NAK’s Near Surface South Zone Drill Highlights:
American Eagle Gold Corp. (TSX-V: AE) (OTCQB: AMEGF) is pleased to announce the confirmation of high-grade mineralization extending east of the South Zone, toward the IP Embayment Zone, with NAK24-28 intersecting over 100 meters of 1.11% CuEq from near surface (see plan map). Mineralization within the gold-rich South Zone was also extended northwest, in hole NAK24-26, which intersected 50 m of 1.01 % CuEq from surface, extended 457 metres to depth, and carried a grade of nearly 0.4% CuEq throughout. NAK24-24, which was drilled northerly, intersected continuous mineralization from surface to a total depth of 951 m, returning 906 m of 0.36% CuEq; it links the North and South Zones below their surface expressions.
High Grade within a Broad System
The Company believes NAK represents an extensive, well-mineralized system whose limits remain open. The drill holes reported in this News Release provide solid evidence for a system with large, growing dimensions ranging from minimums of 1.2 kilometres north-south, 350 metres east-west, and approximately 850 metres deep (click here for 3D Section). In addition, and with a mind toward economic viability for this large-scale project, this year’s near-surface, higher-grade intercepts from the South Zone in drill holes such as NAK24-19, -21, -23, -26 and -28, will be instrumental in an early and cost-effective unlocking of NAK’s full potential. Future drilling will aim to add to both the size of the system and to further delineate higher-grade nearer-surface parts, with an immediate goal of better understanding and tracking out the newly discovered, visually rich mineralization encountered in some of our latest drill holes in the north (NAK24-33, -35, -37, and -38), to extend the system to the northeast (see northerly hole map). In the south, some of the Company’s most recent holes extend high-grade near surface mineralization to the east and southeast. Together, the Company’s latest holes are suggestive of the potential to extend mineralization even farther eastward, and perhaps around the entire sub-circular perimeter of NAK’s Babine Porphyry Stock (see “bluesky donut”).
“NAK is advancing towards establishing a substantial mineralized volume, with two distinct high-grade near-surface zones, linked at depth and with remaining untested near-surface potential, along with emerging and exciting discovery and expansion potential in both the north and southeast. NAK has long stood out for its extensive mineralized and altered footprint. As our Company continues to explore along and outward from the margin of the Babine Porphyry Stock, that footprint continues to show significant growth potential around its circumference. With its favorable geographic setting, characterized by low-lying terrain, excellent road access, and cost-effective exploration, the NAK project shows promising exploration potential and a bright future,” stated CEO Anthony Moreau.
Update on Drilling at the NAK Project:
The most recent holes drilled at NAK, for which the Company awaits assays, have largely focused on the expansion of the North (Copper) zone, and have been drilled toward the east, northeast, and north. These holes have encountered broad intervals of disseminated and vein-hosted chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite mineralization that are commonly hosted in distinctive pale coloured seriate textured intrusive rocks that cut and are distinct from the Babine Porphyry Stock. In addition, broad intervals of chalcedonic quartz stockwork and hydrothermal breccia, variably mineralized with chalcopyrite and pyrite, and with subordinate intervals of bornite and molybdenite, were encountered in these holes, and were mainly hosted by rocks of the Babine Porphyry Stock, marginal to the seriate textured intrusive rocks. Assays are currently pending for these holes, and for several other holes drilled farther south.
Plan Map, Long Section and Drill Core Images:
NAK24-28 Assay Results (Table 1) and Details*
Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Mo ppm | CuEq (%) |
NAK24-28 | 47 | 148 | 101 | 0.35% | 0.96 | 3.3 | 34 | 1.11% |
Within | ||||||||
NAK24-28 | 21 | 165 | 144 | 0.29% | 0.74 | 2.47 | 45 | 0.90% |
Within | ||||||||
NAK24-28 | 21 | 472 | 451 | 0.18% | 0.28 | 1.17 | 50 | 0.43% |
* Copper Equivalent (CuEq) shown in Tables for drill intersections are calculated on a basis of US$ 3.75/lb for Cu, US$ 1,900/oz for Au, US$ 20/oz for Ag and US$ 25/lb for Mo, with 80% metallurgical recoveries assumed for all metals (Since it’s unclear what metals will be the principal products, assuming different recoveries is premature at this stage). The formula is: CuEq. = Cu % + (Au grade in g/t x (Au recovery / Cu recovery) x [Au price ÷ 31] / [Cu price x 2200]) + (Ag grade in g/t x (Ag recovery / Cu recovery) x [Ag price ÷ 31] / [Cu price x 2200] + (Mo grade in % x (Mo recovery / Cu recovery) x [Mo price x 2200] / [Cu price x 2200]). The assays have not been capped.
NAK24-28 was a step-out drill hole targeting an area toward the IP Embayment Zone. It was collared from the same location as NAK22-10, and drilled southeast, parallel to NAK24-19. It extends the near-surface high gold grade mineralization area of the South Zone farther east, and encountered a broad zone of copper-bearing sedimentary rocks and mafic dykes that lie well beyond the limits of historical drilling.
NAK24-26 Assay Results (Table 3) and Details*
Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Mo ppm | CuEq (%) |
NAK24-26 | 43 | 93 | 50 | 0.26 | 0.95 | 1.18 | 47 | 1.01 |
Within | ||||||||
NAK24-26 | 43 | 500 | 457 | 0.17 | 0.23 | 0.81 | 52 | 0.39 |
Within | ||||||||
NAK24-26 | 43 | 586 | 543 | 0.16 | 0.2 | 0.77 | 61 | 0.36 |
Including | ||||||||
NAK24-26 | 43 | 176 | 133 | 0.17 | 0.5 | 0.81 | 34 | 0.56 |
And Including | ||||||||
NAK24-26 | 355 | 500 | 145 | 0.25 | 0.14 | 1.28 | 59 | 0.4 |
NAK24-26 was drilled to the northwest from the same location as NAK24-21 and 24, and like those holes, it helps expand the high-grade mineralized footprint of the gold-enriched South Zone. NAK24-26 returned 50 metres of 1.01% Copper Equivalent from surface. Mineralization transitioned gradually from more weakly copper-mineralized and more strongly gold-bearing quartz stockwork veining, to zones of bornite and chalcopyrite mineralization occurring as disseminations and in veins. The intensity of mineralization varied somewhat, but was broadly consistent, including 144 m of 0.40% CuEq from 355 m.
NAK24-24 Assay Results (Table 5) and Details*
Hole | From | To | Length | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Mo ppm | CuEq (%) |
NAK24-24 | 45 | 951 | 906 | 0.19 | 0.17 | 1.03 | 42 | 0.36 |
Including | ||||||||
NAK24-24 | 45 | 152 | 107 | 0.23 | 0.53 | 0.98 | 36 | 0.65 |
And Including | ||||||||
NAK24-24 | 790 | 916 | 126 | 0.37 | 0.23 | 2.15 | 46 | 0.60 |
NAK24-24 emphasizes the size and bulk grade potential of the NAK porphyry system by confirming the connectivity of NAK’s North and South Zones, and extending the system to a full 1.1 kilometres from south to north. The hole was drilled to the north from the same location as drill holes NAK24-21 and -26, and was mineralized consistently along its length, averaging 0.36% Copper Equivalent over 906 metres. It was collared within the South Zone, and terminated to the north of NAK23-12, within bornite veined Babine Porphyry Stock granodiorite. The hole traversed through variably mineralized conglomerate and sandstone, with the strongest copper mineralization encountered at depth.
NAK24-22 Assay Results (Table 5) and Details*
Hole | From | To | Length | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Mo ppm | CuEq (%) |
NAK24-22 | 40 | 944 | 905 | 0.16 | 0.04 | 1.05 | 37 | 0.23 |
Including | ||||||||
NAK24-22 | 281 | 944 | 663 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 1.29 | 44 | 0.26 |
And Including | ||||||||
NAK24-22 | 814 | 944 | 130 | 0.27 | 0.04 | 2.39 | 61 | 0.36 |
And Including | ||||||||
NAK24-22 | 616 | 716 | 100 | 0.30 | 0.11 | 2.32 | 39 | 0.43 |
NAK24-22 returned 904 m of 0.23 % CuEq from surface, including 99.6 m of 0.43% CuEq from 616.4 m. Mineralization is dominantly hosted as stringers and disseminations in conglomerate and sandstone, as well as narrow intercepts of mineralized dyking. NAK24-22 also encountered a 6.4 m intercept of bornite mineralized monzonitic dyking, identical in character to the well mineralized intercepts in NAK22-04 and NAK22-02. This dyke, and a broader envelope of strongly mineralized host granodiorite, returned 17 m of 0.62 % Cu. It provides further evidence that a later stage phase of well-mineralized dyking intrudes the main Babine Porphyry Stock.
NAK24-25 Assay Results (Table 4) and Details*
Hole | From | To | Length | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Mo ppm | CuEq (%) |
NAK24-25 | 32 | 923 | 891 | 0.14 | 0.04 | 0.65 | 38 | 0.20 |
Including | ||||||||
NAK24-25 | 757 | 860 | 103 | 0.37 | 0.10 | 2.22 | 62 | 0.51 |
And Including | ||||||||
NAK24-25 | 319 | 860 | 542 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.84 | 47 | 0.26 |
NAK24-25 returned 891 m of 0.20% CuEq from surface, including 103 m of 0.51% CuEq from 757 m. As with NAK24-22, mineralization was dominantly hosted within conglomerate and sandstone. Some notable zones of skarn-like copper sulfide replacement occur within locally calcareous lenses of rock hosted by conglomerate and sandstone at depth and immediately adjacent to the Babine Porphyry Stock. This style of mineralization, which yielded 0.51% CuEq over 103 metres, is strongly suggestive of the potential at NAK for the presence of broader zones of exceptionally high grade mineralization hosted within calcareous host rocks in the vicinity of the stock.
Collar details for holes drilled in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 drill program: Table 6
Hole | UTM_Grid | UTM_East | UTM_North | Azimuth | Dip | TD | News Release |
NAK22-01 | NAD83_Z9 | 675281 | 6129359 | n/a | -90 | 881 | 07-Nov-22 |
NAK22-02 | NAD83_Z9 | 675281 | 6129359 | 340 | -70 | 984 | 05-Dec-22 |
NAK22-03 | NAD83_Z9 | 675201 | 6129658 | n/a | -90 | 941 | 25-Jan-23 |
NAK22-04 | NAD83_Z9 | 675181 | 6129862 | n/a | -90 | 548 | 25-Jan-23 |
NAK22-05 | NAD83_Z9 | 675105 | 6130067 | n/a | -90 | 824 | 02-Mar-23 |
NAK22-06 | NAD83_Z9 | 675376 | 6129782 | 260 | -77 | 920 | 02-Mar-23 |
NAK22-07 | NAD83_Z9 | 675181 | 6129862 | 170 | -81 | 874 | 02-Mar-23 |
NAK23-08 | NAD83_Z9 | 675341 | 6129341 | 270 | -60 | 881 | 09-Aug-23 |
NAK23-09 | NAD83_Z9 | 675990 | 6129284 | 20 | -65 | 837 | 14-Sep-23 |
NAK23-10 | NAD83_Z9 | 675357 | 6129415 | 270 | -60 | 855 | 19-Sep-23 |
NAK23-11 | NAD83_Z9 | 675215 | 6129340 | 270 | -60 | 836 | 19-Sep-23 |
NAK23-12 | NAD83_Z9 | 674999 | 6129846 | 80 | -70 | 929 | 17-Oct-23 |
NAK23-13 | NAD83_Z9 | 675205 | 6129773 | 270 | -60 | 620 | 08-Jan-24 |
NAK23-14 | NAD83_Z9 | 675260 | 6129934 | 260 | -70 | 749 | 08-Jan-24 |
NAK23-15 | NAD83_Z9 | 675211 | 6129232 | 270 | -60 | 617 | 08-Jan-24 |
NAK23-16 | NAD83_Z9 | 675166 | 6129479 | 265 | -65 | 743 | 08-Jan-24 |
NAK23-17 | NAD83_Z9 | 674969 | 6129377 | 105 | -73 | 810 | 08-Jan-24 |
NAK24-18 | NAD83_Z9 | 674961 | 6129472 | 90 | -77 | 914 | 20-Aug-24 |
NAK24-19 | NAD83_Z9 | 675219 | 6129388 | 120 | -55 | 951 | 20-Aug-24 |
NAK24-20 | NAD83_Z9 | 674946 | 6129573 | 90 | -72 | 933 | 20-Aug-24 |
NAK24-21 | NAD83_Z9 | 675264 | 6129415 | n/a | -90 | 419 | 20-Aug-24 |
NAK23-22 | NAD83_Z9 | 674927 | 6129673 | 84 | -71 | 943 | Current NR |
NAK24-23 | NAD83_Z9 | 675264 | 6129415 | 340 | -70 | 526 | 20-Aug-24 |
NAK24-24 | NAD83_Z9 | 675264 | 6129415 | 340 | -55 | 950 | Current NR |
NAK24-25 | NAD83_Z9 | 674930 | 6129766 | 86 | -74 | 923 | Current NR |
NAK24-26 | NAD83_Z9 | 675264 | 6129415 | 300 | -60 | 586 | Current NR |
NAK24-27 | NAD83_Z9 | 674898 | 6129857 | 90 | -70 | 977 | N/A |
NAK24-28 | NAD83_Z9 | 675357 | 6129415 | 115 | -55 | 632 | Current NR |
NAK24-29 | NAD83_Z9 | 675062 | 6129481 | 88 | -70 | 599 | N/A |
NAK24-30 | NAD83_Z9 | 675021 | 6129939 | 88 | -72 | 899 | N/A |
NAK24-31 | NAD83_Z9 | 675063 | 6129939 | 75 | -78 | 494 | N/A |
NAK24-32 | NAD83_Z9 | 675049 | 6129352 | 88 | -70 | 605 | N/A |
NAK24-33 | NAD83_Z9 | 675044 | 6129581 | 88 | -70 | 962 | N/A |
NAK24-34 | NAD83_Z9 | 675031 | 6130018 | 87 | -70 | 669 | N/A |
NAK24-35 | NAD83_Z9 | 675105 | 6130067 | 43 | -65 | 922 | N/A |
NAK24-36 | NAD83_Z9 | 675509 | 6129440 | 115 | -55 | 641 | N/A |
NAK24-37 | NAD83_Z9 | 675105 | 6130067 | 75 | -55 | 842 | N/A |
NAK24-38 | NAD83_Z9 | 675181 | 6129862 | 0 | -55 | 890 | N/A |
QA/QC and Sampling Protocol
Sampling at NAK follows a rigorous methodology and internal QA/QC protocol. Drill core is halved on site, and samples are submitted to ALS Geochemistry in Langley, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. ALS is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for assays. All analytical methods include quality control standards inserted at set frequencies. The entire sample interval is crushed and homogenized, and 250 g of the homogenized sample is pulped. All samples were analyzed for gold, silver, copper, molybdenum and a suite of 45 other major and trace elements. Analysis for gold is by fire assay fusion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) on 30 g of pulp. Analysis for silver, copper, and molybdenum is by four-acid digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). All other major and trace elements are analyzed by four-acid digestion followed by ICP-MS.
Internal QA/QC protocols dictate that individual core samples are no less than 70 cm and no greater than 3 m in length. To control standard, blank, and duplicate sample frequency, and to better constrain pass/fail re-analysis intervals, samples are submitted to the lab in 50 sample batches. Within each 50-sample batch, there is one gold-copper standard and two coarse reject duplicates, inserted at regular intervals, and two blank samples, inserted sequentially following well-mineralized samples where possible, for a total of 10% QA/QC samples. All gold and copper standard analyses from the 2023 program passed within 2 standard deviations of expected values. Where duplicate values differed significantly, the lower values from the resulting re-analyses were used.
About American Eagle’s NAK Project
The NAK Project lies within the Babine copper-gold porphyry district of central British Columbia. It has excellent infrastructure through all-season roads and is close to the towns of Smithers, Houston, and Burns Lake, B.C., which lie along a major rail line and Provincial Highway 16. Historical drilling and geophysical, geological, and geochemical work at NAK, which began in the 1960’s, tested only to shallow depths. Still, the work revealed a very large near-surface copper-gold system that measures over 1.5 km x 1.5 km. Drilling completed in 2022, 2023, and 2024 by American Eagle has returned significant intervals of high-grade copper-gold mineralization that reach beyond and much deeper than the historical drilling, indicating that zones of near-surface and deeper mineralization, locally with considerably higher grades, exist within the broader NAK property mineralizing system.
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About American Eagle Gold Corp.
American Eagle is focused on exploring its NAK copper-gold porphyry project in west-central British Columbia, Canada.
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