The much anticipated phase 1 drilling program, testing the southern extension of the Campbell Shear of the Yellowknife City Gold Project (1.2Moz Au Inferred resource), is well underway now, and the results are pleasing management of Gold Terra Resource Corp. (YGT:TSX.V; YGTFF:OTC; TXO:FRANKFURT) as it confirms historical drilling results. As a quick reminder, the Campbell Shear produced approximately 5 of the 6 million ounces of gold produced at the former Con Mine (1938–2002), is the main reason Executive Gerald Panneton (of Detour Gold fame) joined the company, and is the priority target for management. To date, Gold Terra has completed 13 holes for a total of approximately 5,700 meters along the Campbell Shear to vertical depth of 400 meters below surface.
Drill results of the first six holes were released in two batches recently, one batch on March 23, 2021, and another one on April 6, 2021. The first news release mentioned the results of the first three holes, totaling 1,714m. The first two holes (GTCM21-001 and 002) were drilled south of the in-house historical Yellorex deposit and the third hole (GTCM21-003) was drilled on the Yellorex portion of the Campbell Shear. The second batch returned an additional three holes totaling 1,900.51 meters. Holes GTCM21-004 and 006 were drilled south of the Yellorex deposit and hole GTCM21-005 was drilled 100 metres underneath hole GTCM21-003. The following section illustrates the targeted zones of these holes:
Longitudinal section showing drill holes GTCM21-001 to GTCM21-006
The absolute highlights of the drill results were holes GTCM21-003 and GTCM21-005, returning the following intercepts:
- Hole GTCM21-003 intersected 10.85 g/t Au over 4.35 meters including 25.4 g/t Au over 1.55 meters, from 223.2m
- Hole GTCM21-005 intersected 5.77 g/t Au over 12.35 meters including 14.09 g/t Au over 4.65 meters, from 280.65m
Especially hole GTCM21-005 generated an impressive high grade result over substantial width. As can be seen in the longitudinal section, holes GTCM21-003 and GTCM21-005 were targeting Yellorex, an envelope of previously defined in-house historical mineralization, composed by JV partner Newmont/Miramar, of which no public records exist.
On an important side note, another observation I already pointed out in my first article is the deep location of the adjacent Con Mine mineralization, which could imply Gold Terra might have to drill much deeper before massive, multi-million ounce type pay dirt could be hit. Therefore, I asked President and CEO David Suda what his expectations and strategy are regarding this subject. According to him and Panneton, they are currently drilling shallower depths targets as they feel there is a lot of potential to add ounces, and phase 2 drilling will test deeper targets.
The other four holes were step-outs, and although they didn't return the same kind of results, management deems especially holes GTCM21-004 and GTCM21-006 to be important as they confirm the trajectory of the Campbell Shear, not only by intercepting mineralization but also by showing alteration that is very anomalous in gold and strong gold markers like antimony. Full results can be seen in the following table:
Looking a bit further into the best results, hole GTCM21-003, although with narrow mineralization, was important in establishing the mineralization styles that host high-grade gold. According to management, this hole shows that high-grade gold occurs within wider alteration zones with pervasive anomalous gold values. These characteristics act as vectors to high-grade gold which will assist future drill programs on the Campbell Shear. Holes GTCM21-001 and 002, while intersecting the Campbell Shear, did not display the favorable gold vector characteristics of smoky quartz and sericite alterations likely due to local variations in the zone.
According to management, hole GTCM21-005 conforms to the historically identified geological controls in the Con Mine, which consists of strongly sericitized and sheared mafic volcanic rock associated with arsenopyrite, pyrite and stibnite mineralization with the highest-grade gold in smoky quartz veins. The combination of finding so-called sericitic alteration halos (also containing antimony and arsenic) and wide intersection of anomalous gold values encountered in hole GTCM21-006 suggest proximity to higher grade gold, and it will be followed up by drilling the area of this strong alteration halo.
Management was excited about the completed drilling, as President and CEO David Suda stated: "We are very pleased with the continued success of the drilling results on the Newmont Option ground. Drill results from the Yellorex zone demonstrate good continuity and the extension of the gold mineralization from historical holes, which may potentially add ounces to a future resource calculation. The latest results add confidence to our program to outline high-grade gold mineralization. With our recent financing completed in early March, we are planning to drill more than 20,000 meters this year along the prolific Campbell shear target which remains open at depth and along strike to the south."
The assays of the remaining seven drill holes are expected by management to be released over the course of the next several weeks.
Conclusion
The first six holes targeting the Campbell Shear at the Yellowknife City Gold Project returned interesting results, with two very good intercepts through hole GTCM21-003 and 005. As the best holes have been verifying the historical mineralized Yellorex envelope relatively near surface, I am curious how management is contemplating the next steps in order to track the highly anticipated multi-million ounce potential of the Campbell Shear, in the shadows of the former Con Mine, of which the deposit was located at significant depth. It will be interesting to watch how management will try to unravel this very interesting, high stake puzzle, being comfortably backed by a 1.2Moz Inferred gold resource already.
I hope you will find this article interesting and useful, and will have further interest in my upcoming articles on mining. To never miss a thing, please subscribe to my free newsletter on my website www.criticalinvestor.eu, in order to get an email notice of my new articles soon after they are published.
The Critical Investor is a newsletter and comprehensive junior mining platform, providing analysis, blog and newsfeed and all sorts of information about junior mining. The editor is an avid and critical junior mining stock investor from The Netherlands, with an MSc background in construction/project management. Number cruncher at project economics, looking for high quality companies, mostly growth/turnaround/catalyst-driven to avoid too much dependence/influence of long-term commodity pricing/market sentiments, and often looking for long-term deep value. Getting burned in the past himself at junior mining investments by following overly positive sources that more often than not avoided to mention (hidden) risks or critical flaws, The Critical Investor learned his lesson well, and goes a few steps further ever since, providing a fresh, more in-depth, and critical vision on things, hence the name.
[NLINSERT]Disclaimer: The author is not a registered investment advisor, and currently has a long position in this stock. Gold Terra Resource is a sponsoring company. All facts are to be checked by the reader. For more information go to www.goldterracorp.com and read the company's profile and official documents on www.sedar.com, also for important risk disclosures. This article is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended to be investment advice of any kind, and all readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence, and talk to their own licensed investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions.
Streetwise Reports Disclosure:
1) The Critical Investor's disclosures are listed above.
2) The following companies mentioned in the article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Gold Terra, a company mentioned in this article.
Charts and graphics provided by the author.
