(TheNewswire)
VANCOUVER, CANADA – TheNewswire - August 17, 2023 - Sitka Gold Corp. (“Sitka” or the “Company”) (CSE:SIG) (FSE:1RF) (OTC:SITKF) is pleased to announce that is has encountered widespreadmineralization, including visible gold, in large step-out drilling atits road accessible RC Gold Project (“ RC Gold ” or the “ Project ”) located in Yukon’s Tombstone Gold Belt.Mineralization, including visible gold in DDRCCC-23-053, has beenencountered approximately 450 metres east, 300 metres north and 130metres south of the margins of the existing gold resource outlined atthe Blackjack gold deposit which hosts 900,000 ounces of gold at 0.83g/t gold (1) and remainsopen in all directions.
News Release Highlights:
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Visible gold and strong arsenopyrite in quartz veins encounteredwithin drill hole (DDRCCC-23-053 or “Hole 53”) at the Saddlezone
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Hole 53 represents a 450 m step-out from the eastern margin of thecurrent Blackjack gold resource outline. Arsenopyrite mineralizationwas noted over the entire 452 metre length of the hole.
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Quartz-arsenopyrite veining is often associated with elevated levelsof gold mineralization at the Blackjack deposit where metallurgicaltesting has shown that the gold is not refractory and is potentiallyamenable to heap leaching with recoveries of up to 94% (see newsrelease dated July 13, 2022)
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Step-out drilling to test the northern extension of the Saddleintrusion intersected sheeted quartz-arsenopyriteveining up to 300 m from the northern extent of the current Blackjackresource (DDRCCC-23-050 to 052)
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Recently completed mapping and prospecting have further expanded thenorthern extent of the Saddle intrusion to a minimum of 300 m beyondthese drill holes where it becomes obscured by talus cover. Historicsurface sampling here has returned up to 4.54 g/t gold
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Step-out drilling to test the southern extent of theSaddle intrusion intersected sheeted quartz-arsenopyrite veiningwithin intrusive dykes and metasedimentary rocks 130 m south of theBlackjack resource in DDRCCC-23-048 (“Hole 48”)
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Current mapping and prospecting have expanded thesouthern extent of the Saddle intrusion at least 400 metres south ofHole 48 with historical surface sampling in this area returning valuesup to 8.62 g/t gold.
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Quartz-arsenopyrite veining in drill holes has now beenobserved across a 1000 m by 700 m area at Blackjack withmineralization remaining open in all directions
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Prospecting and mapping continue to define and expandmineralized areas located outside of the Blackjack and Eiger resourceareas
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Drill targets are currently being defined at theJosephine zone where visible gold was recently discovered on surfaceand where historical surface sampling has returned up to 7.36 g/tgold
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The Blackjack deposit remains open in alldirections
Figure 1: Plan map of drilling at theSaddle intrusion (pink) that hosts the Blackjack gold deposit. Step-out drilling has confirmed the presence ofmultiple quartz-arsenopyrite veining to the north, south and east ofthe deposit area, with visible gold seen in DDRCCC-23-053 collared 450m east of the deposit.
“Mineralization, including visible gold, encounteredwithin these large step-outs of up to 450 metres, is very encouragingand further demonstrates the potential to significantly expand ourBlackjack deposit”, commented Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka.“In conjunction with recently completed surface sampling,geophysics, mapping and prospecting, it is becoming more and moreevident that the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex, which spans for over 5kilometres and hosts a minimum of 6 intrusions, has the potential tohost several intrusion related gold deposits of significant size.Based on the drilling completed to date, quartz-arsenopyrite veiningand mineralization associated with the Blackjack zone now appears tocover roughly 1000 metres of the Saddle intrusion. The Saddle zonelocated to the east of the Blackjack deposit is expanding with thisrecent drilling and remains open in all directions (see Figure 1).While the observations of visible gold and multiplequartz-arsenopyrite veining seen in these step-outs are often goodindicators of gold mineralization at Blackjack, we won’t know the extent of mineralization in these drillholes until we have received the assay results. We look forward toreceiving the analytical results from these large step-out holes alongwith other completed holes from this summer’s diamond drill programas we continue to explore this highly prospective area of the RC GoldProject”.
Figure 2: Map of the northern extentof the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex. Ongoingfieldwork continues to define and expand several mineralized targetsthroughout this area.
Step Out Drilling TargetAreas:
North Saddle Intrusion
The Saddle intrusion is the main host to the Blackjackdeposit. The intrusion is exposed in a north-south direction overapproximately 1.5 kilometres. The current footprint of the Blackjackdeposit resource covers the central portion of the Saddle intrusionand adjacent metasedimentary rocks over a north-south distance ofapproximately 500 metres. The additional 500 metre extent of theSaddle intrusion to the north has not been tested by drilling prior tothe current program. The deposit is open to the north into an areawhere previous mapping had identified extensive sheeted quartz –sulphide veining in the Saddle intrusion, returning gold valuesranging from 0.06 to 4.54 g/t. Recent mapping and prospecting hasidentified additional quartz-sulphide veining in the northernextension of the Saddle intrusion.
Holes DDHRCCC23-050 to 052 were drilled 130, 170, 250m north of the current margin of the Blackjack resource. All threedrill holes were drilled to the north at an azimuth of 000 degreesencountering sheeted quartz-sulphide veining in intrusive andmetasedimentary rocks.
Figure 3: Examples of quartz veinmineralization within intrusive and metasedimentary rock inDDRCCC-23-051
South Saddle Intrusion
DDHRCCC23-048 was drilled to test a portion of thesouthern extent of the Saddle intrusion which has been mapped atsurface for an additional 500 metres south of the southern margin ofthe current Blackjack deposit resource. The hole was locatedapproximately 85 metres south of the current resource and drilled tothe south with an azimuth of 180 degrees and a dip of –55 degreesinto an area where previous mapping had identified sulphidemineralization in sheeted quartz veins with gold values ranging from0.01 to 8.62 g/t.
The drill hole encountered zones of sheetedquartz-sulphide veining in intrusive and metasedimentary rocks.
Figure 4: Examples of quartz veinmineralization in DDRCCC-23-048
Saddle Zone
The Saddle Zone is located between the Blackjack andEiger deposits. The area is underlain by a strong and extensive goldin soil anomaly that has an extent of 700 metres in an east-westdirection. Recent mapping in the area traced the Saddle intrusive dykeat surface over approximately 500 metres in an east-west direction.Several additional dykes of varying composition including lamprophyredykes were mapped in the area which is characterised by alteredmetasedimentary rocks. Extensive quartz veining with arsenopyrite andpyrite mineralization are hosted in the metasediments.
DDRCCC-23-053 was located 450 m east of the easternmargin of the current Blackjack resource and drilled to the southeastat an azimuth of 150 degrees. The hole is located approximately 200metres west of drill holes DDRCCC-20-001 and DDRCCC-21-019 whichintersected 84.8m of 0.52 g/t gold and 80.0m of 0.59 g/t goldrespectively.
The hole intersected metasedimentary and intrusiverocks with some of the strongest arsenopyrite development seen inquartz veins and fractures in metasedimentary rock to date. Visiblegold was identified in two locations in quartz sulphide veins in themetasediments.
Figure 5: Examples of visible goldobserved in DDRCCC-23-053
Figure 6: Examples of quartz veinmineralization in DDRCCC-23-053
DDRCCC-23-054 was drilled northwest at 330 degrees anda -50 dip from the same location as DDRCCC-23-053. The holeintersected dominantly metasediments intruded by metre to 10 metrescale intrusive dykes. Quartz sulphide veins cross-cut all units, witharsenopyrite generally being the dominant sulphide.
Surface Geological Prospecting andMapping
Additional exploration based on the interpretation ofnew and historical geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets(see news release dated June 26 and August 2, 2023) resulted in the identification of new areas of goldmineralization. Detailed prospecting and sampling of new andhistorical gold mineralization has focused on the northern portion ofthe Clear Creek Intrusive Complex which contains the Saddle, Eiger,Josephine, Pukelman, Rhosgobel and Big Creek intrusions emplacedwithin a broad extensional tectonic setting. The northern portion ofthe Clear Creek Intrusive Complex contains the Saddle intrusion (hostto the Blackjack Deposit), Eiger intrusion (host to the Eiger Deposit)and the Josephine intrusion where visible gold was discovered duringgeological mapping (see Figure 2 and news release dated August 2,2023). The gold was discovered in a quartz-sulphide vein hosted inaltered metasedimentary rocks immediately south of the Josephineintrusion. Surface exploration continues to refine known and new areasof gold mineralization that will be further evaluated to define andprioritise additional areas for drilling.
While the Company considers the visual results of the abovementioneddrill holes to be encouraging, it cautions that the significance ofthe mineralization observed will not be known until assays have beenreceived and reviewed.
About the RC Gold Project
The RC Gold Project (RC Gold) consists of a 376 square kilometrecontiguous district-scale land package located in the newly roadaccessible Clear Creek, Big Creek, and Sprague Creek districts in theheart of Yukon's Tombstone Gold Belt. The project is locatedapproximately 100 kilometres east of Dawson City and is accessed via asecondary gravel road from the Klondike Highway an approximate 2 hourdrive from Dawson. It is the largest consolidated land packagestrategically positioned mid-way between Victoria Gold's Eagle GoldMine - Yukon’s newest gold mine which reached commercial productionin the summer of 2020 - and Sabre Gold Mine’s Brewery Creek GoldMine. The RC Gold Project land package comprises five underlyingproperties, namely, the RC, Bee Bop, Mahtin, Clear Creek, and BarneyRidge properties*. Drilling at RC Gold to date during 2023 has beenfocused on expanding the Blackjack and Eiger gold deposits, both ofwhich remain open in all directions.
On January 19, 2023 Sitka Gold announced an InitialMineral Resource Estimate prepare d in accordancewith National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) guidelines for theRC Gold Property of 1,340,000 ?ounces of gold (1) . The roadaccessible, pit constrained Mineral Resource is classified as inferredand is contained in two near/on-surface zones: The Blackjack and Eigerdeposits. The Mineral Resource estimate is presented in the followingtable at a base case cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au:
Table 1: RC Gold Inferred MineralResource Estimate
COG g/t Au | Blackjack Zone | Eiger Zone | Combined | ||||||||
Tonnes 000's | Au g/t | 0z Au 000's | Tonnes 000's | Au g/t | 0z Au 000's | Tonnes 000's | Au g/t | 0z Au 000's | |||
0.20 | 35,798 | 0.80 | 921 | 32,523 | 0.45 | 471 | 68,321 | 0.63 | 1,391 | ||
0.25 | 33,743 | 0.83 | 900 | 27,362 | 0.50 | 440 | 61,105 | 0.68 | 1,340 | ||
0.30 | 31,282 | 0.88 | 885 | 22,253 | 0.55 | 393 | 53,535 | 0.74 | 1,279 | ||
0.35 | 29,065 | 0.92 | 860 | 17,817 | 0.60 | 344 | 46,882 | 0.80 | 1,203 | ||
0.40 | 26,975 | 0.96 | 833 | 14,506 | 0.66 | 308 | 41,481 | 0.86 | 1,140 |
Notes:
1. Mineral resource estimate prepared by Ronald G.Simpson of GeoSim Services Inc. with an effective date of January19,
2023. Mineral Resources are classified using the 2014CIM Definition Standards.
2. The cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au is believed toprovide a reasonable margin over operating and sustaining costs foropen-pit
mining and processing
3. Mineral resources are constrained by an optimisedpit shell using the following assumptions: US$1800/oz Au price; a45°
pit slope; assumed metallurgical recovery of 85%;mining costs of US$2.00 per tonne; processing costs of US$8.00per
tonne; G&A of US$1.50/t.
4. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and donot have demonstrated economic viability.
5. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
The InitialMineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold at the RC Gold Project is comprised of two deposits: theBlackjack deposit containing 900,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.83g/t gold and the Eiger deposit containing 440,000 ounces of gold at agrade of 0.50 g/t gold (see news release dated January 19, 2023). Bothof these deposits are at/near surface, are potentially open pitminable and amenable to heap leaching, with initial bottle roll testsindicating that the gold is not refractory and has high gold recoveries of up to94% with minimal NaCN consumption (see NewsRelease July 13, 2022).
The Blackjack and Eiger deposits are in close proximityto highway and power infrastructure, are road accessible year-round,remain open in all directions and are respectively located at thewestern and eastern end of a large, 500 metre by 2 kilometre intrusionrelated gold system that was recently discovered on the Property. Todate, just 41 diamond drill holes have been drilled into this system for a total ofapproximately 14,500 metres with results of up to 201.0 m of 1.26 g/t gold from surface,including 82.0 m of 2.04 g/tgold and 19.5 m of 4.87 g/t gold at Blackjack (drillhole DDRCCC-22-040; see news release datedJanuary 11, 2023) and 354 m of0.41 g/t gold including 72 m of 0.72 g/t gold atEiger (drill hole DDRCCC-21-09; see news release date August 19,2021).
Several high priority intrusion related gold targets exist at RC Goldwith nine outcropped intrusions identified to date over the 376 sq kmproperty, however Sitka’s main focus at the RC Gold Project has beenon the underlying Clear Creek Property where a large 500 metre by 2000metre intrusion related gold system covering the area over theBlackjack, Saddle and Eiger zones was identified. Prior to the onsetof the 2023 winter drilling program, the Company had drilled 38diamond drill holes into this system for a total of approximately13,000 metres. This drilling culminated in the discovery of theBlackjack and Eiger deposits with an initial inferred mineral resourceestimate of 1,340,000 gold ounces (1) .
Sitka Gold inherited a wealth of historical and current data fromthese properties from work spanning the last 40 years. Recentexploration work and the compilation of historical data have definedseveral mineralized zones with both bulk tonnage, intrusion-relatedgold deposit targets and high-grade, vein- and breccia-hosted goldtargets. The RC Gold Project also has a common border with VictoriaGold’s Clear Creek property at its western boundary and FlorinResources’ Florin Gold property at its northern boundary.
(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory.
*For more detailed information on the underlying properties pleasevisit our website at www.sitkagoldcorp.com .
Deposit Model
Exploration on the Property has mainly focused onidentifying an intrusion-related gold system (“IRGS”). Theproperty is part of the Tombstone Gold Belt which is the prominenthost to IRGS deposits within the Tintina Gold Province in Yukon andAlaska. Notable deposits from the belt include: Fort Knox Mine inAlaska with current Proven and Probable Reserves of 230 million tonnesat 0.3 g/t Au (2.471 million ounces; Sims 2018)(1); Eagle Gold Minewith current Measured and Indicated Resources of 233 million tonnes ata grade of 0.57 g/t Au at the Eagle Main Zone (4.303 million ounces;Harvey et al, 2022)(2); the Brewery Creek deposit with currentIndicated Mineral Resource of 22.2 million tonnes at a gold grade of1.11 g/t (0.789 million ounces; Hulse et al. 2020)(3); the Florin Golddeposit, located adjacent to Sitka’s RC Gold project, with a currentInferred Mineral Resource of 170.99 million tonnes grading 0.45 g/t(2.47 million ounces; Simpson 2021)(4) and the AurMac Project withan Inferred Mineral Resource of 312.90 million tonnes grading 0.61gram per tonne gold (6.18 million ounces; Jutras 2023)(5).
(1) Sims J. Fort Knox Mine Fairbanks North StarBorough, Alaska, USA National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report. June11, 2018.https://s2.q4cdn.com/496390694/files/doc_downloads/2018/Fort-Knox-June-2018-Technical-Report.pdf
(2) Harvey N., Gray P., Winterton J., Jutras M., LevyM.,Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon Territory, Canada.Victoria Gold Corp. December 31, 2022.https://vgcx.com/site/assets/files/6534/vgcx_-_2023_eagle_mine_technical_report_final.pdf
(3) Hulse D, Emanuel C, Cook C. NI43-101 TechnicalReport on Mineral Resources. Gustavson Associates. May 31,2020.
https://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/Brewery-Creek_NI-43-101-05OCT2020-File.pdf
(4) Simpson R. Florin Gold Project NI43-101 TechnicalReport. Geosim Services Inc. April 21, 2021.https://sedar.com/GetFile.do?lang=EN&docClass=24&issuerNo=00005795&issuerType=03&projectNo=03236138&docId=4984158
(5) Banyan Gold News Release Dated May 24,, 2023(Technical Report to be filed within 45 days of news release)https://banyangold.com/news-releases/2023/banyan-announces-6.2-million-ounce-gold-resource-estimate-for-the-aurmac-property-yukon-canada/
About Sitka Gold Corp.
Sitka Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company headquartered inCanada. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industryprofessionals and is focused on exploring for economically viablemineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and coppermineral properties of merit. Sitka currently has an option to acquirea 100% interest in the RC, Barney Ridge, Clear Creek and OGIproperties in the Yukon and the Burro Creek Gold property in Arizona.Sitka owns a 100% interest in its Alpha Gold property in Nevada, itsMahtin Gold property in the Yukon and its Coppermine River project inNunavut.
The Company recently announced an NI 43-101 compliant Initial Mineral Resource Estimate of1,340,000 ounces of gold (1) beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t at its RC GoldProject in Yukon (see news release dated January 19, 2023).
The Company is also planning additional drilling at its Alpha GoldProperty in Nevada where a new Carlin-type gold system was recentlydiscovered. The Company is focused on vectoring towards the high-gradecore of this system, which is located on the Cortez Trend just 40 kmsoutheast of the Cortez Mine Complex of Barrick/Newmont.
(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory.
Upcoming Events
Sitka Gold will be attending and/or presenting at thefollowing upcoming events:
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Precious Metals Summit, Beaver Creek, Colorado: September 12 - 15, 2023
All events are subject to change.
The scientific and technical content of this news release has beenreviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of theCompany, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
SITKA GOLD CORP.
“Donald Penner”
President and Director
For more information contact:
Donald Penner
President & Director
778-212-1950
dpenner@sitkagoldcorp.com
or
Cor Coe
CEO & Director
604-817-4753
ccoe@sitkagoldcorp.com
Cautionary andForward-Looking Statements
This news release containsforward-looking statements and forward looking information within themeaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate tofuture events or future performance. All statements other thanstatements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements orinformation. Forward-looking statements and information are often, butnot always, identified by the use of words such as “appear”,“seek”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”,“estimate”, “approximate”, “expect”, “may”,“will”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”,“targeting”, “intend”, “could”, “might”, “should”,“believe”, “would” and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements andinformation are provided for the purpose of providing informationabout the current expectations and plans of management of the Companyrelating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on suchstatements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes,such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statementsand information address future events and conditions, by their verynature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual resultscould differ materially from those currently anticipated due to anumber of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to,the expected timing and terms of the private placement, use ofproceeds, anticipated work program, required approvals in connectionwith the work program and the ability to obtain such approvals.Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on theforward-looking statements, timelines and information contained inthis news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list offactors is not exhaustive.
The forward-looking statements andinformation contained in this news release are made as of the date ofthis news release and no undertaking is given to update publicly orrevise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as aresult of new information, future events or otherwise, unless sorequired by applicable securities laws or the CSE. The forward-lookingstatements or information contained in this news release are expresslyqualified by this cautionary statement.
Neither the CSE nor its RegulationServices Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE)accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authorityhas approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
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