Vancouver-based Pretium Resources reports that its 2019 deep underground drill program confirmed there is mineralization similar to the Brucejack mine at depth and to the east of the mine workings. The mine is located about 65 km north of Stewart, British Columbia.
Two holes totaling 3,500 metres were drilled - one to the northeast and the other to the southwest - in an area that had not been drilled before. Both holes intersected gold and silver bearing quartz carbonate stockwork similar to mineralization at the Brucejack mine. They also returned anomalous copper and molybdenum mineralization indicative of a porphyry source below the Flow Dome zone.
Hole VU-1787 cut mineralized stockwork between 198 and 305 metres downhole. Visible gold was present in the core. These are the highlights: 5.56 g/t gold over 107.5 metres, including 185.50 g/t over 1.5 metres, 3.05 g/t over 0.5 metre, 6.48 g/t over 8.4 metres (including 28.00 g/t over 1.0 metre, 10.55 g/t over 1.5 metres and 6.16 g/t over 1.6 metres), 6.41 g/t over 19.5 metres (including 8.42 g/t over 4.5 metres and 18.34 g/t over 4.5 metres), 4.75 g/t over 1.5 metres, and 72.80 g/t over 1.5 metres.
Pretium is mounting a 5,000-metre grassroots drilling program. There are several intriguing targets that have the potential to host VMS and high grade epithermal gold systems similar to those at the historic Eskay Creek gold mine. Sampling, regional mapping, prospecting, airborne and ground geophysics, and hyperspectral mapping will also be done.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)