic model. The McQuesten zone has existing infrastructure located just 100 m west of the main Yukon government highway between Mayo and Keno and just 50 m north of the all-season road to Victoria Gold. This access combined with adjacent existing power lines, and the Victoria Gold heap leach mine being constructed less than 40 kilometres away, gives this property significant advantages in economics. The average grade of the mineral reserve at Victoria Gold's Eagle project is 0.67 g/t."
Assays from the three additional holes received are presented in the summary table, with highlights including:
- 113.0 metres of 0.74 g/t Au from 63.5 metres in DDH MQ-18-34:
- Including 7.1 metres of 1.28 g/t Au from 75.5 metres;
- 94.9 metres of 0.64 g/t Au from 8.9 metres in DDH MQ-18-37:
- Including 10.5 metres of 1.09 g/t Au from 23.0 metres;
- And including 3.6 metres of 5.40 g/t Au from 100.2 metres.
These three holes along with the four holes released (see news release dated Oct. 24, 2018) and hole MQ-18-36 (assays for which remain pending), were designed to test and infill a 500-metre-wide zone of the downdip projection of the McQuesten gold zone. The McQuesten gold zone represents the surface expression of an approximately 90-metre-thick, continuous calcareous package that transects the area and is interpreted to host to gold mineralization preferentially within retrograde skarn-related altered horizons.
HIGHLIGHTED RESULTS FROM MCQUESTEN GOLD ZONE DRILLING PROGRAM
Drill From To Interval Au
hole (m) (m) (m) (g/t)
MQ-18-34 63.5 176.5 113.0 0.74
including 63.5 65.0 1.5 1.31
including 75.5 82.6 7.1 1.28
including 86.5 87.5 1.0 1.03
including 92.0 93.5 1.5 3.91
including 118.7 121.0 2.3 1.06
including 124.7 126.4 1.8 1.51
including 132.0 133.0 1.0 1.14
including 137.5 139.0 1.5 11.0
including 143.5 145.0 1.5 0.93
including 149.5 151.0 1.5 0.95
including 167.2 167.8 0.6 17.8
including 170.5 176.5 6 2.21
MQ-18-35 45.0 120.7 75.7 0.28
including 45.0 46.5 1.5 1.70
including 51.0 52.5 1.5 1.04
including 79.5 81.0 1.5 0.94
including 109.2 111.7 2.5 1.18
MQ-18-37 8.9 103.8 94.9 0.64
including 8.9 9.8 0.9 1.78
including 12.8 13.8 1.0 1.25
including 23.0 33.5 10.5 1.09
including 44.0 45.5 1.5 1.52
including 56.7 62.5 5.8 1.66
including 64.7 65.7 1.0 0.92
including 70.0 71.5 1.5 1.11
including 80.5 82.0 1.5 2.06
including 87.4 88.9 1.5 0.96
including 100.2 103.8 3.6 5.40
Completion of 2018 exploration program -- Aurex-McQuesten gold project
The 2018 drill program at Aurex-McQuesten consisted of 12 diamond drill holes totalling 1,414 metres of NTW-sized core completed from 11 drill pads. The 2018 drill program targeted a 500-metre-wide section of the McQuesten gold zone, testing its on-strike extension potential following upon a gold-in-soil anomaly first identified in a 2017 Banyan soil survey north of the McQuesten gold zone. The first eight holes (MQ-18-30 to MQ-18-37) were designed to infill a 500-metre-wide section of the downdip projection of the McQuesten gold zone. These holes were on section with historic holes and together tested a volume of about 12 million cubic metres of the interpreted mineralized block with a nominal drill section spacing of 100 m and nominal in section drill spacing of 50 metres.
The final four holes of the Aurex-McQuesten 2018 program were designed to test:
- A gold-in-soil anomaly identified in the 2017 soil survey north of the McQuesten gold zone (MQ-18-38);
- The on-strike extension of the McQuesten gold zone east of the main 500-metre-wide calacerous block tested by the first eight holes (MQ-18-39 to MQ-18-41).
In conjunction with the diamond drilling program, one trench (108 metres) was completed in the McQuesten gold zone to further support the newly generated geologic model.
Additionally, a property-wide soil survey was carried out covering approximately 12 square kilometres with line and station spacing of 100 m and 25 m, respectively. These samples are currently being assessed by XRF (X-ray fluorescence) techniques and these results will serve to guide next season's planned definition drilling program.
Detailed plan maps and drill hole sections in support of these released analytical drill hole results will be made available on the company's website.
Information on Victoria Gold's Eagle project
Victoria Gold is currently constructing the Eagle gold project, just 40 km to the northwest of the Aurex-McQuesten. Full information on this project and its feasibility can be found on its website and the details on the reserve, dated Sept. 12, 2016, mentioned in this release are in the associated table.
EAGLE AND OLIVE MINERAL RESERVE
Type Ore Diluted grade Contained gold
(mt) (g/t) (koz)
Eagle crushed ore 101 0.72 2,330
Olive crushed ore 7 0.95 200
Total crushed ore 108 0.73 2,530
Eagle run-of-mine ore 15 0.27 133
Total 123 0.67 2,663
Analytical method
All drill core samples collected from the 2018 McQuesten program were analyzed at Bureau Veritas Minerals of Vancouver, B.C., utilizing the aqua regia digestion ICP-MS 36-element AQ200 analytical package with FA450 50-gram Fire Assay with AAS finish for gold on all samples. All core samples were split on-site at Banyan's core processing facilities in Elsa, Yukon. Once split, half samples were placed back in the core boxes with the other half of split samples sealed in poly bags with one part of a three-part sample tag inserted within. Samples were delivered by Banyan personnel or a dedicated expediter to the Bureau Veritas, Whitehorse preparatory laboratory where samples are prepared and then shipped to Bureau Veritas's Analytical laboratory in Vancouver, B.C. for pulverization and final chemical analysis. A robust system of standards, ¼ core duplicates and blanks was implemented in the 2018 exploration drilling program and was monitored as chemical assay data became available.
Technical information
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul D. Gray, PGeo, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Banyan Gold Corp.
Banyan is a growth-stage gold exploration company whose flagship property, the Hyland gold project, lies 70 kilometres northeast of Watson Lake, Yukon, along the southeast end of the Tintina gold belt.
The Hyland main zone indicated gold resource estimate, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, at a 0.3-gram-per-tonne-gold-equivalent cut-off, contains 8.6 million tonnes grading 0.85 g/t gold equivalent for 236,000 AuEq ounces with an inferred mineral resource of 10.8 million tonnes grading 0.83 g/t AuEq for 288,000 AuEq ounces.
Cut-off grade In situ Au Ag AuEq
(g/t AuEq) tonnes Grade Ounces Grade Ounces Grade Ounces
(g/t) (g/t) (g/t)
Indicated
0.3 8,637,000 0.78 216,000 7.04 1,954,000 0.85 236,000
Inferred
0.3 10,784,000 0.77 266,000 5.32 1,845,000 0.83 288,000
Notes:
(1) Mineral resources, which are not mineral reserves, do not have demonstrated
economic viability. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative
accuracy of the estimate.
(2) Mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.3 gram per tonne
gold equivalent. Gold equivalent grade is based on $1,350 per ounce gold and
$17 per ounce silver and assumes a 100-per-cent recovery. The gold equivalent
calculation does not apply any adjustment factors for difference in
metallurgical recoveries of gold and silver. This information can only be
derived from definitive metallurgical testing, which has yet to be completed.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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