Mixed results for Ethos Gold’s first pass at Betty

VANCOUVER — The first drill program on Ethos Gold‘s (ECC-V) Betty project in the Yukon has yielded both encouraging gold discoveries and numerous blanks.

The first group of results include 22 reverse circulation drill holes, the first half of a phase one drill program on the property targeting several zones.

Hole 22 was the highlight, returning 13.7 metres grading 7.1 grams gold per tonne and 209 grams silver per tonne from 26 metres downhole, within a longer 41-metre interval grading 2.6 grams gold and 107 grams silver at the Marshall target.

At the Bond target, hole 3 hit 16.7 metres grading 0.6 gram gold and 19 grams silver from 55 metres depth; at Mercedes hole 7 cut 21.3 metres averaging 1.5 grams gold from 56 metres downhole; and at the Perrault target hole 12 hit 3.1 metres averaging 29.8 grams gold and 27 grams silver from 27 metres depth, and hole 14 cut 3.1 metres averaging 6 grams gold and 27 grams silver from 110 metres downhole.

But along with those more encouraging hits, seven of the 22 drill holes hit no significant mineralization and several other holes hit less than 3 metres of mineralized core at low grades.

On news of the results the company’s stock price dropped as much as 13¢ or 20% before ending down 6¢ or 9% at 61¢ with 475,000 shares traded.

The results, however, represent only a first pass at the 17-sq.-km Mascot Creek soil anomaly in what Ethos called a ‘reconnaissance’ drill program. The drilling was designed to test below gold-bearing surface trench pits or anomalous gold soils and the company stated that it was excited to make several new gold discoveries during the first drill program on the property.

Overall Ethos has completed 30 of the 44 planned holes in the program, with 4,000 metres of drilling completed along with 3,000 samples. The company started its $7.3-million drill program in late May, targeting 16,000 metres of drilling and 10,000 soil samples.

The company reports that most holes to date have intersected limonite, clay alteration, and arsenopyrite mineralization, with or without quartz veining and silification. The company also reports several phases of progressive or overprinting alteration and mineralization that it finds very encouraging.

Ethos Gold’s full land position in the Yukon spans 1,020 sq. km in the White Gold district. The company has roughly $13 million in working capital and 42.9 million shares outstanding.