Dakota Gold Corp. says it hopes to take advantage of the placement of two overlapping high-grade gold discoveries to save resources during its exploration.
Two high-grade gold discoveries at Dakota Gold Corp.’s (DC:NYSE American) Maitland Gold project in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota overlap, which could make their exploration more efficient.
Dakota Gold gave an update on its work at the Unionville Zone in Tertiary mineralization and the JB Gold Zone in Precambrian-aged gold mineralization; both were announced earlier this year. Both gold deposits remain open at depth and in all directions.
“Having two large gold systems overlapping in such a small area offers great synergies for exploration, development, and future extraction opportunities,” Vice President James M. Berry said. “The potential extension of the Tertiary structural system over 7,300 feet to the north from the current discovery area and onto our Blind Gold Project indicates that the current deposit can be significantly expanded.”
The JB Gold Zone was found drilling hole MA23C-017, which intersected 12.51 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 4.7 meters in the same mineralization style as the Homestake Mine, which produced more than 40 million ounces (Moz) Au over its lifetime.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Fairbairn wrote earlier this month that Dakota Gold could advance the JB discovery to a “substantial, high-grade deposit” if additional drilling demonstrates it as a new “ledge.”
Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Fairbairn wrote earlier this month that Dakota Gold could advance the JB discovery to a “substantial, high-grade deposit” if additional drilling demonstrates it as a new “ledge.”
“The majority of the production from the historic Homestake Mine came from long tube-like structures running along iron-formation hinges that the miners named ‘Ledges,'” Fairbairn wrote. “Once high-grade mineralization was found in a hinge (or Ledge), the miners were able to follow it down plunge, often extracting material amounts of gold.”
The JB Gold Zone could be Dakota Gold’s “most significant discovery to date,” wrote Fairbairn.
The Unionville Zone was discovered in hole MA22C-009, which intersected 3.58 g/t Au over 36.48 meters. Another hole, MA22C-007, intersected 7.19 g/t Au over 7 meters.
“We believe that the recent discovery of the JB Gold Zone is just the beginning of our goals to identify and define a significant Homestake-style gold ledge in the Maitland area,” Berry said.
The hole discovering the JB Zone was sunk 5.5 kilometers from the Homestake Mine Open Cut and 2.9 kilometers from Homestake Mining Company’s North Drift Discovery, Dakota Gold said. The alteration and mineralization present in MA23C-017 is the same as the high-grade mineral zones found at the Homestake Mine.
Homestake Is a ‘Legendary District’
Robert Quartermain and Jonathan Awde head Dakota Gold, which has acquired and is exploring 46,000 acres surrounding the historic mine. The company is also backed by industry heavyweight Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE).
“Dakota Gold is now seeking to revitalize this legendary district in hopes of making a material discovery on its land package proximal to the mine,” Fairbairn noted.
Geologist and investment analyst Matt Badiali said it’s a sound plan. “The best place to find a new gold mine is in the shadow of the head frame of an existing gold mine,” he said.
The Catalyst: Multiple Efficiencies in Testing Both Systems
At Maitland, the “Tertiary and Precambrian-aged structures hosting separate gold mineralizing events lie near each other, leading to multiple drill targets and efficiencies in testing both systems,” the company said in a release. “Holes drilled to test for Homestake-style mineralization may also opportunistically test for Tertiary mineralization.”
Geologist and investment analyst Matt Badiali said it’s a sound plan. “The best place to find a new gold mine is in the shadow of the head frame of an existing gold mine,” he said.
Dakota Gold said it had drilled nearly 79,000 feet in 19 holes at the project to date. It has 53 drill pads permitted on private land north of the Unionville and JB zones that will be used to test and extend both gold target types.
For the Precambrian gold mineralization, it is drilling on wide spacing to define the geology, delineate preferential terrains for gold mineralization, and to produce new discoveries. The next phases will tighten the spacing to find the best mineralization.
To explore the Tertiary gold mineralization, the company is continuing to infill drill along the trend of the Unionville Zone and will also begin step-out drilling along the structure that appears to control the brecciation that’s carrying the mineralization.
Four Drills Turning at Properties
A total of four drills are operating on Dakota Gold’s Homestake properties, two at its Richmond Hill project and two at Maitland Gold.
Last month, the company announced it had outlined an extensive gold system more than a mile long from north to south, with mineralization open in all directions, at the Richmond Hill project, which is 2.3 miles west of Maitland.
Drill hole RH22C-013 at Richmond Hill assayed 5.98 g/t Au over 30 meters at the intersection of a dominant north-south structure, confirming the existence of higher-grade gold mineralization.
“At Richmond Hill, DC is working on upgrading the historic oxide resource . . . and conduct additional exploration/step-out drilling,” Fairbairn wrote. “Results to date bode well for the next resource update, with indications that Richmond Hill hosts a substantial high-grade gold orebody.”
Ownership and Share Structure
According to the company, approximately 30% of the company’s shares are with management and insiders. Outside of management, Co-Chairman Robert Quartermain holds the most shares at 10% or 7.34 million shares. President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Awde is next at 8.4% or 6.2 million shares, while Chief Operating Officer Jerry Aberle holds 6% or 4.2 million shares. The remainder of the 30% is held by other members of management and the board of directors.
According to Reuters, about 26.6% of the shares are with institutional investors, including Van Eck Associates with 3.8%, BlackRock Fund Advisors with 3.6%, CI Investments with 3.6%, Fidelity Management with 3.5%, The Vanguard Group with 3.2%, Barrick Gold Corporation with 3%, Medalist Capital with 2.4%, Delbrook Capital with 2%, and Sprott Asset Management with 2%.
About 27.4% is with strategic investors, Reuters said. The largest holding is with Marin Katusa + KCR LLC, which owns 4.9%.
Dakota Gold has a market cap of US$258.25 million, with 75.3 million shares outstanding and 56 million free-floating. It trades in a 52-week range of US$4.69 and US$2.61.
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Important Disclosures:
- Dakota Gold Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and has paid SWR a sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$5,000.
- As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Dakota Gold Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp.
- Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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