Tectonic Metals drills high-grade gold at Tibbs project in Alaska

Tectonic Metals (TSXV: TECT; US-OTC: TETOF) has released the first set of drill results from the 2020 drilling campaign at its Tibbs gold project, located in the Goodpaster mining district, 175 km southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and 35 km from Northern Star Resources’ (ASX: NST) Pogo mine. 

The 27-hole, 3,202-metre drill program focussed on the Michigan zone, where a new high-grade mineralized structure was discovered during the company’s 2019 rotary air blast (RAB) drill campaign with drill hole TBRB19-003 intersecting 29 metres grading 6.03 grams gold per tonne from 18 metres downhole.   

Drilling this year has concentrated on stepping out from the area, with holes to the northeast and southwest along a northeast-trending lineament in the centre of the Michigan zone, while also testing for additional Michigan-style structures along a 3 km long corridor at the Lower Trench and Wolverine zones. 

Highlights from the latest holes include drill hole TBRB20-029, which intersected 9 metres grading 6.71 grams gold per tonne starting from 102 metres downhole, including 3 metres grading 19.3 grams gold. 

Drill hole TBRB20-026 cut 12 metres grading 2.61 grams gold from 53 metres downhole, including a higher-grade core of 3 metres grading 5.56 grams gold, and TBRB20-025, which intersected 8 metres grading 3.73 grams gold from 110 metres, including 2 metres grading 12.8 grams gold. 

“The presence of high-grade gold mineralization within broad, lower-tenor mineralized envelopes at Michigan is indicative of a productive hydrothermal system within the corridor, and the intersection of low and high-angle structures appears to result in an increase in both tenor and width of mineralization,” Eric Buitenhuis, the company’s vice president of exploration, said in a statement. 

The company said the drill program this year has delineated 275 metres of strike with all drill holes from the program intersecting gold mineralization along a northeast-trending corridor open to the northeast, southwest, and at depth, with the Michigan zone remaining open along strike and at depth.  

The company also collected 1,453 soil and 109 rock samples at the Tibbs project to generate new drill targets. 

Tectonic now plans to conduct a follow-up induced polarization geophysical survey at the Michigan zone to test the extent of gold mineralization along strike and depth in the Michigan structural corridor.  

The company has also completed a 26-hole, 2,582-metre summer drill program at its Seventymile gold project, located in the Eagle mining district, 270 km east of Fairbanks and 59 km west of the town of Eagle.   

“We look forward to announcing the remaining results from the Lower Trench and Wolverine Zones, the soil sampling and prospecting programs, and the Seventymile drill campaign as soon as they are available,” Buitenhuis said.  

Tectonic was co-founded in 2017 by Tony Reda, the company’s president, chief executive, and director, and Eira Thomas, now a strategic advisor to the company. 

Reda previously served as the vice president, corporate development of Kaminak Gold and was instrumental in its acquisition and advancement of the Coffee gold project in the Yukon Territory. In 2016, Kaminak and Coffee were sold to Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) for $520 million. 

Thomas has over 25 years in the mining industry. In 2017, she founded Lucara Diamond (TSX: LUC) with Lukas Lundin and Catherine McLeod Seltzer. She serves as Lucara’s president and chief executive and is also a director of Suncor Energy (TSX: SU). 

At press time in Toronto, Tectonic was trading at 20¢ per share within a 52-week trading range of 10¢ and 34¢. 

The company has around 90 million common shares outstanding for a $17.6-million market capitalization.