Nevada King Intercepts 83.9 Metres Of 1.04 G/t Gold At Lewis Project, Battle Mountain Trend, Nevada
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VANCOUVER, April 28, 2022 - Nevada King Gold Corp. (TSXV: NKG) (OTCQX: NKGFF) ("Nevada King" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from a 1,150 metre, reverse circulation ("RC") drilling program at its 5,500 hectare, 100% owned Lewis Gold Project ("Lewis"), located approximately 21km south of Battle Mountain, Nevada. Lewis is surrounded by major producing gold mines in every direction including Phoenix (23km NW), McCoy Cove (28km SW), Pipeline (26km SE), and Cortez (36km SE), see Figure 1.
- Nevada King initiated its maiden drill program at Lewis in October 2021 and drilled a total of 1,150m in 18 RC holes with the primary objectives of (1) substantiating historical drill results within the Celestine O'Neal and Rocky Canyon targets, and (2) testing for lateral extensions of gold mineralization with step-out drilling.
- Seven holes successfully tested the Celestine O'Neal target, confirming historical drill grades and intersect lengths and extending mineralization southward. Highlights utilizing a 0.3 g/t Au external cutoff grade, include:
- Angle hole LS21-015 - Intercepted 83.9m averaging 1.04 g/t Au, including two distinct zones of gold mineralization: 15.2m of 1.55 g/t Au from 33.5m to 48.8m, and 62.5m of 1.02 g/t from 54.9m to 117.4m.
- Vertical hole LS21-008, located 240m south of the Celestine O'Neal target area, intersected two mineralized zones: 9.1m averaging 1.79 g/t Au from 76.2m to 85.4m, and 13.7m averaging 2.50 g/t Au from 154.0m to 167.7m. This also included 1.5m grading 15.73 g/t Au from 163.1m to 164.6m.
- The 1.5m grading 15.73 g/t in LS21-008 is particularly interesting due to the high-grade gold mineralization encountered and the 120m distance from the closest southern most historical hole at Celestine O'Neal, an area that had not previously been drilled. Drill testing for gold mineralization in this southwest direction under the overburden cover is a priority of Nevada King's 2022 program.
- Drilling at Rocky Canyon encountered intensely fractured rock that created challenging drilling conditions and, consequently, the Company was not able to adequately test its intended targets in this phase of drilling. The Rocky Canyon target is bounded on two sides by areas hosting extensive historical drilling with significant gold mineralization and thus remains a high priority target that the Company will be testing in its 2022 program. Historical drilling completed by Cameco intercepted significant gold mineralization such as 24m averaging 1.06 g/t Au, 33m averaging 1.48 g/t Au including 1.52m averaging 24.15 g/t Au, and 46m averaging 0.59 g/t Au, (see November 9, 2021 release for full details of historical intercepts).
Cal Herron, Exploration Manager of Nevada King, stated, "The Lewis Project was originally acquired due to its strategic location along the Battle Mountain gold trend within the heart of Nevada's gold country. The property is surrounded by a number of major producing gold deposits. With its prime location and the presence of widespread, well-mineralized historical drill holes on it, the Company sees Lewis as a rare opportunity to leverage off this substantial historical work and believes it offers an outstanding risk/reward proposition for potential discovery. The historical data package for Lewis includes assay data for over 250 drill holes, as well as surface sample results and summary reports. Utilizing this large amount of data the Company has interpreted a strongly mineralized gold system at Lewis that is open in multiple directions.
In spite of inclement weather starting in November of last year and challenging drilling conditions, the program successfully confirmed historical results in the Celestine O'Neal target with LS21-001, 002, 003, and 015, while step-out hole LS21-008 demonstrated continuity of mineralization southward from the historical Celestine O'Neal resource zone (Figure 2). Table 1 summarizes results from its 2021 program including significant intervals of gold mineralization. The Company is very encouraged by the long intervals of consistent gold mineralization encountered in the recent drilling that incorporate areas of high-grade gold. This drilling confirms the Company's interpretation based on extensive historical work that the Lewis property encompasses a strong gold mineralizing system. Results of the recent work has refined targets in several priority areas that will be tested in 2022 with an expanded phase of drilling."
Table 1. 2021 Nevada King RC Drill Results | ||||||
Hole | TD (m) | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Avg Au (g/t) | Notes |
LS21-001 | 91.5 | 36.6 | 41.2 | 4.6 | 0.934 | |
LS21-002 | 106.7 | 9.1 | 64.0 | 54.9 | 1.3 | Values up to 4.49 g/t |
89.9 | 94.5 | 4.6 | 0.682 | |||
LS21-003 | 112.8 | 32.0 | 41.2 | 9.1 | 1.733 | Values up to 3.78 g/t |
85.4 | 86.9 | 1.5 | 1.88 | |||
LS21-004 | 15.2 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-005 | 140.2 | 33.5 | 41.2 | 7.6 | 0.548 | |
64.0 | 71.6 | 7.6 | 0.626 | |||
86.9 | 109.8 | 22.9 | 0.248 | |||
LS21-006 | 12.2 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-007 | 45.7 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-008 | 173.8 | 76.2 | 85.4 | 9.1 | 1.794 | Values up to 3.34 g/t |
154.0 | 167.7 | 13.7 | 2.501 | Values up to 15.733 g/t | ||
LS21-009 | 36.6 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-010 | 29.0 | 13.7 | 15.2 | 1.5 | 0.618 | |
LS21-011 | 12.2 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-012 | 51.8 | 6.1 | 7.6 | 1.5 | 0.95 | |
10.7 | 12.2 | 1.5 | 0.65 | |||
LS21-013 | 30.5 | 9.1 | 10.7 | 1.5 | 0.381 | |
24.4 | 25.9 | 1.5 | 0.418 | |||
LS21-014 | 29.0 | 15.2 | 18.3 | 3.0 | 1.595 | |
LS21-015 | 149.4 | 33.5 | 117.4 | 83.9 | 1.04 | |
includes | 33.5 | 48.8 | 15.2 | 1.546 | ||
*includes | 44.2 | 48.8 | 4.6 | 3.37 | ||
includes | 54.9 | 117.4 | 62.5 | 1.021 | ||
*includes | 85.4 | 94.5 | 9.1 | 2.1 | ||
LS21-016 | 15.2 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-017 | 18.3 | Hole did not penetrate overburden | ||||
LS21-018 | 85.4 | 29.0 | 30.5 | 1.5 | 0.887 |
True vertical thickness of mineralization is approximately 80% to 90% of hole intercept length.
The 2021 drilling at the Celestine O'Neal target reveals the presence of a strong epithermal gold system, as evidenced by Nevada King's drill results and historical drill records together with the observed strong micro-veining and well-banded quartz-carbonate-sulfide veins. The geochemistry and style of sulfide mineralization looks similar to the gold mineralization reported at Nevada Gold Mines' Robertson deposit (1-2 million oz Au), which is currently in the exploration stage about 7km north of their large Pipeline mine and 22km southeast of the Lewis Project.
The fact that this mineralization is buried beneath a geochemically "dead" limestone unit changes the game at Lewis. Historical drilling generally concentrated on areas with strong, surficial rock and soil anomalies, while areas lacking gold anomalies were avoided. This blanket of landslide or detachment debris effectively hides the underlying gold mineralization and opens up a large area for Nevada King to explore that was ignored by previous operators.
Based on the drilling at Celestine O'Neal, the geology as seen in outcrop and RC cuttings is summarized below, starting with the youngest rocks.
- Unaltered Tertiary-age andesite flows and felsic welded tuff represent the youngest unit at Lewis. These rocks cover the ridge tops south and east of the Record Target area and form a relatively flat plateau that extends several kilometers southward to Lewis Peak. Normal faulting dropped wedges of welded tuff down into the Paleozoic section at the head of Rocky Canyon.
- A non-mineralized, greenish-brown limestone mapped in the area as Triassic age appears to have been emplaced above the underlying mineralized limestone unit along a detachment or landslide surface striking N-S and dipping 16o west. This unit largely obscures the mineralization at Celestine O'Neal and forms the high ridge south and west of the target area. The rock is covered by Tertiary volcanics immediately south of the Record Target. The basal contact is marked by a very broken rubble zone and brown to black clayey horizon resembling a paleo-soil or possibly a fault gouge. The unit lacks a gold and tracer element signature and is geochemically distinctly different from the underlying, mineralized limestone, which suggests post-mineral emplacement via a fault or gravity slide mechanism. The absence of a geochemical signature within this unit may well have discouraged historical exploration in the large area south and southwest of Celestine O'Neal and Record.
- A greenish-brown limestone looking much like the non-mineralized unit described above occurs beneath the dark clayey contact zone, but an abrupt increase in arsenic from tens of ppm to well over 1000ppm occurs at the contact and continues downward into the underlying, more strongly mineralized siltstone-sandstone unit. In addition to the strong increase in arsenic, a similar abrupt jump in Au-Ag-Bi occurs. Weak silicification and sparse quartz veinlets are noted in the limestone, but alteration is very subtle. The basal contact is marked by what looks like a shear or possibly a strongly altered karst zone.
- Strongly silicified fine-grained calcareous siltstone, fine-grained sandstone, and arkosic sandstone hosting banded quartz-carbonate-sulfide veinlets occur directly beneath the weakly altered limestone. Both sheeted and stockwork micro-veining are noted, with at least two generations of quartz veining. Fine to medium-grained arsenopyrite, stibnite, galena and sphalerite are present within larger quartz-pyrite veins. The unit is at least 200m thick and is either part of the Ordovician-age Valmy Formation or could be the Silurian-age Elder Sandstone Formation, which is one of the gold hosts at the nearby Marigold Mine. Sulfide content ranges from less than 1% to 10% and gold tends to vary directly with the sulfide percentage. The mineralization is characterized by a strong Au-Ag-As-Bi-Te-Sb-Pb-Zn assemblage, with arsenic values typically in the 1000-3000ppm range. The unit is in fault contact with the underlying Valmy Formation carbonaceous phylliltic shale and quartzite, and as the shear contact is approached carbon micro-veining in the silicified sandstone increases rapidly. Gold values fall off rapidly at this lower contact.
- Carbonaceous phyllite, argillite, and quartzite most likely belonging to the Valmy Formation underlie the gold zone at Celestine O'Neal. The sheared contact is marked by carbonaceous gouge, silicified breccia, and quartz veining. This altered contact zone is at least 10m thick and strikes NNW (16o Az), dipping 33o west. Gold values decrease rapidly at the contact, and the carbonaceous phyllite is only weakly anomalous.
The Company anticipates announcing a Phase II drill program for Lewis in the weeks ahead. The objectives for the upcoming exploration season will be to, first, focus on drill-testing the Record target zone. If the mineralization at Record can be linked to the mineralization seen in LS21-008, the tonnage potential at Lewis will be substantially increased. Second, the Company will adequately drill through the overburden to reach bedrock at Celestine O'Neal in order to define the geometry of the mineralized zone and firmly establish the associated mineralization vectors. A southward projection of the mineralization at Celestine O'Neal is present and the Company will work to determine how wide the zone is and how far to the south and southwest it extends. Third, with a limited number of holes drilled in 2021 through the mineralized zone, the bottom of the gold zone appears to be low angle (see Figure 3), therefore, the 2022 drilling program will track the mineralization laterally to the west, east, and south of Celestine O'Neal and Record. Again, this is moving into covered terrain that has not been previously drilled. Fourth, in order to better guarantee reaching target depth, Nevada King's drill operator will be prepared this season with a casing system that can successfully penetrate the rubblized limestone overburden to allow for accurate sampling of the underlying mineralized horizon. The mineralized rock drills well but the problem is reaching it.
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Calvin R. Herron, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101").
Nevada King is the third largest mineral claim holder in the State of Nevada, behind Nevada Gold Mines (Barrick/Newmont) and Kinross Gold. Starting in 2016 through to the present day the Company has staked large project areas hosting significant historical exploration work along the Battle Mountain trend located close to current or former producing gold mines. These project areas were initially targeted based on their potential for hosting multi-million ounce gold deposits and were subsequently staked following a detailed geological evaluation. District-scale projects in Nevada King's portfolio include (1) the 100% owned Atlanta Mine, located 100km southeast of Ely, (2) the Lewis and Horse Mountain-Mill Creek projects, both located between Nevada Gold Mines' large Phoenix and Pipeline mines, and (3) the Iron Point project, located 35km east of Winnemucca, Nevada.
The Atlanta Mine is a historical gold-silver producer with a NI 43-101 compliant pit-constrained resource of 460,000 oz Au in the measured and indicated category (11.0M tonnes at 1.3 g/t) plus an inferred resource of 142,000 oz Au (5.3M tonnes at 0.83 g/t). See the NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources titled "Atlanta Property, Lincoln County, NV" with an effective date of October 6, 2020, and a report date of December 22, 2020, as prepared by Gustavson Associates and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Tabulation of NI 43-101 Mineral Resources at the Atlanta Mine
Resource Category | Tonnes (000's) | Au Grade (ppm) | Contained Au Oz (000's) | Ag Grade (ppm) | Contained Ag Oz (000's) |
Measured | 4,130 | 1.51 | 200 | 14.0 | 1,860 |
Indicated | 6,910 | 1.17 | 260 | 10.6 | 2,360 |
Measured+Indicated | 11,000 | 1.30 | 460 | 11.9 | 4,220 |
Inferred | 5,310 | 0.83 | 142 | 7.3 | 1,240 |
Please see the Company's website at www.nevadaking.ca.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operations and activities of Nevada King, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or" should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things, the Company's exploration plans and the Company's ability to potentially expand mineral resources and the impact thereon. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Nevada King, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability to complete proposed exploration work given the global COVID-19 pandemic, the results of exploration, continued availability of capital, and changes in general economic, market and business conditions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Nevada King does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Nevada King Gold Corp.
Contact
Collin Kettell at collin@nevadaking.ca or (301) 744-8744.