Gold Jr. Continues Expanding Drilling Program in Cariboo District

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Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd. (OMM:TSX.V; OMMSF:OTCMKTS) announced that eight holes would be completed before the holiday break under its expanded drilling program searching for the source of rich placer gold found in an underground paleochannel beneath Lightning Creek at its flagship Wingdam Project in British Columbia.

Earlier this month, the company added a second drill rig to accelerate its exploration program in the historic Cariboo Mining District.

The company reported that the second rig had started its fourth hole of the program after completing a scissor-hole to hole WD24-38 to test the down dip of extensions of veins seen in that hole.

"All drill holes to date have encountered wide zones of quartz-carbonate sericite alteration with some quartz veins containing various concentrations of localized semi-massive to massive sulfide mineralization," the company said in a release. "Of note, samples from several holes will be metallic screen assayed for coarse gold."

The drilling program has now been expanded from 10 to 17 holes and up to 10,000 meters, the company said. The first drill hole was logged, sampled, and shipped for assay, with logged samples from the second and third holes expected to ship soon.

"Drilling will recommence in the new year and results will be announced as they are received and analyzed," the company said.

National Investor Editor Chris Temple wrote in October that the Saskatchewan-based junior exploration company "was set to be a big winner … (and for a while it was)" several years ago, but challenges and roadblocks kept postponing paydirt "until it increasingly appears now."

"The case — and opportunity — are compelling, especially given that Omineca (like most smaller junior gold explorers) has yet to respond to the rise in the gold price," Temple noted.

A Good Neighborhood

Favorable geology appears to continue at depth according to early observations of results at the project, Omineca has said.

"The host rock and mineralization resemble the gold-bearing vein type mineralization at the neighboring Cariboo Gold Project operated by Osisko Development Corp. (ODV:TSX.V)," the company said.

The original drill pads for the program are situated on or to the west of the Eureka Thrust Fault where several orogenic gold systems have been found along the western side of this geological trend, the company said. In addition to Osisko's project, Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd.'s (SPA:TSX.V) 2.34 (Moz) deposit is 50 kilometers to the south of Wingdam, and Karus Gold Corp.'s high-grade FG discovery is 125 kilometers south of the project. Both are located just west of the Eureka Thrust Fault.

Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. (GCC:CSE; GCCFF:OTC; A0RLEP:WKN; 3TZ:FSE) also has encountered visible gold in four holes at its Quesnelle Gold Quartz project 50 kilometers north of Wingdam. Quesnelle is also located along and to the west of the Eureka Thrust Fault.

In a September research report, Research Capital Corp. Analyst Bill Newman wrote that the company's separate plans to mine at the project using conventional and tunneling methods will provide a "cost, safety, and execution time advantage" over the "previous grouted spilling method."

"This positive development reinforces our Speculative Buy recommendation," wrote the analyst. "Success in this exploration could position OMM as both a placer and hard rock gold producer, significantly enhancing the project's value."

The Catalyst: Gold Still Running With the Bulls

Reuters reported that gold slipped on Tuesday under pressure from a strengthening U.S. dollar and climbing Treasury yields "as investors focused on the Federal Reserve's final policy meeting of the year with growing expectations of a gradual pace of rate cuts in 2025."

Spot gold was down 0.5% Tuesday morning at US$2,638.16 per ounce. U.S. gold futures shed 0.6% to US$2,652.90, the wire service said.

"The yellow metal has fallen into something of a holding pattern between US$2,600 and US$2,700 as traders bought dollars before rate decisions from the Fed, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England this week," Ambar Warrick wrote for Investing.com on Tuesday.

Many experts agree gold is still in a bear market. FX Empire's A.G. Thorson recently predicted a run towards US$3,000-plus by next March or April.

Writing for Money on December 4, Marc Guberti noted that gold was up by more than 31% in 2024 and delivered more than an 82% gain over the past five years. "Many big banks believe that gold is set to continue its rally in 2025 and beyond," he wrote.

Research from Goldman Sachs suggests that gold will climb higher as central banks in emerging markets continue to buy more gold, Guberti wrote, noting that Goldman Sachs research analyst Lina Thomas has mentioned lower interest rates as a catalyst for a 2025 gold rally.

Ownership and Share Structure

The company is 31% owned by insiders and management, according to the company. The rest is retail.

Top shareholders include 49 North Resources Inc. with 25.31%, Sprott Asset Management LP with 5.05%, President and CEO Thomas MacNeill with 4.34% and Chief Financial Officer/Director Andrew Davidson with 2%, according to Reuters.

Omineca has 218 million shares outstanding.

The company's market cap is CA$8.11 million, and its 52-week price range is CA$0.04−0.14 per share.