Inter-rock strikes Daisy gold

Having finished its first phase of drilling at the Daisy property in Nevada’s Beatty Twp., Inter-Rock Gold (ME) describes the results as positive.

Thirty reverse-circulation rotary drill holes, totaling almost 17,000 ft., were completed to test new targets and confirm mineralization at the Secret Pass deposit.

The most promising target area is northeast of Secret Pass and extends for more than three miles. Low-grade gold mineralization in several alteration zones has been located here, though the area has been tested by only three widely spaced, cross-section-style drill hole patterns.

The initial targets were geophysical and geochemical anomalies which had gold values in float chip samples ranging up to 0.25 oz. gold per ton. This area is highly prospective and further drilling of up to 20 holes (10,000 ft.) is planned, following mapping and geochemical work.

At the Secret Pass deposit itself, two holes, drilled southeast at 60, encountered gold mineralization. They were designed to intersect, at depth, the junction zone of three impinging faults which appear to control the better-grade mineralization, the company said in a press release. Hole D-248 intersected 0.024 oz. from 90-365 ft., followed by 0.042 oz. from 365-480 ft. down the hole.

Hole D-251, drilled 150 ft. southwest of D-248, intersected 0.012 oz. from 0-380 ft., followed by 0.078 oz. from 380-420 ft. down the hole. (The deeper intersections are within nonoxidized, refractory sulphide mineralization.) An oxidized resource of 11.8 million tons grading 0.021 oz. was previously identified on the property, along with a sulphide resource of 6.1 million tons at 0.030 oz. at a cutoff of 0.01 oz.

The minable oxide reserve was reported as 4.7 million tons grading 0.024 oz. at US$400 per oz. The sulphide mineralization was removed from the minable reserve because of its expectedly poor recoveries from heap leaching. However, recent preliminary tests indicate that the sulphide mineralization is amenable to bacterially assisted oxidation of pyrite, which liberates the gold for subsequent cyanide leach recovery.

The company believes there is good potential to increase substantially the grade and tonnage of minable reserves at Secret Pass. In late November, it will begin infill drilling to evaluate the effect of structural control on the distribution of mineralization.

The program will consist of about 25 holes totaling 13,000 ft. Ongoing drilling and metallurgical work for Daisy is budgeted at $300,000 for the next six months.