Klondike Gold’s 2024 exploration program underway, Yukon
Klondike Gold Corp. [TSXV-KG; FSE-LBDP; OTCQB-KDKGF] has outlined the 2024 exploration plan and review exploration potential at the company’s 100%-owned Klondike District Property in the Dawson mining district, Yukon, Canada. Initial drill targets to be focused around recent drill discoveries in the Stander Zone including 90.55 g/t gold (2.91 oz/t Au) over 0.55 metres among others.
Peter Tallman, President and CEO stated, “Following from extremely promising 2023 gold discoveries, the company in 2024 is positioned to deliver significant additional results to our shareholders in a favorable gold price environment. The company’s ongoing funded research, structural work, and evolved exploration model in 2023 led to new multi-ounce grade gold discoveries throughout the Property. The transformative drill discovery of high-grade gold shear veining at Stander Zone, potentially a significant source of the famous 2 million ounce Eldorado Creek placer pay streak, will be drill tested first in 2024 among several high potential targets. The objective of this season is to successfully turn one or several of these new gold discoveries into substantial mineral resources and unlock the Klondike goldfields’ world-class mineral wealth potential for our stakeholders.”
Klondike Gold’s property covers 727 km2 and thus far hosts two bedrock gold deposits, “Stander” and “Lone Star”, with total Indicated Resources of 469,000 ounces and Inferred Resources of 112,000 ounces using a gold price of US$1,700/oz. Additionally, in 2023 high-grade gold prospects have been discovered adjacent and outside the existing Mineral Resource areas and along the unexplored 60 km southwest trending network of crustal faults (collectively the “Klondike Shear Zone”) that controls gold mineralization within the property.”
2024 Exploration Plan: Field work has begun with drilling scheduled to commence in early May with one drill.
Initial 2,500 metres of diamond drilling is planned to target the new Stander Zone discovery area of high grade (visible) gold shear veining over a 2km strike length, with focus on 500 metres outlined by 2023 discovery drilling to test the resource potential.
Contingent upon initial drill results, up to 2,500 metres of follow up diamond drilling is contemplated to test the additional resource potential of high grade (visible) gold shear veining at Stander Zone.
Surface mapping including detailed structural mapping and sampling is planned to follow-up of high grade (visible) gold veining discovered elsewhere along the Klondike Shear Zone throughout the property.
Contingent upon structural mapping and further sampling results, additional diamond drilling is contemplated to test further resource potential at Gay Gulch Showing or to test for high grade mineralization at other Showings or new discoveries.
Prospecting and sampling is planned to target anomalous sites identified in the Klondike District Property by BLEG (bio-leach extractable gold) sampling survey with orogenic gold signatures (see News Release February 24, 2024) coincident with proximity to c.1900 gold-rush era mine workings identified by the Company in 2023 to locate new zones of mineralization.
Updated mineral resources estimate is planned to begin in fall 2024 to include additional drilling results from 2022 through 2024 seasons.
The 2024 drill plan will focus on follow up to the 2023 discovery of high-grade (visible) gold shear veining over 350 metres strike length in four drill holes within a 2km potential strike length based on subcrop high-grade (visible) gold quartz samples.
Six drill holes at Stander Zone are now interpreted to have intersected the gold shear (including four 2023 intersections now correlated with two from 2021) indicating a 350-metre strike length and 200-metre dip length with mineralized intersections all grading between 30.3 to 90.6 g/t gold (0.97 to 2.91 opt Au) over 0.5m to 1.5m width. All holes have significant halos of ‘extensional sheeted veins’ containing low grade gold.
Two areas of subcrop quartz veining located 2 km apart are interpreted to represent the outcrop line of high grade (visible) gold shear veining. Six prospecting samples collected in 2023 of quartz containing visible gold assayed between 7.0 g/t Au and 74.6 g/t Au represent the at-surface expression of high-grade (visible) gold shear veining intersected in 2023 drilling. A very similar second area of quartz vein material with visible gold is located 2km to the northwest and was discovered by prospecting in 2020. Five prospecting rock samples of subcrop quartz vein material dug from a 5m by 10m area contained visible gold and assayed 77.8, 74.1, 58.9, 22.2, and 6.8 g/t gold. The strike and dip projection of gold bearing shear veins in six drill intersections includes this second area of 2020 gold quartz samples projected 2km to the northwest.
The company has entered into a lease agreement with a private Yukon company whereby Klondike Gold assigns the rights and permits to placer mine on a portion of the company’s Upper Eldorado Creek Placer property totalling 34 contiguous claims covering the Upper Eldorado and Chief Gulch drainages. The lease is for 3 years through 2026 and is renewable thereafter subject to approval by both parties.
Klondike Gold will receive a direct 10% gold production royalty from any mining production on the Placer Property payable in raw gold. The company holds a 10-year Class IV placer mining permit issued in 2022 expiring 2032 which includes this area. The Chief Gulch drainage lies 3.5 km along strike from the southwest end of known high-grade gold mineralization at the Stander Zone. Exploration in the Chief Gulch drainage for placer gold deposits benefits the company’s overall exploration efforts.
Klondike Gold is advancing its 100%-owned Klondike District Gold Project located at Dawson City, Yukon. The Klondike District Gold Project targets gold associated with district scale orogenic faults along the 55-km length of the famous Klondike Goldfields placer district. Multi-km gold mineralization has been identified at both the Lone Star Zone and Stander Zone, among other targets.
The company is focused on exploration and development of its 727 km2 property accessible by scheduled airline and government-maintained roads located on the outskirts of Dawson City, Yukon, within the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation traditional territory.