TORONTO, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- White Gold Corp. ((TSX.V: WGO, OTCQX:WHGOF, FRA: 29W)) (the "Company") is pleased to announce partial results from 2023 exploration diamond drilling at the Betty Ford target on the Betty property including 3.38 g/t Au over 53.0 m from 7.30 m depth in hole BETFD23D013, which included higher grade subintervals of 7.19 g/t Au over 6.30 m and 8.00 g/t Au over 4.35 m. Results of diamond drilling at the Vertigo target on the JP Ross property include 1.4 g/t Au over 58.4 m in hole JPRVER23D0052 from 40.95 m depth, and JPRVER23D0051 which intersected three zones of high-grade gold mineralization. Betty Ford and Vertigo (Figure 1) are located approximately 65 km southeast and 30 km northeast respectively from the Company's flagship White Gold Project in west-central Yukon, Canada, which comprises 16 million tonnes averaging 2.23 g/t Au for 1,152,900 ounces of gold in the Indicated Resource category and 19 million tonnes averaging 1.54 g/t Au for 942,400 ounces of gold in the Inferred Resource category (1).
The Betty property lies along strike and approximately 40 km east-southeast of Newmont Corporation's (NYSE:NEM, TSX:NGT) Coffee gold deposit with Indicated Resources of 2.14 Moz gold and Inferred Resources of 0.23 Moz gold(2). The Betty property is also contiguous to and 15 km northeast of Western Copper and Gold Corporation's (TSX:WRN, NYSE:WRN) Casino porphyry project with Measured & Indicated Resources of 14.8 Moz gold & 7.6 Blbs copper and Inferred Resources of 6.3 Moz gold and 3.1 Blb copper(3). The JP Ross property is road accessible and located in a prolific placer camp with significant recorded placer gold production. These drill programs form part of the Company's 2023 fully funded exploration program on its extensive and underexplored 350,000 hectare land package in the emerging White Gold District, Yukon, supported by strategic partners Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX:AEM, NYSE:AEM) and Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K, NYSE:KGC).
"We are pleased to encounter near surface high-grade gold mineralization over such a broad zone at Betty Ford which remains open for expansion. Furthermore, we have also encountered the first occurrence of gold within the deeper sulphide domain of the polylithic breccia unit while testing for possible feeder structures, which represents an important development in our understanding of Betty Ford and the potential to even further extend mineralization. The diamond drilling at Vertigo has improved our structural interpretation of the known mineralization controls at this high-grade gold target. These results continue to demonstrate the expansiveness of gold mineralization in our underexplored district scale exploration portfolio in a tier 1 mining district," stated David D'Onofrio, Chief Executive Officer.
Maps and images accompanying this news release can be found at http://whitegoldcorp.ca/investors/exploration-highlights/. Assay results and drill collar details for Betty Ford and Vertigo are summarized below in Tables 1 and 2, and Tables 3 and 4 respectively.
Highlights:
- Betty Ford:
- Diamond drilling consisted of four holes totalling 1,165 m (Figure 2) to further evaluate the zone of near-surface high gold mineralization encountered in 2021 (BETFD21D003: 3.46 g/t Au over 50 m), and 2022 (BETFD22RC004: 8.94 g/t Au over 18.29 m), and also test for the presence of a mineralized buried porphyry at depth, as well as a possible feeder contact/structure for the gold mineralization.
- BETFD23D013 (Figure 3) intersected 3.38 g/t Au over 53 m from 7.30 m depth, including 7.19 g/t Au over 6.30 m and 8.00 g/t Au over 4.35 m. Assays for the lower portion of BETFD23D013 from 364 m to 503 m remain outstanding.
- BETFD23D012 intersected 1.20 g/t Au over 8.3 m from 166.7 m depth, including 5.51 g/t Au over 1.0 m, and is the first occurrence of gold within the sulphide domain of the polylithic breccia unit and also significantly extended the width of the polylithic breccia unit.
- Based on visual inspection, holes BETFD23D014 and D015 appear to have also intersected significant zones of oxidized mineralized breccia which has been the primary host of gold mineralization at the Betty Ford target. Assay results are pending and will be released as they are received and interpreted.
- Vertigo:
- Diamond drilling at Vertigo was designed to test a revised structural interpretation including identification of multiple prospective vein sets and potential for bulk tonnage gold mineralization.
- 5 holes totalling 1,022 m (Figure 4) tested the mineralized zone near previous trenching and drilling, as well as adjacent gold-in-soil anomalies located 250-300 m to the east-northeast, southwest and south.
- Hole JPRVER23D0052 intersected 58.4 m grading 1.4 g/t Au from 40.95 m depth, with narrower high-grade subintervals of 9.10 g/t Au over 2.85 m and 6.68 g/t Au over 4.80 m, with multiple occurrences of visible gold within the zones.
- Hole JPRVER23D0051, located approximately 50 m west-northwest of JPRVER23D0052, intersected 3 narrow (< 2 m) mineralized zones grading 4.37 g/t Au over 1.30 m, 15.79 g/t Au over 1.60 m, and 4.17 g/t Au over 1.90 m.
- Newly collected borehole optical televiewer data supports the structural interpretation of multiple mineralized vein sets, with two separate orientations.
- Additional targets remain to be tested and to date all drilling at Vertigo has been conducted at shallow depths with the longest hole being only 280.5 m.
- Additional results from the Company's diamond drilling at the Betty Ford and Cali targets, and the regional exploration program will be announced in due course (see Company News Releases dated August 15, 2023, July 20, 2023, and July 6, 2023).
Precious Metals Beaver Creek
The Company will be presenting and providing a corporate update at 2023 Precious Metals Summit Beaver Creek. Management will also be participating in the One on One Meeting Program and interested conference attendees are encouraged to request a meeting to learn more about the Company and its 2023 exploration program.
Website: https://www.precioussummit.com/event/2023-precious-metals-summit-beaver-creek/
Date: September 12th to 15th, 2023
Location: Beaver Creek, Colorado, USA
Corporate Presentation: Thursday, September 14th at 4:15pm MT
Betty Ford Target
The Betty property comprises 860 quartz claims which cover an area of 17,127 hectares and hosts several prospective exploration targets including Betty Ford, Mascot (BETMAS22RC005: 1.14 g/t Au over 27.43 m; BETMAS22RC004: 1.24 g/t Au over 3.05 m, 1.48 g/t Au over 9.14 m & 4.13 g/t Au over 7.62 m), Betty White, Betty Grable and Betty Black. The property is transected by the Coffee Creek Fault which exerts important structural controls on Newmont's Coffee gold deposit 40 km along strike to the west-northwest.
Gold mineralization at the Betty Ford target is hosted in a polylithic breccia unit along an east-west striking splay structure located approximately 1.5 km south of and parallel to the Coffee Creek Fault. The target, which forms an approximately 1 km long east-west trending gold-in-soil anomaly with gold values ranging from trace up to 1,961 ppb Au, was initially RAB drill tested by the Company in 2018 with BETFRDRAB18-002 intersecting near surface gold mineralization averaging 1.08 g/t Au over 50.29 m from 4.57 m depth. During 2021 and 2022, the Company completed 11 diamond drill holes totalling 2,297 m and 2 RC holes totalling 201 m to further test the target along an approximately 250 m strike length. This drilling has continued to intersect a broad zone of near-surface gold mineralization within the polylithic breccia host unit that has returned 1.17 g/t Au over 48.00 m in hole BETFD21D001, 3.46 g/t Au over 50.0 m in BETFD21D003, 1.50 g/t Au over 55.15 m in BETFD22D007, and 8.94 g/t Au over 18.29 m in BETFD22RC004 including 21.73 g/t Au over 6.10 m. Thus far, mineralization has been traced for approximately 175 m along strike and to a vertical depth of 75 m. The zone remains open primarily to the east for a minimum of 100 m and further evaluation of the target is recommended.
The 2023 diamond drilling program at the Betty Ford target comprised 4 holes totaling 1,165 m that was designed to test: 1) the presence of a mineralized buried porphyry at depth beneath the polylithic breccia unit; 2) a possible feeder contact/structure identified from VLF-EM surveying; 3) a strong gold-in-soil anomaly in the area of an eastern gully and interpreted fault structure; and 4) controls on higher grade gold mineralization such as that intersected in hole BETFD22RC004.
Betty Ford - Partial 2023 Diamond Drilling Results
Assay results received to date for the 2023 Betty Ford diamond drilling program are summarized below in Table 1. Assays have been received for all of hole BETFD23D012 and a portion of BETFD23D013 from surface to 364 m.
Hole BETFD23D012 was drilled to test for a potential feeder contact/structure for the near-surface gold mineralization. A VLF-EM survey suggests that in this area the contact is characterized by a resistivity high to the south, and the gold mineralization encountered in existing holes appears to be at the contact zone with a resistivity low to the north. The hole collared in metasediments (3.0-42.0 m), and then passed downwards into a feldspar porphyry dyke from 42-113 m (71 m), and polylithic breccia from 113 m to the end of the hole at 202 m. It appears that the VLF feature is explained by the resistivity contrast between the metasediments and feldspar porphyry (resistivity high) and the polylithic breccia (resistivity low), and that the prospective metasedimentary – polylithic breccia contact in this area has been infilled with a dyke. Of note, the hole intersected a gold mineralized zone grading 1.20 g/t Au over 8.3 m within the breccia from 166.7 – 175.0 m, which is the deepest gold mineralization encountered to date at Betty Ford and is well within the sulphide domain. Additionally, the hole successfully widened the polylithic breccia to the south by approximately 50 m and now measures up to 90 m locally in true width.
BETFD23D013 with a final depth of 503 m, is the deepest hole drilled to date at Betty Ford and was designed primarily to test for the presence of a mineralized buried porphyry intrusion at depth beneath the polylithic breccia unit. The hole collared in oxidized mineralized breccia which passed downwards into a transition zone to 60 m depth. The hole intersected 3.38 g/t Au over 53.0 m from 7.3 m depth, and included two higher grade subintervals including 7.19 g/t Au over 6.3 m and 8.00 g/t Au over 4.35 m further extending the high-grade mineralization zone 10 to 25 m east of gold mineralization previously intersected in hole BETFD21D003 which returned 3.46 g/t Au over 50.0 m. The hole drilled through a thick interval of polylithic breccia down to 289.5 m, then a zone of breccia with intermittent feldspar porphyry dykes (3 – 30 m wide) from 289.5-383.0 m, and finally continuous polylithic breccia to the end of the hole at 503 m.
Assay results for the lower portion of holes BETFD23D013 (364 – 503 m) and holes 014 and D015 are pending and will be released as they are received and interpreted. Details on the Betty Ford target are provided in a news release issued by the Company on July 6, 2023 (available on SEDAR+).
Table 1. Highlights of 2023 Diamond Drilling Gold Assay Results (partial) for the Betty Ford Target.
Hole No. | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m)* | Au (g/t)** |
BETFD23D012 | 166.70 | 175.00 | 8.30 | 1.20 |
Including | 174.00 | 175.00 | 1.00 | 5.51 |
BETFD23D013*** | 7.30 | 60.30 | 53.00 | 3.38 |
Including | 18.00 | 24.30 | 6.30 | 7.19 |
And | 38.80 | 43.15 | 4.35 |