Gold Reach: Lotsa gold and copper at Ootsa

Drilling continues to return long, mineralized intercepts from the West Seel zone at Gold Reach Resources’ (GRV-V) Ootsa property in northwest B.C.

The intercepts are proving the veracity of an old mining mantra: the best place to look for a new discovery is right beside an operating mine. Ootsa lies next to the Huckleberry copper mine, which is jointly owned by Imperial Metals (III-T) and a consortium of Japanese companies.

The Ootsa property is already home to three defined deposits. The Seel deposit, a classic copper-gold porphyry in the middle of the property, boasts 28.1 million indicated tonnes grading 0.22% copper, 0.21 gram gold per tonne and 1.1 grams silver per tonne, plus 214.8 million inferred tonnes averaging 0.17% copper, 0.13 gram gold and 2.17 grams silver.

The Ox deposit sits 4 km northwest and is home to 16.1 million inferred tonnes grading 0.3% copper and 0.04% molybdenum. East of Seel, the Damascus vein has been traced for 400 metres along strike. A historic estimate — not compliant with National Instrument 43-101 regulations — pegged its resources at 196,000 tonnes averaging 411 grams silver and 7% combined lead and zinc.

West Seel, as the name implies, lies just west of the Seel deposit. Gold Reach discovered mineralization at West Seel in late 2011, and in 2012 the company focused most of its exploration on the new zone. The work produced long intercepts, and the intercepts generated great market interest.

In June Gold Reach announced completing the first two holes of its 2012 drill program, noting that both holes “ended in strong alteration containing visible copper and molybdenum sulphides, indicating the alteration zone remains open at depth.” Investors jumped aboard, and within a few days the company’s share price jumped from 60¢ to over $2.

The results from these holes did not disappoint. Hole 101 returned 817 metres grading 0.2% copper, 0.21 gram gold, 0.026% molybdenum and 2.24 grams silver from 262 metres downhole, while hole 102 cut 650 metres averaging 0.17% copper, 0.09 gram gold, 0.013% moly and 3.1 grams silver, essentially from surface.

As the months passed, West Seel produced more of these long intercepts. Hole 106 hit 772 metres of 0.23% copper, 0.14 gram gold, 0.028% moly and 3.31 grams silver, and hole 118 cut 537 metres of 0.27% copper, 0.19 gram gold, 0.055% moly and 2.69 grams silver. Later, hole 121 returned 753 metres grading 0.24% copper, 0.12 gram gold, 0.024% moly and 2.26 grams silver.

The latest results are similar: hole 137 hit 643 metres averaging 0.19% copper, 0.11 gram gold, 0.011% molybdenum and 1.64 grams silver from 304 metres downhole. Gold Reach says the grades in this hole are slightly lower because it was collared on what they believe is the zone’s eastern edge. Hole 141, collared near the western limit, returned 358 metres of 0.19% copper, 0.1 gram gold, 0.017% moly and 2.72 grams silver.

Two other holes tested the connector between Seel and West Seel. Both intersected relatively narrower zones of low-grade mineralization, such as 56 metres grading 0.2% copper, 0.23 gram gold and 0.015% molybdenum.

With these results, Gold Reach has defined West Seel over 600 metres of vertical depth and 800 metres width. The zone is open at depth in all directions.

Gold Reach is still awaiting results from a few more 2012 drill holes. Once they are received the company will set to work calculating a new resource estimate for the Seel and West Seel zones.

News of the latest drill results added a healthy 19¢ to Gold Reach’s share price, lifting it to $1.59. The company has a 52-week share price range of 46.5¢ to $2.13, with 30 million shares outstanding.