Nevgold sees copper porphyry potential at Idaho project
Nevgold Inc. [NAU-TSXV, NAUFF-OTC QX, 5E50-Frankfurt] has identified high grade copper, gold and silver mineralization at surface at the newly staked Zeus Copper project, which is located in the emerging Hercules copper district of southwestern Idaho.
“Positive sampling results highlight the significant copper porphyry potential at Zeus, the company said in a press release. On Friday, Nevgold shares eased 1.12% or $0.005 to 42 cents and trade in a 52-week range of 50 cents and 24 cents.
Nevgold said the newly staked Zeus Copper project covers 20 square kilometres (2,000 hectares) and is located 20 kilometers southwest of a major new copper porphyry discovery reported by Hercules Silver Corp. [BIG-TSXV, BADEF-OTCQB, 8Q7-FWB] the Hercules discovery, which it notes has attracted the interest of notes has attracted the interest of Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE], which currently holds a 15.09% stake in Hercules Silver.
The Zeus Copper Project covers some of the most prospective ground in the Hercules Copper Trend, Nevgold said in a press release. This area of Idaho, named the “Mineral District,” was a significant historical copper producer that supported a smelting operation and hosts numerous historical mine workings, Nevgold said.
“The initial results from sampling completed at Zeus have yielded exceptional results, further validating the copper porphyry potential at the project,’’ said Nevgold CEO Brandon Bonaficio. He said there may be multiple target areas or a potential cluster of copper deposits at the project. “We are diligently advancing our field work with the goal of arriving at drill targets over the coming months,’’ Bonaficio said.
Surface sampling highlights include ZRS-07, which returned 1.22% copper, 8.19 g/t gold, and 21.9 g/t silver. ZNR-01 returned 1.30$ copper, 0.19 g/t gold and 11.3 g/t silver.
Nevgold has staked the Zeus project just months after Hercules Silver confirmed a major new copper porphyry discovery at its Hercules property.
In an October 10, 2023 news release Hercules said hole HER-23-05, the first hole to test a large-scale blind chargeability anomaly intersected 185.29 metres of 0.84% copper and 111 ppm molybdenum from 246 metres to 431.2 metres, including 45.33 metres of 1.94% copper. The newly discovered porphyry system is situated below rhyolite-hosted silver mineralization defined by over 300 historical drill holes.
The company said HER-23-05 represents the first significant porphyry copper system discovered in the state of Idaho, which breaks the discovery gap between British Columbia and Nevada, presenting an entirely new district for porphyry exploration in a tier 1 jurisdiction.
The Hercules project is a disseminated silver-lead-zinc system with 28,000 metres of historical drilling across 3.5 kilometres of strike. The additional discovery of a new porphyry copper system at depth in 2023 adds significant upside potential to the property, Hercules has said.