Strategic Metals sees gold-rich porphyry system at Mint

Strategic Metals Ltd. [SMD-TSXV] on Wednesday released what it described as highly encouraging results from a recently completed program involving detailed geological mapping and rock sampling at its Mint porphyry-copper-gold-silver-molybdenum project in southwestern Yukon.

Highlights include the delineation of a 300 metre by 300 metre zone featuring strong alteration and abundant well-mineralized sheeted and stockwork veinlets, 800 metres north of a 2012 diamond drill hole that averaged 0.204 g/t gold over its entire 331-metre length.

The company also reported numerous high values from rock samples collected within the newly defined zone, which included 2.3% copper, 1.365 g/t gold, 32 g/t silver, and 0.337% molybdenum.

“Results from the 2021 mapping combined with results from earlier work confirm that Mint hosts a large, high-level porphyry system and suggest that the core of the system may lie to the north of the area that was drilled in 212,” said Strategic Metals CEO Doug Eaton.

“The best porphyry discoveries that have been made in the Canadian Cordillera in recent years have come from drill programs that explored beneath weaker, near-surface mineralization,” he said. “We feel that Mint could be this type of target.”

On Wednesday, Strategic shares eased 1.6% or $0.005 to 30.5 cents in light trading. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 75 cents and 28 cents.

Strategic Metals is a project generator with 11 royalty interest, eight projects under option and a portfolio of more than 100 properties. The company has a cash position of over $8 million.  It also holds equity stakes in a number of Yukon and Nunavut exploration companies, including GGL Resources Corp. [GGL-TSXV], Rockhaven Resources Ltd. [RK-TSXV], and Honey Badger Exploration Ltd. [TUF-TSXV].

The Mint project is wholly-owned by Strategic and is not subject to any underlying royalty interests. It lies 26 kilometres south of the Alaska Hwy., within the Traditional Territory of the White River First Nation.

The project area covers 250 mineral claims, encompassing 50 square kilometres.

Strategic staked the Mint project in 2010. Two years later, five widely-space diamond drill holes (totalling 1,768 metres) were completed, primarily targeting magnetic, chargeability and resistivity features identified by magnetic and IP surveys.

The best results were obtained from hole M12-03 on the northern edge of the drill area, which averaged 0.204 g/t gold over its entire 331-metre length, including 53 metres that average 0.556 g/t gold near the bottom of the hole.

Despite the encouraging gold results, the property has seen relatively little work since it was drilled in 2012.

A total of 45 rock samples were collected in 2021, and of these 16 graded better than 0.1% copper, 11 assayed 0.1 g/t or higher gold, nine returned 5 g/t or better silver and 11 yielded mor than 0.01% molybdenum. Peak values are 2.3% copper, 1.365 g/t gold, 32 g/t silver and 0.337% molybdenum.