VANCOUVER, CANADA – March 05, 2024: Sitka Gold Corp. (“Sitka” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:SIG) (FSE:1RF) (OTCQB:SITKF) is pleased to announce that diamond drilling has commenced at the Company’s year-round road accessible RC Gold Project (“RC Gold” or the “Project”) located in the prolific Tombstone Gold Belt approximately 100 kilometres east of Dawson City, Yukon. Up to 15,000 metres of diamond drilling across winter and summer drilling campaigns is planned for 2024.
The key objectives of drilling this year will be to further expand and define the well endowed Clear Creek Intrusive Complex area (see Figure 2), which currently hosts a maiden resource of 1.34 million ounces of gold comprised of the Blackjack and Eiger gold deposits(1), both of which remain open in all directions, and advance additional drill-ready targets elsewhere on the district-scale, 386 square kilometre property.
“We are very excited to have the drill turning again at our flagship RC Gold Project,” stated Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka Gold. “This winter drilling program will be primarily focused on the southern extent of the Blackjack zone where we encountered the highest grade gold intercepts on the project to date in hole DDRCCC-23-047, which returned 219.0 m of 1.34 g/t gold including 124.8 m of 2.01 g/t gold and 55.0 m of 3.11 g/t gold. Gold grades of this magnitude are quite remarkable for a reduced intrusion related gold system and the data thus far indicates this higher-grade extension of the Blackjack gold deposit should persist further to the southeast and at depth. While step out drilling in this area could add substantial grade and tonnage to the existing resource, we are also excited to follow up on several other high priority, drill ready targets present across our district-scale and still largely underexplored land package this year.”
Drill hole DDRCCC-24-057 is collared 80 m south of the current resource estimation outline and is being drilled at an azimuth of 60° and a dip of 60° to test the southeast continuity of gold mineralization southeast of hole DDRCCC-23-047, which intersected 219.0 m of 1.34 g/t Au from 190 m (see Figure 1). Hole 057 is projected to intersect the south Saddle Intrusion and associated gold mineralization with a step out of approximately 50 m to the southeast of hole 047.
Figure 1 – Plan map showing location of DDRCCC-24-057 where diamond drilling is currently underway. This drill hole is designed to test continuity of the higher-grade gold intercepts previously discovered at the southern extent of the Blackjack Zone. The Blackjack gold deposit remains open in all directions.
Figure 2: Plan map of the Northern Extent of the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex where several drill intervals and surface samples have demonstrated the high-grade nature of the Reduced Intrusion Related Gold System present. Yellow stars indicate where outcrop rock samples or drill hole intervals have returned >10 g/t gold. Several additional targets with the potential to host intrusion related gold deposits of significant size and grade have yet to be drilled within this approximately 3 km x 5 km area.
About the RC Gold Project
The RC Gold Project consists of a 386 square kilometre contiguous district-scale land package located in the newly road accessible Clear Creek, Big Creek, and Sprague Creek districts in the heart of Yukon’s Tombstone Gold Belt. The project is located approximately 100 kilometres east of Dawson City and is accessed via a secondary gravel road from the Klondike Highway which is usable year-round and is an approximate 2 hour drive from Dawson. It is the largest consolidated land package strategically positioned mid-way between Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold Mine – Yukon’s newest gold mine which reached commercial production in the summer of 2020 – and Victoria Gold’s Brewery Creek Gold Mine. The RC Gold Project land package comprises five underlying properties, namely, the RC, Bee Bop, Mahtin, Clear Creek, and Barney Ridge properties. Sitka currently owns 100% of the Clear Creek which encompasses the Blackjack and Eiger deposits, Mahtin and other independently staked claims which comprise 86% of the total 386 square kilometre land package that comprises the RC Gold Project. The Company has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Barney Creek, Bee Bop and RC properties which comprise the remaining 14% of the RC Gold Project.*
On January 19, 2023 Sitka Gold announced an Initial Mineral Resource Estimate prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) guidelines for the RC Gold Property of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1). The road accessible, pit constrained Mineral Resource is classified as inferred and is contained in two near/on-surface zones: The Blackjack and Eiger deposits. The Mineral Resource estimate is presented in the following table at a base case cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au:
Table 1: RC Gold Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate
| COG g/t Au | Blackjack Zone | Eiger Zone | Combined | ||||||||
| Tonnes 000’s | Au g/t | 0z Au 000’s | Tonnes 000’s | Au g/t | 0z Au 000’s | Tonnes 000’s | Au g/t | 0z Au 000’s | |||
| 0.20 | 35,798 | 0.80 | 921 | 32,523 | 0.45 | 471 | 68,321 | 0.63 | 1,391 | ||
| 0.25 | 33,743 | 0.83 | 900 | 27,362 | 0.50 | 440 | 61,105 | 0.68 | 1,340 | ||
| 0.30 | 31,282 | 0.88 | 885 | 22,253 | 0.55 | 393 | 53,535 | 0.74 | 1,279 | ||
| 0.35 | 29,065 | 0.92 | 860 | 17,817 | 0.60 | 344 | 46,882 | 0.80 | 1,203 | ||
| 0.40 | 26,975 | 0.96 | 833 | 14,506 | 0.66 | 308 | 41,481 | 0.86 | 1,140 | ||
Notes
1. Mineral resource estimate prepared by Ronald G. Simpson of GeoSim Services Inc. with an effective date of January 19, 2023. Mineral Resources are classified using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards.
2. The cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au is believed to provide a reasonable margin over operating and sustaining costs for open-pit mining and processing
3. Mineral resources are constrained by an optimised pit shell using the following assumptions: US$1800/oz Au price; a 45° pit slope; assumed metallurgical recovery of 85%; mining costs of US$2.00 per tonne; processing costs of US$8.00 per tonne; G&A of US$1.50/t.
4. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
5. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
The Initial Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold at the RC Gold Project is comprised of two deposits: the Blackjack deposit containing 900,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.83 g/t gold and the Eiger deposit containing 440,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.50 g/t gold (see news release dated January 19, 2023). Both of these deposits are at/near surface, are potentially open pit minable and amenable to heap leaching, with initial bottle roll tests indicating that the gold is not refractory and has high gold recoveries of up to 94% with minimal NaCN consumption (see News Release July 13, 2022).
The Blackjack and Eiger deposits are in close proximity to highway and power infrastructure, are road accessible year-round, remain open in all directions and are located within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex. The deposits are located within a large, 3 kilometre by 5 kilometre intrusion related gold system that was recently identified at the Northern Extent of the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex. To date, 54 diamond drill holes have been drilled into this system for a total of approximately 18,877 metres with results of up to 219.0 m of 1.34 g/t gold including 124.8 m of 2.01 g/t gold and 55.0 m of 3.11 g/t gold in drill hole DDRCCC-23-047 at Blackjack (see news release dated September 26, 2023).
Several high priority intrusion related gold targets exist at RC Gold with nine outcropped intrusions identified to date over the 386 sq km property, however Sitka’s main focus at the RC Gold Project has been on the underlying Clear Creek Property where a large 500 metre by 2000 metre extensional corridor hosting an intrusion related gold system covering the area over the Blackjack, Saddle and Eiger zones was identified. Additional surface work has since extended the gold corridor an additional 3000 metres east and now encompasses the Josephine intrusion. Prior to the onset of the 2023 winter drilling program, the Company had drilled 38 diamond drill holes into this system for a total of approximately 13,000 metres. This drilling culminated in the discovery of the Blackjack and Eiger deposits with an initial inferred mineral resource estimate of 1,340,000 gold ounces(1).
Sitka Gold inherited a wealth of historical and current data from these properties from work spanning the last 40 years. Recent exploration work and the compilation of historical data have defined several mineralized zones with both bulk tonnage, intrusion-related gold deposit targets and high-grade, vein- and breccia-hosted gold targets. The RC Gold Project also has a common border with Victoria Gold’s Clear Creek property at its western boundary and Florin Resources’ Florin Gold property at its northern boundary.
(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory.
*For more detailed information on the underlying properties please visit our website at www.sitkagoldcorp.com.
Deposit Model
Exploration on the Property has mainly focused on identifying an intrusion-related gold system (“IRGS”). The property is part of the Tombstone Gold Belt which is the prominent host to IRGS deposits within the Tintina Gold Province in Yukon and Alaska. Notable deposits from the belt include: Fort Knox Mine in Alaska with current Proven and Probable Reserves of 230 million tonnes at 0.3 g/t Au (2.471 million ounces; Sims 2018)(1); Eagle Gold Mine with current Measured and Indicated Resources of 233 million tonnes at a grade of 0.57 g/t Au at the Eagle Main Zone (4.303 million ounces; Harvey et al, 2022)(2); the Brewery Creek deposit with current Indicated Mineral Resource of 22.2 million tonnes at a gold grade of 1.11 g/t (0.789 million ounces; Hulse et al. 2020)(3); the Florin Gold deposit, located adjacent to Sitka’s RC Gold project, with a current Inferred Mineral Resource of 170.99 million tonnes grading 0.45 g/t (2.47 million ounces; Simpson 2021)(4) and the AurMac Project with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 347.49 million tonnes grading 0.63 gram per tonne gold (7.00 million ounces)(5).
(1) Sims J. Fort Knox Mine Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report. June 11, 2018. https://s2.q4cdn.com/496390694/files/doc_downloads/2018/Fort-Knox-June-2018-Technical-Report.pdf
(2) Harvey N., Gray P., Winterton J., Jutras M., Levy M.,Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon Territory, Canada. Victoria Gold Corp. December 31, 2022. https://vgcx.com/site/assets/files/6534/vgcx_-_2023_eagle_mine_technical_report_final.pdf
(3) Hulse D, Emanuel C, Cook C. NI 43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resources. Gustavson Associates. May 31, 2020.
https://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/Brewery-Creek_NI-43-101-05OCT2020-File.pdf
(4) Simpson R. Florin Gold Project NI 43-101 Technical Report. Geosim Services Inc. April 21, 2021. https://sedar.com/GetFile.do?lang=EN&docClass=24&issuerNo=00005795&issuerType=03&projectNo=03236138&docI d=4984158
(5) Banyan Gold News Release Dated February 7, 2023 (Technical Report to be filed within 45 days of news release) https://banyangold.com/news-releases/2024/banyan-announces-7-million-ounce-gold-updated-mineral-resource-estimate-aurmac-project-yukon-canada/
Upcoming Events
Sitka Gold will be attending and/or presenting at the following events*:
- Tombstone Gold Rush Breakfast – Fireside Chat – Toronto, ON: March 5, 2024
- Invest Yukon Precious Metals Luncheon – Toronto, ON: March 5, 2024
- PDAC, Toronto, ON: March 3 – 6, 2024
- Exhibitor Booth #2346: March 3-6
- One-on-One Meeting Program: March 4-5
- Swiss Mining Institute, Zurich, Switzerland: March 20 – 21, 2024
- 121 Mining Investment, London, England: May 16-17, 2024
*All events are subject to change.
About Sitka Gold Corp.
Sitka Gold Corp. is a well-funded mineral exploration company headquartered in Canada with approximately $7.5 million in the treasury. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industry professionals and is focused on exploring for economically viable mineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and copper mineral properties of merit. Sitka is currently exploring its flagship RC Gold Project within the Tombstone Gold Belt in the Yukon Territory. The company is advancing the Alpha Gold Project in Nevada and has drill permits for its Burro Creek Gold and Silver Project in Arizona and the Coppermine River Project in Nunavut.
The Company recently announced an NI 43-101 compliant initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1) beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t at its RC Gold Project in Yukon (see news release dated January 19, 2023). A total of approximately 6500 metres of additional diamond drilling within 16 drill holes has been completed at RC Gold since the announcement of the Mineral Resource Estimate.
- Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory
The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of the Company, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
SITKA GOLD CORP.
“Donald Penner”
President and Director
For more information contact:
Donald Penner
President & Director
778-212-1950
dpenner@sitkagoldcorp.com
or
Cor Coe
CEO & Director
604-817-4753
ccoe@sitkagoldcorp.com
Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “intends” or “anticipates”, orvariations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “should”, “would” or “occur”. This information and these statements, referred to herein as “forward‐looking statements”, are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management’s expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the use of the proceeds raised under the Offering and the Company’s anticipated work programs.
In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will complete its anticipated work programs and use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.
These forward‐looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, market uncertainty, the results of the Company’s anticipated work programs and that the Company will not use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated.
Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.
