NevGold samples 1.22% copper and 8.19 g/t gold at Zeus Copper Project, Idaho
NevGold Corp. [TSXV-NAU; OTCQX-NAUFF; FSE-5E50] reported that it has identified high-grade copper, gold, and silver mineralization at surface at the newly staked Zeus Copper Project in the emerging Hercules Copper District of southwestern Idaho. The positive sampling results highlight the significant copper porphyry potential at Zeus.
There are many similar geological characteristics between Hercules Silver Corp.’s [TSXV-BIG] copper porphyry discovery at the Hercules Project and the Zeus Copper Project. NevGold will continue its active field program at Zeus throughout the summer.
Highlights: Positive high-grade copper, gold, and silver surface sampling results confirm the significant copper porphyry potential at the Zeus Copper Project. ZRS-07: 1.22% Cu, 8.19 g/t Au, and 21.9 g/t Ag. ZNR-01: 1.30% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au, 11.3 g/t Ag. ZRS-03: 0.91% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au, 20.0 g/t Ag. ZRS-02: 0.86% Cu, 0.11 g/t Au, 9.9 g/t Ag. APF: 1.03 g/t Au, 114 g/t Ag.
There are strong similarities between Zeus and the Hercules Silver copper porphyry discovery at the Hercules Project continues to be highlighted with the results from the active field program.
NevGold will continue its field program with further surface geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys to identify drill targets over the coming months.
Brandon Bonifacio, CEO, commented: “The initial results from sampling completed at Zeus have yielded exceptional results, further validating the copper porphyry potential at the Project. The initial samples were taken as our Team was completing the project claim staking and the results have identified widespread copper-gold-silver mineralization across the entire project. With our project knowledge improving with each day spent in the field, we continue to confirm that Zeus has significant copper porphyry potential and that there may be multiple target areas or a potential cluster of copper deposits at the Project. We are diligently advancing other field work with the goal of arriving at drill targets over the coming months.”
Zeus – Identified Target Areas: The preliminary rock chip sampling by NevGold, as well as historical sampling (Henricksen, 1975) and compilation of geologic data, has identified at least five targets within the Zeus Project. This preliminary work indicates a large footprint of mineralization and potential for for multiple copper porphyry producing intrusive centres.
The Thorn Springs Target is the site of a large porphyry copper style alteration zone that was first identified by Henricksen (1975). Sampling by Henricksen and NevGold (ZRS-07: 1.22% copper, 8.19 g/t gold, 21.9 g/t silver) has identified significant copper-gold-silver mineralization.
Thorn Springs has significant soil cover and poor outcrop exposure; these conditions may conceal a much larger mineralization footprint. The use of modern exploration methods, including soil geochemistry and high-resolution geophysics, will be key to identifying mineralization that may have been missed by previous prospectors. A significant portion of the Thorn Springs Target is located on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and could be drill tested with an Exploration Notice permit, which takes approximately 4-6 weeks to complete.
The Mortimer Target is the southernmost exposure of a 4-kilometer trend of copper-gold-silver mineralization that extends north-northeast to the Abundance Target. The target includes the area around the historical Mortimer Mine where significant skarn mineralization has been observed in open cuts, mine dumps, and outcrops. Multiple samples have shown 0.8-1.3% copper in marble, magnetite, and intrusive rocks associated with the skarn.
The Iron Mountain Target is located along the northeast continuation of the Mortimer-Abundance Trend and shows highly anomalous copper values in Triassic intrusive rocks as well as a large amount of mapped Huntington Formation, the formation that hosts copper mineralization at Hercules Silver’s copper porphyry discovery at the Hercules Project. The many geologic similarities to the Hercules Project suggests that the area has strong potential to host a blind porphyry copper deposit.
The Abundance Target is defined by a 0.6-km geochemical trend of copper up to 0.25% situated in the northeastern extension of the 4-km Mortimer-Abundance Trend. Additionally, Henricksen (1975) reported the presence of supergene copper enrichment in a now collapsed adit of the Abundance Mine. This area has many analogous attributes to the blind porphyry copper deposit discovered by Hercules Silver at the Hercules Project.
Rock chip samples from the Golden Goose Target, named after Golden Goose Canyon, which lies just to the west, contained some of the highest silver values (114 g/t) and gold values (1.03 g/t) identified at Zeus to date. This area is similar to the Abundance Target in that the Weatherby Formation is emplaced by the Bayhorse Thrust Fault over the Huntington Formation. This area also has the potential to contain a blind porphyry copper deposit similar to that which was discovered by Hercules Silver.
NevGold will continue exploration program at Zeus in 2024 including Geological database review (completed); Geological mapping (in process); Comprehensive surface geochemical sampling (in process); Geophysics such as magnetics, gravity, EM, CSAMT, or IP (in preparation); and drill testing copper targets identified by the above activities (subject to the above activities).
NevGold owns a 100% interest in the Limousine Butte and Cedar Wash gold projects in Nevada, and the Nutmeg Mountain gold project and Zeus copper project in Idaho.