BELMONT RESOURCES DRILLING INTERCEPTS SECOND 100+ METER LONG MINERALIZED ZONE BENEATH A-J GOLD ZONE
Belmont Resources Ltd. has completed drill core logging on two additional drill holes, AJ23-06 and AJ23-09, with visual analysis showing that a second mineralized zone of over 100 metres of extensive silicic and phyllic alteration accompanied by widespread sulphide mineralization was intersected.
Drill holes AJ23-06 and AJ23-09 targeted a strong coincident geophysical anomaly beneath surface gold mineralization at the A zone located 100 metres southeast of drill holes AJ23-07 and AJ23-08 where both holes intercepted a 100-metre mineralized zone directly beneath the Athelstan gold mine (read news release Oct. 31, 2023).
Silica, silica-carbonate and phyllic alteration intersected over 100-metre durations in all four diamond drill holes in the South zone directly beneath and nearby the Athelstan mine. These mineralized zones appear to be correlative between drill holes and could represent a 100-metre stepout, along the strike of the Athelstan gold zone trend. The discovery of multimetre quartz shear and stockwork-style vein intersections with all lithologies hosting widespread pyrrhotite and pyrite and lesser chalco and arsenopyrite may potentially be one or more conduits and fracture spaces for deep-seated mineralizing hydrothermal fluids and related to the auriferous deposits found in the historic gold mining above.
Shallow listwanite units (oxidized to unweathered) were consistently intersected along with very wide intense alteration zones with moderate sulphide mineralization at depths previously untested with historic exploration drilling or mining.
The recently completed nine-hole, 2,000 m drill program tested several coincident geophysical-geological anomalies on the A-J property. Drill holes AJ23-01 to 05 were drilled in the North zone with drill holes AJ23-06 to 09 drilled in the South zone.
South zone: potential near-surface resource with high-grade feeder system
South zone drilling tested for a potential feeder contact/structure for the near-surface gold mineralization within a one-kilometre mineralized gold trend which includes the Athelstan and Jackpot past-producing gold mines which produced 7,600 ounces gold and 9,000 oz silver (Minfile 082ESE047).
Along with the two former gold mines this trend includes numerous trenches, pits and adit as well as mine waste dumps. Sampling in this area has returned extensive high gold and silver results. In particular, sampling of the mine dumps has returned grades as high as one oz/ton gold and over five oz/ton silver.
A 2002 report by R.E. Miller, BEng, PGeo, states: "A potential resource of 2,000 to 5,000 ounces of gold in the surface and near-surface mineralized areas appears to exist within the A-J group based on previous trenching results and sampling of mine dumps. The identification of one to two areas of ore have been identified having dimensions of two metres thick, 15 metres in width and 90 metres in length with an average grade of 0.3 oz/t gold."
Gold mineralization in this zone is coincident with 2020 induced polarization survey signatures of subsurface chargeability and resistivity highs, in addition to overlapping magnetic lows. All interpreted to potentially relate to the presence of sulphide mineralization, as well as silica, silica-carbonate and phyllic alteration zones.
Core logging of all four drill holes from the South zone has now been completed with drill samples being sent to MSA Labs in Langley, B.C. Logging of North zone drill holes AJ23-01 to 05 continues and is expected to be completed in the next week.
George Sookochoff, chief executive officer of Belmont Resources, said: "I am certainly pleased with the visuals of the drill core thus far and in particular the lengths of the mineralization situated both under and nearby the Athelstan gold mine. We were targeting and believe to have located one or more feeder systems to the extensive gold mineralization at surface. If assay results indeed support the visuals then we will have several more good targets to test in Q1 2024, in particular underneath the Jackpot mine."
Listwanite and serpentinite
Listwanite (carbonated serpentinite) is a term to describe the silica-carbonate alteration of serpentinite and is commonly associated with high-grade lode-gold mineralization.
All of the historic production from the property, and the vast majority of the previous exploration, all of which were in the South zone, have been directed at massive sulphide and oxidized sulphide zones within listwanite.
During the serpentinization process any gold present in the serpentine may be assimilated with secondary sulphides and/or magnetite and could be indicative by the magnetic anomalies within the property.
These opaque minerals (magnetite) are subsequently destroyed in talc-carbonate alteration zones (magnetic low features), which results in gold being released from the serpentinite wall rocks and transported in solution. The gold- and silica-rich fluids are transported to higher crustal levels via faults where the change in conditions (lower temperature, pH and fO2) results in the precipitation of gold, quartz and sulphides.
The Mother Lode gold district in California and the Abitibi greenstone belt of the Superior province of Canada are two of the most well-known examples of listwanite-associated lode-gold in North America. In general, the richest gold grades within these deposits are associated with, or in close proximity to, carbonate-altered ultramafic rocks (listwanite). Listwanite is also directly associated with several multimillion-ounce gold deposits in British Columbia, Atlin, Bralorne and Barkerville.
About Belmont Resources Ltd.
Belmont Resources has assembled a portfolio of highly prospective copper, gold, lithium, uranium and rare earths projects located in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Washington and Nevada.
National Instrument 43-101 disclosure
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101 and has been reviewed and approved by Laurence Sookochoff, PEng.