Solitario drilling Golden Crest gold project, South Dakota
Solitario Resources Corp. [TSX-SLR; NYSE-XPL] reported that core drilling has begun on its 100%-owned Golden Crest gold project, South Dakota. Phase-One of the 2024 drilling program consists of drilling approximately 10-12 holes totaling 5,000 metres. The first area to be drill tested is the high-grade Downpour Zone where trenching and surface rock sampling has revealed high-grade gold at surface.
Assay highlights of the trenching program included 36 metres of 17.60 g/t gold, 60 metres of 8.55 g/t, 12 meytres of 0.56 g/t, 15 metres of 2.18 g/t and 15.6 metres of 17.1 g/t gold.
In addition to the high-grade trenching results, surface grab sampling of the area surrounding the trenches revealed significant gold values over a corridor of approximately 800 metres long and up to 500 metres wide. Within this zone, 37 select surface grab samples were collected and displayed the following gold-grade distributions (previously released results): 7 samples above 10 g/t gold, 16 samples above 3 g/t gold and 25 samples above 1 g/t gold.
Chris Herald, President and CEO, stated: “With the drill now turning, we are beginning a new phase in the exploration of our Golden Crest project. It is remarkable that such a large well-endowed gold region has never been drill tested, especially one that is situated so close to one of America’s largest historic gold districts, the Homestake-Wharf mining complex. We are excited to begin drilling at Golden Crest and look forward to reporting our progress and results.”
Solitario’s 100%-owned Golden Crest properties in South Dakota constitute strategic land holdings along the western and southwestern extensions of the Homestake-Wharf mining district that has produced approximately 52 million ounces of gold and is reported to contain another 30 million ounces in historical resources (not SK-1300 or NI-4301 compliant). The project area is located in a safe jurisdiction with highly developed infrastructure, an unbroken 150-year record of continuous gold mining, a skilled mining workforce, and a history of high-grade, underground mineable gold deposits.
In addition to its South Dakota property holdings, Solitario holds a 50% joint venture interest (Teck Resources 50%) in the high-grade Lik zinc deposit in Alaska and a 39% joint venture interest (Nexa Resources 61%) on the high-grade Florida Canyon zinc project in Peru.
At Florida Canyon, Solitario is carried to production through its joint venture arrangement with Nexa. Solitario’s Management and Directors hold approximately 9.1% (excluding options) of the company’s 81.4 million shares outstanding. Solitario’s cash balance and marketable securities stand at approximately US$9.3 million.