Explorer Employs Innovative Gold-Testing Technology in Canadian Discovery

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After repeatedly encountering visible gold at its Quesnelle Gold-Quartz Mine in British Columbia, Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. (GCC:CSE; GCCFF:OTC; A0RLEP:WKN; 3TZ:FSE) on Tuesday announced plans for an orientation study using Chrysos PhotonAssayÔ technology to analyze the gold in drill core and rock samples at the site.

The non-destructive photon assay procedure is designed to evaluate the potential for better addressing the nugget effect, one of the most persistent challenges in precious metals exploration, while potentially improving assay turnaround times, the company said.

"This innovative technology not only optimizes resource evaluation but also strengthens the transparency and reliability of assay data, which is vital for informed decision making in our exploration program and possible future resource development," said Golden Cariboo President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Callaghan.

The process uses high-energy photons (X-rays) to interact with the atomic structure of samples, resulting in characteristic gamma emissions from gold atoms.

"This process allows for the quick analysis of larger volumes (up to 500 g) of sample material per assay, compared to traditional fire assay methods (30-50 g sample material)," the company's release said. "It therefore boasts a huge advantage in addressing the nuggety nature typical for gold mineralization. The nugget effect is usually found to be particularly strong when coarse, visible gold is present, as encountered in almost all of the recent drill holes at the company’s Halo zone target."

Earlier in April, the company announced that drill hole QGQ24-21 at Halo intersected a "zone of persistent gold mineralization," which included "multiple occurrences of visible gold, starting from 257 meters downhole." This would mark the ninth continuous drill hole showing visible gold since the Halo zone was discovered. 

According to Tuesday's release, by analyzing a bigger and therefore more representative sample, the photon assay "assures that both finely dispersed gold and coarse gold particles are accurately quantified. Photon assay is an established method widely used in multiple gold exploration and mining projects around the world with excellent results."

The procedure will be used initially on core samples, which have already been analyzed by traditional fire assay for a comparison of both methods. If successful, photon assay may replace fire assay as the main method for gold quantification in all future core and rock samples taken at the Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property, the company said.

Geologists will include a selection of the previous drill holes in the study along with QGQ24-21. Assay results are anticipated to be received and reported in the coming weeks, the company said.

'Significantly Sized' Gold in Anomalies

In March, the company said it had identified two "significantly sized" gold in Mobile Metal Ion (MMI) soil anomalies north of the currently known extent of Halo. Detailed analysis of the MMI soil data between Hixon Creek and Buckley Creek "revealed gold anomalies that have been shown to correlate with known gold mineralization of the trenching and diamond drilling program," geologist David Mark said. "This, therefore, shows that MMI is invaluable in outlining gold targets within the Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property. As such, it has revealed numerous gold anomalies throughout the MMI survey area that are new targets for future exploration."

Earlier drilling results this year also significantly extended the Halo zone.

According to Technical Analyst Clive Maund, while "the grades found are good, the big news here is the extent of it."

During its exploration, the company has found multiple occurrences of visible gold in its core results from the project.

"Visible gold in current drilling indicates potential for high-grade assays from mineralized targets," Couloir Capital Senior Mining Analyst Ron Wortel wrote of the project in a recent research report as he assigned a Buy recommendation for the company's stock, citing Golden Cariboo's exploration initiatives as a unique opportunity for exposure to a gold resource discovery in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.

Throughout the year, Golden Cariboo plans to continue its 12-month continuous drilling and exploration program. The expectation is that the company will be drilling 7,500 meters and around 25 holes.

The Catalyst: Gold Bull Expected to Stick Around

Gold fell nearly 1% on Tuesday as signals that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease reduced some safe-haven demand, reported Anjana Anil and Sarah Qureshi for Reuters. Spot gold was down 0.8% to US$3,315.84 an ounce as of 2:22 pm ET.

"There is some optimism that there will be some de-escalation of the trade war between the U.S. and China," David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, told Reuters.

"Softening trade tensions has caused a sell-off in safe-haven gold, a traditional hedge against rising global instabilities, which had risen in an unprecedented rally to notch a record high at US$3,500.05/oz last week," Anil and Qureshi wrote.

However, writing for CBS Money Watch on Monday, Aly J. Yale noted that experts did not see gold's overall bull market failing anytime soon.

"While there is likely a ceiling for gold prices at some point in the future, many experts are predicting further growth in the near term. But just how high could they climb? Could gold prices reach the $4,000 price point?" Yale asked.

According to an April 10 post on Goldfix, Goldman Sachs revised raised the upper boundary of its forecast range for gold for the end of the year to US$3,520 an ounce and even introduced a "tall-risk scenario" as high as US$4,500 an ounce.

"The revision stems primarily from upside surprises in ETF inflows and persistent, large-scale central bank gold purchases," the article noted.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Golden Cariboo, management and insiders own 12.2% of the company, and President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Callaghan owns nearly 11%.

Retail investors hold the remaining. There are no institutional investors.

The company said it has 70.2 million shares outstanding, and its market cap is CA$7.36 million. Over the past 52 weeks, Golden Cariboo has traded between CA$0.10 and CA$0.36 per share.