NOVAGOLD, Barrick drill 30.68g/t gold over 42.28 metres at Donlin, Alaska; shares up
Donlin Gold LLC, owned 50/50 by Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX; GOLD-NYSE] and NOVAGOLD Resources Inc. [NG-TSX, NYSE American], has released additional assay results from the 2022 drill program at the Donlin gold project 450 km northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, including 64 completed drill holes plus partial results for nine holes.
The drilling was completed ahead of schedule in September, with assay results received to date representing approximately 70% or 29,600 metres of drilling. During the 2022 drill program, 141 exploration drill holes were completed at 42,331 metres, with the final assay results expected to be released in early 2023
With these additional assay results, the owners are advancing Donlin Gold up the value chain and are working toward a feasibility study decision
Barrick President and CEO Mark Bristow said: “I am encouraged by the progress that we are making at Donlin and in particular the understanding that our teams are accruing with regards to the orebodies and associated mineralization. Our recent workshop in Anchorage which also involved meetings with our Native Corporation partners, and the visit to the project helped us to set priorities for the next steps towards optimization work and studies.”
Greg Lang, NOVAGOLD’s President and CEO, said: “The 2022 drill campaign has proven rewarding for all of us at NOVAGOLD. The latest set of assays reported have delivered outstanding gold intercepts, especially for an open pit deposit that include, among others, drill hole DC22-2068 that intersected 42.28 metres grading 30.68 g/t gold, with a sub-interval of 23.16 metres grading 54.22 g/t gold located in the Divide domain which overlaps both the ACMA and Lewis deposits, making it one of the most significant intercepts in terms of grade-thickness ever reported at the Donlin Gold project.”
The prime focus of activities this year was to undertake a drill program of 42,331 metres with tight-spaced grid drilling in structural domains, in-pit and below-pit exploration in sparsely drilled areas, platform mapping to further confirm mineralization continuity and key geological controls in representative areas of the deposit with the results informing and supporting the global resource estimate, recent modelling concepts, and strategic mine planning work.
The tight-spaced grid drilling program was initiated in 2021, beginning in East ACMA and expanded into West ACMA, Divide, and Lewis in 2022. Along with results from the Divide and Lewis grids, this will enable the partners to determine the best path forward toward an updated feasibility study, subject to a formal decision by the Donlin Gold LLC Board.
DC22-2068 intersected 42.28 metres grading 30.68 g/t gold starting at 117.52 metres drilled depth, including a sub-interval of 23.16 metres grading 54.22 g/t gold starting at 124.97 metres drilled depth; the drill-hole is sub-parallel to a mineralized intrusive and the true widths of the interval and sub-interval are estimated to be 29 metres and 16 metres, respectively.
DC22-2077 intersected 48.96 metres grading 20.61 g/t gold starting at 150.11 metres drilled depth, including sub-intervals of 9.08 metres grading 13.27 g/t gold starting at 152.60 metres drilled depth and 31.29 metres grading 27.09 g/t gold starting at 167.78 metres drilled depth. The true widths of mineralization across this interval and sub-intervals are estimated to be 32 metres, 6 metres and 21 metres, respectively.
DC22-2063 intersected 60.96 metres grading 12.35 g/t gold starting at 236.22 metres drilled depth, including sub-intervals of 33.37 metres grading 13.80 g/t gold starting at 247.06 metres drilled depth and 8.79 metres grading 26.73 g/t gold starting at 287.15 metres drilled depth. The true widths of mineralization across this interval and sub-intervals are estimated to be 44, 24 and 6 metres, respectively.
DC22-2063 intersected 19.74 metres grading 34.17 g/t gold starting at 162.18 metres drilled depth, including a sub-interval of 11.35 metres grading 57.93 g/t gold starting at 165.38 metres drilled depth; the true widths of mineralization across this interval and sub-interval are estimated to be 13 metres and 8 metres, respectively.
DC22-2092 intersected 41.19 metres grading 6.64 g/t gold starting at 116.12 metres drilled depth, including a sub-interval of 8.51 metres grading 16.47 g/t gold starting at 147.47 metres drilled depth; the true widths of mineralization across this interval and sub-interval are estimated to be 29 metres and 6 metres, respectively.
Donlin Gold is a federally permitted project on private land with excellent and longstanding Native Corporation partners.
The 2022 expenditure for Donlin Gold LLC (on a 100% basis) is expected to be $64 million, split equally between the two owners. The Donlin Gold project has approximately 39 million ounces of gold grading 2.24 g/t gold in the measured and indicated mineral resource categories (100% basis).
In early morning trading 1Nov22, NOVAGOLD shares gained $0.15 to $6.44; Barrick shares gained $0.43 to $20.42.