Thesis Gold drills 0.78 g/t gold over 60.24 metres at Ranch project, British Columbia
Thesis Gold Inc. [TSXV-TAU; OTCQX-THSGF; WKN-A3EP87] provided an update on its exploration activities at the Steve zone, situated within the company’s 100%-owned Ranch gold project, northern British Columbia. The Steve zone was a new target generated by Thesis’s multidisciplinary exploration program and the discovery was confirmed through drilling in 2022. The 2023 drill campaign, comprising six holes that extended mineralization and defined multiple mineralized zones, demonstrating its promising resource potential. Situated 3.5 km directly south of the Bonanza-Ridge zone, the Steve zone continues to demonstrate the potential for widespread mineralization across the Ranch project. The project is road-accessible by way of the company’s Lawyers gold-silver project, and together the two projects form a contiguous, 325 km2 land package in the prolific Toodoggone mining district in Northern British Columbia.
Highlights: Building upon the 2022 discovery of 119.20 metres of 0.97 g/t gold, six 2023 drill holes confirmed the presence of multiple mineralized zones. Mineralization now extends from surface to a vertical depth of over 400 metres and 330 metres strike length; it remains open.
The Steve zone is characterized by broad-scale silica alteration and associated mineralization that contain more localized zones of higher grade: 23STVDD003 intercepted 10 metres of 3.01 g/t gold beginning at 18 metres core length. 23STVDD005 intercepted 60.24 metres at 0.78 g/t gold, including 6.63 metres of 3.49 g/t gold, and 71 metres of 0.71 g/t, including 26 metres of 1.20 g/t gold.
The latest findings from the Steve zone, a result of internal target generation efforts, not only underscore the zone’s potential, but also highlight the extensive exploration opportunities across our district-scale land package.
Dr. Ewan Webster, president and CEO, commented: “Our exploration efforts at the Ranch project are revealing remarkable potential, as demonstrated by the latest findings from the Steve zone. The 2023 drilling, building upon our 2022 discovery, establishes mineralization from surface to an impressive depth of 400 metres and a strike length of 330 metres. With a total of just eight widely spaced drill holes into the Steve zone over the past two years, there’s substantial upside potential to develop this into a significant deposit. The initial results at Steve share similarities with other zones at Ranch, and what’s particularly promising is the presence of localized higher-grade zones, hinting at the possibility of Bonanza-zone-grade mineralization within this larger system, reinforcing the extensive exploration opportunities across our land package.”
The 2022 discovery of the Steve zone was delineated by two drill holes spaced 220 m apart, one of which returned 119.20 metres of 0.97 g/t gold beginning approximately 350 m below surface.
In 2023, drilling aimed to expand upon the 2022 discovery drill holes, confirming up-dip and along-strike continuity of mineralized zones. The results validate the widespread presence of silica and advanced argillic alteration assemblages, encompassing broad intervals of mineralization and narrower zones of higher grade. Mineralization coincides with silica plus or minus dickite, a clay mineral indicative of acidic conditions. Localized high-grade mineralization is more commonly associated with hydrothermal breccias and localized increases in quartz-barite and sooty sulphide veining.
Thesis Gold, following its strategic merger with Benchmark Metals, is unlocking the combined potential of the Ranch and Lawyers gold-silver projects in the Toodoggone mining district of north-central British Columbia, Canada.
A 2022 preliminary economic assessment for the Lawyers project alone projected an open-pit mining operation yielding an average of 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span. By integrating the Ranch project, the company aims to enhance the economics and bolster the overall project’s potential.
Central to this ambition is the 2023 50,000-metre drill program, which aims to define the high-grade underground resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The company’s road map includes releasing a combined Ranch-Lawyers resource estimate by Q2 2024, with an updated preliminary economic assessment slated for Q3 2024.