Resolution drilling hits ‘Pogo-style’ rocks at 64North, shares take off

Special Report: Drilling at Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) compelling Aurora prospect has hit the same host rock as Northern Star’s neighbouring 10-million-ounce Pogo Gold Mine in Alaska, and there’s more to come.

The Aurora Prospect is a large-scale, high-priority target zone (2km x 5km), with host rocks, surface geochemistry, structures and a geophysical signature that make it a look-alike to the Goodpaster prospect and Pogo gold mine.

The 10moz Pogo mine is world class, beginning production in 2006 and producing ~300,000oz a year at +13g/t gold over this time.

Recent discovery success by Northern Star at the Goodpaster Prospect, within 450m of Resolution’s tenement boundary, speaks to the prospectivity of the wider region.

The first hole of phase-two drilling at Aurora — completed on June 23 to a depth of 615m on Target A6 — has intersected the targeted rock type called a ‘paragneiss’, which is highly prospective for Pogo-style gold mineralisation.

Resolution says drilling was extended beyond the planned depth to effectively test a shear zone intersected at 585m depth.

The geology team is continuing to assess all new results to optimise drill hole locations and maximise use of funds.

The Resolution drill rig has now moved on to Target A13NE.

A13NE will test a deeper conductor at 400m-800m depth. Resolution also interprets this conductor to be the same host rock as Pogo.

This conductor is also alongside an interpreted vertical feeder vein, a likely conduit for mineralised fluids from depth and the source of the high-grade rock chips up to 13.85 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at surface at the ‘Half Ounce Gulch’ gold occurrence.

Here, historic drill holes intersected narrow gold veins up to 1.71g/t gold but failed to test the deeper flat lying conductive horizon.

Interestingly, the early exploration holes at Pogo chased narrow near-surface vertical veins, drilling inclined holes which missed the flat lying thick and high-grade gold deposit at depth.

It was only later when explorers returned and pointed the rig near vertical that Pogo was discovered — which is why Resolution will be drilling a near vertical hole at an ~80º dip.

The Resolution share price was up 24 per cent to 9.3c on Wednesday.