Nevada King Gold doubles drilling at Atlanta project

Nevada King Gold (TSXV: NKG) plans twice the size of drilling at its Atlanta gold project in Nevada as the junior developer released new assay results from the emerging Silver Park target and provided a permitting update.

Drilling at Atlanta will cover 40,000 metres – instead of 20,000 – this year to “aggressively” test district-scale targets, Vancouver-based Nevada King said Tuesday in a statement. Drill results this year at Silver Park are expected to guide a decision to advance to a resource estimate, Atrium Research mining analyst Ben Pirie said in a note.

News of the increased exploration push came as Nevada King disclosed new assay results from the Silver Park East zone. Hole AT26SP-61 cut about 40 metres grading 0.3 gram gold per tonne starting at 10.7 metres depth, including 0.62 gram gold over 13.7 metres from 10.7 metres depth, while hole AT26SP-62 cut 16.8 metres grading 0.37 gram gold starting at 13.7 metres downhole.

“We view the expansion of the drill program positively as we believe the company needs to continue to demonstrate resource growth potential through drilling,” Desjardins Capital Markets mining analyst Allison Carson said in a note. “Results from Silver Park East were lower grade than previously encountered but continued to expand the overall mineralized footprint of the area.”

Regional targets

Located 264 km northeast of Las Vegas, Atlanta is a former open-pit mine that sits on an intrusive-dominated gold system. After completing more than 100,000 metres of drilling on the 130-sq.-km property, Nevada King says that the district probably has multi-million-ounce potential.

Silver Park lies about 2 km west of the Atlanta resource zone. The target has grown into a key focus of exploration, with drilling aimed at outlining a potential oxide resource that could complement the existing deposit.

“The latest drill results continue to demonstrate the strength and scale of the Silver Park East system and further validate our geological model as we expand exploration beyond the Atlanta mine area,” Justin Daley, the company’s vice president of exploration, said in the statement.

“With multiple intersections exceeding current resource cut‑off grades, we see Silver Park East as a compelling growth opportunity within the broader Atlanta gold mine project.”

Drilling is designed to advance several regional targets, including Silver Park, Atlanta South, Atlanta North and Western Rim. The program builds on a 30,000-metre campaign that identified multiple new zones of mineralization outside the Atlanta resource area.

Permitting progress

Along with drilling, the company said it is progressing permitting across the broader project, including amendments to its plan of operations that would allow expanded access to new target areas.

The Bureau of Land Management recently approved Nevada King’s notice of intent to conduct exploration drilling from 33 additional reverse circulation drill sites at Western Rim. Nevada King has also mobilized a reverse circulation drill rig to the Atlanta South zone, where previous work has identified above cut‑off‑grade gold mineralization.

Discovered in the late 19th century, Atlanta was the site of underground and small-scale surface mining from 1905 to 1966. Between 1975 and 1985, open-pit production recovered 110,000 oz. gold and 800,000 oz. silver from 1.5 million tonnes of material.

Nevada King purchased the Atlanta property in 2018 and began exploratory drilling in 2021. Two other historic mines are located nearby: the Silver Park open-pit mine and the Bradshaw underground mine at Atlanta South.

Shares of Nevada King rose 2% to 25.5¢ Wednesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about $108 million (US$79 million). The stock has traded between 12¢ and 32¢ in the past year.