Partners drill in Alaska

Partners Grayd Resource (GYD-V) and Atna Resources (ATN-T) have begun drill-testing the downdip extension of high-grade mineralization on the DC North zone at the Dry Creek property in Alaska.

Based on previous geophysical surveys and drill results, the companies believe the property has potential for hosting a large zinc-and-silver-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit.

The current 10,000-ft. program will cost $1 million. Atna can earn a 51% interest in Grayd’s Dry Creek and Anderson Mountain properties by spending $5 million on exploration over the next five years.

The properties comprise 17,700 acres in an area 60 miles south of Fairbanks. The Dry Creek property is hosted in a sequence of felsic volcanic flows and fragmental rocks characteristic of a back-arc basin.

Grayd has drilled off, to a depth of 600 ft., a narrow zone of steeply dipping zinc-and-silver-rich massive sulphide lenses that extend for roughly 5,000 ft. Atna will use two diamond core rigs to drill 500- to 1,000-ft. stepout holes.

Notable intersections from previous drilling include 160 ft. averaging 0.1% copper, 2% lead and 4.2% zinc, plus 0.01 oz. gold and 2.1 oz. silver per ton, in hole 60. That intersection included a 47-ft. section grading 0.2% copper, 3.4% lead, 7.2% zinc, 0.02 oz. gold and 1.8 oz. silver.

Hole 40 intersected 95 ft. averaging 0.2% copper, 2.6% lead, 6.2% zinc, 0.03 oz. gold and 5.3 oz. silver.

Atna and Grayd intend to test other occurrences of mineralization, including the WTF zone. The northern limb of the Dry Creek syncline dips gently to the south and hosts the WTF zone. Previous drilling there delineated a resource of 3.1 million tons grading 6% zinc, 2.5% lead, 6.7 oz. silver and 0.03 oz. gold. Mineralization is narrow, ranging in thickness between 0.3 and 5 metres.