공시 • Nov 24
Headwater Gold Inc. Announces New Blind Epithermal Gold Discovery At Spring Peak, Nevada and Triples Size of Land Position
Headwater Gold Inc. reported results from five reverse circulation (“RC”) drill holes completed on its first-pass drill program at its Spring Peak Project, located in Nevada, USA, immediately adjacent to the past producing high-grade Aurora gold mine owned by Hecla Mining Company (“Hecla”). Highlights: New blind gold discovery made with drill hole SP21-03 which intersected 38.1 metres (“m”) grading 1.00 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold including 9.2 m grading 2.49 g/t gold; Four of five holes encountered significant intervals of gold mineralization beginning approximately 100 metres depth below surface; Drill results validate Headwater’s exploration model, confirming the presence of a laterally continuous gold-bearing epithermal boiling zone below a cap of silica sinter and barren alteration occurring on surface; Vein textures and multi-element geochemistry suggest the mineralization encountered occurs in the top of the targeted boiling horizon, with clear follow-up targets presented immediately down dip; The Company has expanded the Spring Peak land position through claim staking, and approximately tripled the size of the claim block since optioning the Project from Orogen Royalties Inc.; and Follow-up drilling is currently being planned by the Company. The Spring Peak Project is located in the Aurora Mining District of west-central Nevada, approximately 50 kilometres southwest of the town of Hawthorne and adjoins Hecla Mining’s Aurora mine complex. A large hydrothermal alteration cell occurs in the center of the Spring Peak Project area which is interpreted by Headwater geologists as representing the high-level manifestations of an epithermal precious metal system. Using a variety of geological and geophysical targeting tools, Headwater geologists identified several previously undrilled high-grade vein targets at depth beneath this high-level alteration cap, which were tested by the recent drilling. Headwater’s initial first-pass RC drilling program consisted of five drill holes totaling 1,350 metres. Drilling successfully intersected epithermal quartz veins at a range of elevations in multiple structures. Individual vein zones range from 1.4 to 18.3 metres in drilled width. The widest zone of veining and mineralization occurred in hole SP21-03 which intersected a fault-hosted vein zone immediately beneath a mapped silica sinter at surface. This interval returned gold values of 1.00 g/t gold over 38.1 metres, including 9.2 metres of 2.49 g/t gold, representing a new, blind gold discovery and a confirmation of the Headwater exploration model. Drill hole SP21-03 was terminated due to challenging drilling conditions while still in alteration, and only 6.1 metres beyond the reported 1.00 g/t interval. The vein textures encountered in SP21-03 range from clean, white chalcedonic quartz to finely banded chalcedonic quartz with quartz-after-platy-calcite textures, and minor stringers and clots of dark grey sulfosalts. These textures, together with the relatively low Ag:Au ratio (approximately 10:1), and the absence of appreciable base metal values, suggest SP21-03 only penetrated the very upper parts of the targeted boiling zone, with the primary high-grade target remaining at depth and yet to be drill tested. The mineralization encountered in SP21-03 is open in all directions. The nearest drill hole which penetrated to the appropriate depth is SP21-02, approximately 900 metres to the west, which ended in 16.8 m grading 0.28 g/t Au. Drill holes SP21-02, SP21-04, and SP21-05 also intercepted significant intervals of gold mineralization in stockwork quartz vein zones beginning approximately 100 metres below the modern surface; depths which were previously not tested by historic drilling. Drill hole SP21-01 returned no significant gold intercepts. In aggregate, these results demonstrate the presence of a significant >1 kilometre zone of highly-anomalous gold values in the upper portions of a widespread epithermal boiling horizon. Headwater geologists believe this to be highly encouraging, especially given the proximity and geologic similarity with the mineralization in the nearby high-grade Aurora mine area2, approximately three kilometres to the northwest. Phase II Follow-up: The Company believes that RC drilling was an efficient and cost-effective means to confirm the presence of a viable epithermal precious metal system at depth, but has inherent limitations in the depth extent to which it is practical. Future programs will include a combination of RC drilling and diamond core to better test the true width and grade of the veins encountered and better ensure target depths can be reached. Future core drilling will also implement oriented core technologies, allowing the collection of detailed structural information critical for projecting and offsetting vein intercepts. Headwater geologists are currently updating the exploration model at Spring Peak by incorporating all new information and expanding the geologic mapping and surface geochemical sampling. The extensive CSAMT resistivity geophysical data collected by previous operators on the property appears to be an excellent tool for delineating zones of silicification and veining at depth, and additional resistivity modelling efforts are being initiated to help the targeting process. The Company is in the process of planning a drill program to offset the newly discovered gold mineralization at depth and test additional portions of the strike extent of the system. Diamond core follow-up holes will be designed to offset the vein zone encountered in SP21-03 at depth, as well as other structural zones in a favorable geologic setting for the formation of high-grade veins. The Agreement allows for Headwater to acquire a 100% undivided interest, subject to retained royalties, in the Spring Peak project from Orogen Royalties Inc. (“Orogen”) by incurring exploration expenditures of USD 250,000 prior to July 2023, making a cash or share payment totaling USD 250,000 and maintaining all required underlying option payments and royalties as outlined. Orogen will retain a 0.5% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty and an option to purchase an additional 0.5% NSR royalty for USD 1,000,000. The underlying option payments include an annual lease payment commencing at USD 40,000 and escalating up to USD 60,000 (indexed to inflation) with a USD 500,000 buyout. The underlying optionor will retain a 2.5% NSR royalty of which 1.5% of the NSR may be purchased for USD 1,500,000 at any time.