James Bay Minerals’ maiden JORC resource at Independence includes a high-grade skarn component of 984,412oz at 6.67g/t gold. Pic: Getty Images
James Bay Minerals pens maiden 1.37Moz high-grade gold resource at Independence
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- James Bay Minerals defines maiden JORC resource of 1.37Moz at its Independence gold project in Nevada
- This includes a high-grade skarn resource of 984,412oz at 6.67g/t gold
- Further drilling planned to grow near-surface epithermal resource and infill historical mineralisation outside the pit shell
Special Report: James Bay Minerals has validated its description of the Independence gold project in Nevada as a “transformational acquisition” after defining a maiden resource of 1.37Moz.
This includes a high-grade skarn inferred resource of 984,412oz gold at an average grade of 6.67g/t along with a near-surface epithermal indicated resource of 294,395oz at 0.4g/t and inferred resource of 90,702oz at 0.32g/t.
Besides being a sizeable resource, there’s also plenty of near-term growth potential with historical drill results ~580m north of the current skarn resource highlighting the potential for the discovery of similar, high-grade skarn mineralisation.
There’s also potential for James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY) to expand the near-surface epithermal mineralisation outside the current resource as it remains open in all directions.
The maiden JORC resource definition comes just months after the company executed a definitive term sheet to acquire an initial 51.54% interest in the 627 acre project in Lander County, just 16km south of Battle Mountain, a fully-serviced mining town, by issuing the vendor 16.25 million JBY shares priced at 15c each.
It’s now trading way above those levels at 50c.
This can be increased to 75% by incurring at least US$1.5m in exploration expenditure and issuing the vendor with US$500,000 worth of shares and to 100% with another US$1.5m in exploration spend, a US$500,000 cash payment and US$1m in either cash or shares.
JBY will also pay the vendor US$500,000 in cash and a further US$1.5m in either cash or shares within 12 months of starting production.
Growth ahead
“Our maiden JORC MRE of 984,412 ounces of gold at 6.67 g/t Au positions JBY as one of the ASX’s largest high-grade gold explorers,” executive director Matthew Hayes said.
“Notably, significant mineralisation exists beyond both the skarn and near-surface epithermal models, remaining open in all directions.
“These factors strongly suggest a connection between the surface mineralisation and deeper skarn material, indicating substantial resource growth ahead.”
The near-surface epithermal resource is constrained by an optimised pit shell and presented at variable diluted gold equivalent cut-off grades, which represent mineralisation potentially available for open-pit mining and heap leach processing.
JBY adds the high-grade skarn mineralisation is primarily hosted within basal conglomerates and coarse calcareous sandstones within member units of the Battle Formation.
A review of historical down-hole logs demonstrates gold mineralisation occurrences within the same host rocks as the skarn resource, representing key target horizons for future drill testing.
Upcoming exploration
James Bay’s drill planning for Q1 2025 is now nearing completion.
Exploration drilling will primarily target expanding the near-surface epithermal mineralisation across North Hill and Rebel Peak, as well as completing infill drilling to incorporate existing historical mineralisation that sits outside the optimised pit shell.
Rebel Peak, in particular, is expected to further highlight the Independence project’s potential for high-grade mineralisation and resource upside.
Recent drilling has not only indicated a continuation of wide zones of epithermal gold mineralisation, it suggests that there’s potential for higher grades than the current resource.
Additional targets have been identified within the near-surface epithermal mineralisation, where intrusives and related breccias dissect the chert host as the breccias host significantly higher-grade mineralisation that represents an attractive target to increase the grade of the near surface resource.
JBY also pointed out that most of the historical diamond holes were only selectively sampled within target areas for skarn mineralisation.
This could hide further mineralisation as two holes that were sampled in their entirety show that additional mineralisation is present within the lower Pumpernickel Formation situated between the near surface epithermal resource and the skarn resource.
As such, the Pumpernickel Formation represents an additional target horizon for further gold-silver mineralisation, particularly where intrusives, high-angle structures and breccias dissect the unit.
This article was developed in collaboration with James Bay Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
