Southwest US explorers Getchell and Elevation report strong gold drill results

Two Vancouver-domiciled gold companies, Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH; US-OTCQB: GGLDF) and Elevation Gold Mining (TSXV: ELVT; US-OTCQX: EVGDF), are making gains in their respective Nevada and Arizona-focused exploration drilling programs.

Getchell announced on Nov. 15 that the results from a single hole had intersected several significant intervals of gold mineralization at the North Fork zone in the Central Area of the Fondaway Canyon project in Nevada.

Hole FCG22-22 intersected four notable gold intervals, including 8.1 metres of 8.8 grams gold per tonne from 159 metres depth, over a broader 56.6 metres interval grading 3 grams gold; and 21.7 metres of 2.4 grams.

Getchell said in a release that the results, from the fifth hole of the 2022 program, extend the emerging North Fork zone 50 metres to the south and east.

The 2022 drill program at Fondaway Canyon initially followed up on last year’s high-grade gold discovery reporting 10.4 grams gold per tonne over 25 metres within a broader zone grading 6.3 grams gold over 50.7 metres.

“The North Fork zone drilling has consistently returned substantial gold intercepts and extended the known mineralization well beyond last year’s high-grade discovery,” said Getchell president Mike Sieb in a statement. “Better yet, North Fork remains open in all directions for further expansion.”

Getchell said it is awaiting the results of another six drill holes.

The company said holes FCG 22, 23, and 25 were also designed as step-outs to test the extent of two lower North Fork gold intervals discovered in FCG22-18 that graded 2.1 grams gold over 43.4 metres and 1.9 grams over 72.6 metres.

The company interprets the results as correlating well with the high-grade gold mineralization encountered in holes FCG21-16 and FCG22-17 that graded 6.3 grams gold per tonne over 50.7 metres and 3.8 grams gold over 85.9 metres, respectively.

Getchell says drilling has shown the Upper North Fork gold zone as prominent across at least seven drill holes.

The lower three gold intervals encountered downhole indicate the strength and pervasiveness of the mineralizing system at North Fork. However, more drilling is needed to trace the extent of these lower prospective intervals.

The current drill program consists of 6,000-8,000 metres, with results to date expanding the gold mineralized zones.

The company aims to further define mineralization in 2023 and complete a preliminary economic assessment by year-end.

Arizona optimism

Meanwhile, gold producer Elevation has also reported positive visual observations in core from two holes drilled at the Florence Hill prospect in Mohave County, AZ, now sent off to the laboratory for assaying.

The first hole (FH22-001), drilled into the main Florence Hill exploration target, intersected significant structurally hosted epithermal veinlets at the top of the hole, along strike of the nearby Gold Road and West Oatman veins. The hole also intersected intensifying porphyry-style alteration towards depth.

The second drill hole (HV22-001) was drilled into the Hardy Vein target about 1,300 metres west of the main Florence Hill target. It returned a 3-metre-thick epithermal quartz-calcite vein within a more than 90 metres thick zone of vein stockwork starting at 94 metres downhole. The company said the vein and vein stockwork intersected in this drill hole is like the Moss Vein and mineralized epithermal veins historically mined in the Oatman District, such as the Ransome deposit in 1923.

A third drill hole (FH22-002) underway on the main Florence Hill target is testing, at depth, the epithermal veining intersected at the top of FH22-001.

Elevation says the comparable project is AngloGold Ashanti’s (NYSE: AU; JSE: ANG) Silicon discovery in Nevada, which hosts about 3.4 million oz. oxide gold in 120 million tonnes grading 0.87 grams per tonne inferred, and Yamana Gold’s (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY) El Pinon mine.

Elevation, formerly Northern Vertex Mining, also suggests Florence Hill could host the high-grade mineralizing source for its producing Moss mine and the Oatman District, which has produced more than 2 million oz. to date.

The latest drill results are part of a 12-hole, 3,800-metre diamond drill program.

Getchell shares, which closed at 38¢ apiece on Wednesday, are down 42% over the 12 months. The company has a market cap of $39.4 million. Elevation shares closed down 3% at 14.5¢ each, down 88% over the past 12 months and 96% in the past 24 months. It has a market cap of $16 million.