P2 Gold restarts delayed PEA at Gabbs, Nevada
P2 Gold Inc. [PGLD-TSXV] has released an update on its 100% owned Gabbs project, which is located in the Walker-Lane Trend in Nevada.
The company said it has restarted a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Gabbs project, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. The PEA was originally expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022. However, it was paused late in the third quarter of 2022 as the company said it wanted to wait for the inflation rate to ameliorate.
The Gabbs Project consists of 355 unpatented lode mining claims and one patented lode mining claim covering four known zones of mineralization and spanning approximately 2,800 hectares. The gold-copper mineralization at three of the zones, Sullivan, Lucky Strike and Gold Ledge, is hosted within what are interpreted to be sills associated with an alkaline gold/copper porphyry.
The gold mineralization at the fourth zone, Car Body, is interpreted to be low sulphidation epithermal mineralization.
P2 Gold retained P&E Mining Consultants Inc. to prepare a mineral resource estimate for the Gabbs Project based on 494 drill holes completed by prior project operators between 1970 and 2011. The project is estimated to contain an inferred resource of 1.81 million ounces of gold equivalent or 1.26 million ounces of gold and 422.3 million ounces of copper.
The inferred resource estimate was prepared for a potential open pit scenario using a constraining pit shell at respective 0.24 g/t and 0.30 g/t oxide and sulphide gold equivalent cut-off grades.
In late 2021 and early 2022, the company completed a 48.3-line kilometre Natural Source Magneto Telluric survey at Gabbs covering all four known zones of mineralization and the prospective locations of the potential gold-copper porphyry source at depth.
Computational Geosciences Inc. created 3-D electrical conductivity inversion models of the NSMT survey data. The inversion model gives a subsurface view of the conductivity/resistivity with an estimated accuracy down to a depth of roughly sea level.
The initial interpretation by the company of the three-dimensional NSMT inversion model has identified a high priority area in the centre of the property that hosts a gold-copper porphyry exploration target. This area is below the Gold Ledge Zone and confirms the two-dimensional interpretation of the NSMT inversion model, the company said, adding that it needs an additional permit to drill the exploration target.
Meanwhile, the company said it has issued additional shares to Waterton Nevada Splitter LLC, an affiliate of Waterton Precious Metals Fund 11 Cayman LP, in relation to the restructuring of the outstanding payment terms for the acquisition of the Gabbs project.
As part of the restructuring, P2 Gold agreed to increase Waterton’s stake in the company to 19.9% of its issued capital. On March 28, 2023, P2 Gold shares closed at 22 cents and currently trade in a 52-week range of 80 cents and 19.5 cents.