White Gold Corp. (TSX-V: WGO) (OTCQX: WHGOF) (FRA: 29W) is pleased to report positive assay results for its 2022 diamond drilling program on the Ryan’s Surprise target, which is located approximately 2km west of its flagship Golden Saddle and Arc deposits and 11km south of the Company’s VG deposit on the Ryan’s Trend, a 6.5km long x 1km wide north-northwest trend of anomalous gold and arsenic in soils (Figure 1). Hole WHTRS22D029 encountered several zones of significant gold mineralization including 5.34 g/t Au over 10.85m and represents a 50m extension of mineralization along strike to the southeast. A mineralized footprint at the Ryan’s Surprise target of approximately 450m east-west by 450m north-south and to a vertical depth of 450m has been defined to date which remains open in all directions (Figure 2). The Golden Saddle and Arc deposits have a combined mineral resource of 1,139,900 ounces Indicated at 2.28 g/t Au and 402,100 ounces Inferred at 1.39 g/t Au(1) and the VG deposit hosts an Inferred gold resource of 267,600 ounces at 1.62 g/t Au(2). These assays represent positive results from the Company’s $6 million 2022 exploration program on its extensive and underexplored 350,000 hectare land package in the emerging White Gold District, Yukon, supported by strategic partners including Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX: AEM, NYSE: AEM) and Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC).
“We are very pleased to have further expanded and infilled the large footprint of gold mineralization at the Ryan’s Surprise. Mineralization remains open in all directions, with Hole 29 this year ranking amongst the best holes drilled to date at this target. We believe that the Ryan’s Surprise target has the ability to meaningfully increase the size of our significant gold resources and look forward to conducting an initial resource estimate at this target which hosts high-grade and bulk tonnage mineralization. We also look forward to the results from the drilling on several other prospective targets on the Ryan’s Trend to demonstrate additional gold mineralization along the trend and the potential for further expansion of our significant gold resources in this area,” stated David D’Onofrio, CEO.
Maps accompanying this news release can be found at https://whitegoldcorp.ca/news/.
Highlights:
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4b2a9ef6-32eb-4417-bff0-3ea97e3ef2d0
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6f675858-4c1f-4e8f-b104-a34142930696
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/77302b6f-3691-4be5-8f43-c66d5d5620b5
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6cdcf243-ae98-42db-a71c-9b321ea3506c
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dcc9172b-c17e-4910-9fc0-138e3f7c762c
2022 Exploration Program
The 2022 diamond drilling program at Ryan’s Surprise and Ulli’s Ridge comprised 9 holes totalling 2,685m which further tested 3 separate target areas with the follow objectives:
1) | Drilling at Ryan’s Surprise to provide sufficient drill spacing to conduct an initial mineral resource estimate; | |
2) | The gap area between the Ryan’s Surprise and Ulli’s Ridge targets to identify the possible continuation of mineralization at the Ryan’s Surprise to the south and if Ryan’s Surprise and Ulli’s Ridge may form part of the same mineralized zone; and | |
3) | The area around the newly discovered high-grade gold zone at Ulli’s Ridge, where hole WHTULR21D004 intersected 6.94 g/t Au over 19.5m as well as an untested area of the soil anomaly 300m northwest of the high-grade discovery. |
Results from the Gap and Ulli’s Ridge areas are pending and will be announced in due course as results are received and interpreted.
Ryan’s Surprise Target
Gold mineralization was initially discovered at Ryan’s Surprise by Kinross in 2011 with diamond drill hole WGRS11D0003 returning 6.34 g/t Au over 6.56 m and 3.88 g/t Au over 3.00m. Subsequent drilling by the Company since 2018 has continued to encounter significant gold mineralization in multiple zones which remain open along strike and down-dip with grades up to 20.64 g/t over 6.10m (see Company News Release dated Sep. 6, 2018). In 2019, maiden diamond drilling at Ryan’s Surprise intersected 2.10 g/t Au over 31.78m in WHTRS19D012 (see Company News Release dated Sep. 25, 2019) and diamond drilling in 2020 returned several high-grade gold intercepts including 17.40 g/t Au over 3.47m in hole WHTRS20D013, 10.96 g/t Au over 3.76m in hole WHTRS20D017, and 8.69 g/t Au over 12.30m in hole WHTRS20D018 (see Company News Release dated Oct. 14, 2020). In 2021, diamond drilling further expanded gold mineralization and returned gold intercepts including 10.36 g/t Au over 3.25m in WHTRS21D026, 1.66 g/t Au over 25.50m in WHTRSD020 and 1.88 g/t Au over 15.00m in WHTRS21D019 (see Company News Release dated Nov. 8, 2021).
The geology of the Ryan’s Surprise area consists of two primary lithological packages, an upper hanging wall mafic to ultramafic package comprising amphibolite and pyroxenite, and an underlying metasedimentary sequence of metaquartzite, biotite-quartz-feldspar gneiss and minor biotite schist. The contact between the two packages strikes northwest, is relatively flat-lying, and appears to be a possible thrust fault. Ryan’s Surprise is located along the broader 6.5km long north-northwest gold-arsenic geochemical trend (“Ryan’s Trend”). Gold mineralization at the Ryan’s Surprise target is hosted within a series of sub-parallel, en echelon style vein-filled fractures and structures which range in width between <1m to >10m, and dip steeply to the SSW. Located less than 1km away and within the Ryan’s Trend, the Ulli’s Ridge target may represent the continued extension of these vein sets observed at Ryan’s Surprise. Additional extensional drilling in 2022 to test the continuity of the zone between the two targets was completed, and results of this drilling will be announced in due course.
Drilling at Ryan’s Surprise Target
Four holes were drilled at the Ryan’s Surprise target to provide sufficient drill spacing required to carry out an initial mineral resource estimate. The highlight of this drilling was hole WHTRS22D029 which intersected an upper zone grading 1.26 g/t Au over 11.15 m from 99.85 m downhole, and a lower main zone which returned 5.35 g/t Au over 10.85 m from 266.50 m downhole. Higher grade subintervals within this latter zone included 37.70 g/t Au over 0.85m and 21.30 g/t Au over 0.95m. These zones remain open to the east and down-dip and additional diamond drilling is recommended to further expand the mineralization. Hole WHTRS22D032 which was drilled in the central portion of Ryan’s Surprise intersected broad zones of mineralization including 0.58 g/t Au over 17.50 m from 179.0m downhole and 0.69 g/t Au over 14.35 from 315.25m. Higher grade mineralization was also encountered, including 4.47 g/t over 1.40 m from 95.30 m and 8.03 g/t Au over 0.55m from 219.65m. The Company is currently updating the mineralization model for Ryan’s Surprise in preparation for an initial mineral resource estimate which is expected to be completed in 2023.
Table 1. Summary of Significant 2022 Diamond Drilling Results at Ryan’s Surprise Target, White Gold property.
Hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m)* | Au (g/t) ** |
WHTRS22D029 | 75.00 | 79.50 | 4.50 | 2.76 |
99.85 | 111.00 | 11.15 | 1.26 | |
incl. | 99.85 | 102.70 | 2.85 | 2.68 |
and | 107.25 | 110.00 | 2.75 | 2.06 |
175.95 | 176.45 | 0.50 | 7.76 | |
204.35 | 204.85 | 0.50 | 4.83 | |
266.50 | 277.35 | 10.85 | 5.34 | |
incl. | 266.50 | 267.35 | 0.85 | 37.70 |
and | 271.20 | 272.15 | 0.95 | 21.30 |
WHTRS22D030 | 157.05 | 162.00 | 4.95 | 1.02 |
WHTRS22D031 | 69.50 | 71.00 | 1.50 | 0.97 |
238.00 | 238.85 | 0.85 | 1.76 | |
WHTRS22D032 | 95.30 | 96.70 | 1.40 | 4.47 |
151.75 | 153.25 | 1.50 | 1.91 | |
179.00 | 196.50 | 17.50 | 0.58 | |
213.90 | 216.20 | 2.30 | 1.78 | |
219.65 | 220.20 | 0.55 | 8.03 | |
315.25 | 329.60 | 14.35 | 0.69 | |
incl. | 315.25 | 317.05 | 1.80 | 2.88 |
* All drill hole intercepts reported herein are core lengths. Currently there is insufficient data to estimate true thicknesses. | ||||
** Gold assays are uncapped. |
Table 2. Collar details for 2022 Diamond Drill Holes at the Ryan’s Surprise and Ulli’s Ridge targets.
Hole ID | Collar Location (UTM NAD83, Zone 7)
|
Dip | Azimuth | Length | ||
Easting (m) | Northing (m) | Elevation (m) | (deg) | (deg) | (m) | |
WHTRS22D029 | 574,323 | 7,004,413 | 741 | -60 | 355 | 303.0 |
WHTRS22D030 | 574,212 | 7,004,557 | 756 | -65 | 0 | 200.0 |
WHTRS22D031 | 574,039 | 7,004,533 | 742 | -60 | 25 | 320.0 |
WHTRS22D032 | 574,091 | 7,004,371 | 681 | -60 | 20 | 411.0 |
TOTAL | 1,234.0 |
QA/QC
Analytical work for the 2022 diamond drilling program was performed by Bureau Veritas, an internationally recognized analytical services provider, at its North Vancouver, British Columbia laboratory. Sample preparation was carried out at its Whitehorse, Yukon facility. All diamond drill core samples were prepared using the PRP70-250 package, where samples were weighed, dried, and crushed to greater than 70% passing a 2mm sieve, then pulverized to greater than 85% passing 75 microns). Core were then analyzed in accordance with BV’s FA430 and MA250 packages, for both gold analysis by fire assay (30g fire assay with AAS finish) and ultra-trace multi-element ICP analysis (0.25 g, 4 acid digestion and ICP-MS analysis).
The reported diamond drilling sampling program work was completed using industry standard procedures, including a quality assurance/quality control (“QA/QC”) program consisting of the insertion of standards and blank samples into the sample stream. BV also runs a comprehensive QA/QC program of standards, duplicates, and blanks within each sample stream.
About White Gold Corp.
The Company owns a portfolio of 17,584 quartz claims across 30 properties covering approximately 350,000 hectares representing over 40% of the Yukon’s emerging White Gold District. The Company’s flagship White Gold property hosts the Company’s Golden Saddle and Arc deposits which have a mineral resource of 1,139,900 ounces Indicated at 2.28 g/t Au and 402,100 ounces Inferred at 1.39 g/t Au(1). Mineralization on the Golden Saddle and Arc is also known to extend beyond the limits of the current resource estimate. The Company’s recently acquired VG Deposit also hosts an Inferred gold resource of 267,600 ounces at 1.62 g/t Au(2). Regional exploration work has also produced several other new discoveries and prospective targets on the Company’s claim packages which border sizable gold discoveries including the Coffee project owned by Newmont Corporation with Measured and Indicated Resources of 2.17 Moz at 1.46 g/t Au, and Inferred Resources of 0.50 Moz at 1.32 g/t Au(3), and Western Copper and Gold Corporation’s Casino project which has Measured and Indicated Resources of 14.8 Moz Au and 7.6 Blb Cu and Inferred Resources of 6.3 Moz Au and 3.1 Blb Cu(4). For more information visit www.whitegoldcorp.ca.
(1) See White Gold Corp. technical report titled “Technical Report for the White Gold Project, Dawson Range, Yukon Canada”, Effective Date May 15, 2020, Report Date July 10, 2020, prepared by Dr. Gilles Arseneau, P.Geo., and Andrew Hamilton, P.Geo., available on SEDAR.
(2) See White Gold Corp. technical report titled “Technical Report for the QV Project, Yukon, Canada”, Effective Date October 15, 2021, Report Date November 15, 2021, available on SEDAR.
(3) See Newmont Corporation news release titled “Newmont Reports 2021 Mineral Reserves of 93 Million Gold Ounces and 65 Million Gold Equivalent Ounces”, dated February 24, 2022: https://www.newmont.com/investors/news-release/default.aspx.
(4) See Western Copper and Gold Corporation technical report titled “Casino project, Form 43-101F1 Technical Report Feasibility Study, Yukon Canada”, Effective Date June 13, 2022, Issue Date August 8, 2022, prepared by Daniel Roth, PE, P.Eng., Mike Hester, F Aus IMM, John M. Marek, P.E., Laurie M. Tahija, MMSA-QP, Carl Schulze, P.Geo., Daniel Friedman, P.Eng., Scott Weston, P.Geo., available on SEDAR.
Qualified Person
Terry Brace, P.Geo. and Vice President of Exploration for the Company is a “qualified person” as defined under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.
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