Navaho Gold kicks off drilling at Utah Clipper Project in U.S.

Navaho Gold (ASX: NVG) has begun its first program of drilling at the Utah Clipper Project in Nevada in the U.S., and has the ambitious goal of completing drilling on five projects in the region before Christmas with two operational drill rigs at work.

The Utah Clipper Project is located directly adjacent to Barrick Gold Corporation’s (TSX/NYSE: ABX) Pipeline‐Gold Acres gold mine complex in the Cortez‐Pipeline sector of the Battle Mountain Trend, a trend that has produced in excess of 25 million ounces of gold.

The drilling will test two deep targets which have associated gold and arsenic geochemical anomalies at surface which may represent “leakage” from underlying gold mineralisation in prospective Lower Plate carbonate rocks.

The targets are located in structural settings analogous to the Cortez Hills deposit, where 6 kilometres southeast Barrick Gold announced two significant gold discoveries with the potential to become greater than 5 million ounce deposits.

An Inferred Resource of 3.5 million ounces has been outlined at Red Hill with mineralisation open in all directions.

To give an indication of the kind of grades that may be achievable, Barrick Gold has reported an intersection of 20.5 metres at 27.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at Goldrush, which is 2 kilometres further south.

Meanwhile, Navaho has completed drilling at the TAZ Project, which is also located on the Battle Mountain Trend 25 kilometres southeast of Barrick’s 11.47 million ounce Cortez Hills deposit.

The company drilled a core hole to 761 metres for deep testing of near‐surface gold mineralisation defined by an intersection of 21.3 metres of 1.44g/t gold from 65 metres in a previous BHP Minerals drillhole.

The BHP drillhole is considered too shallow to have adequately tested the prospective Lower Plate carbonate sequence, host to rich gold mineralisation elsewhere on the Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends.

Drilling by Navaho intersected significant zones of brecciation, calcite veining and remobilised carbon typical of a Carlin‐style system. Assays for the hole are expected in late December.


Project Interests

The Utah Clipper Project is subject to a farm-in agreement with Columbus Gold Corp (TSX‐V: CGT) under which Navaho can earn a 70% interest in the project.

Navaho’s interest in the TAZ Project is also via a farm‐in agreement. The company can a 75% interest in the project under the agreement with Miranda Gold Corp (TSX‐V: MAD).


Cash Position

Navaho had about $6.1 million cash at the end of the September quarter.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/22404/navaho-gold-kicks-off-drilling-at-utah-clipper-project-in-us-22404.html