Nearly two years since Barrick Gold partnered with junior ATAC Resources to advance part of the Racklan gold property in the Yukon Territory of north-west Canada, the gold major has terminated its option to acquire an interest in the Orion project.
ATAC president and CEO Graham Downs thanked its partner for the collaboration and sharing of knowledge of the Carlin-style systems over the past two years.
“Though early results from the Orion project may not meet the corporate thresholds at Barrick, the project remains a highly-prospective mineral asset in a top-tier jurisdiction. With over $10-million in working capital, ATAC remains well positioned to continue exploration in 2019 across the Rackla property, including the Orion project,” he said in a press statement.
The Rackla gold project comprises three projects, namely the 100%-owned Carlin-type gold Osiris project, which hosts the Conrad, Osiris, Sunrise and Ibis Carlin-type gold zones; the 100%-owned Rau project, which hosts the Tiger gold deposit; and the Orion project, which was under option to Barrick.
Work on the 1 700 km2 property has resulted in an Osiris project inferred mineral resource of 1.69-million ounces, at an average grade of 4.23 g/t and a positive preliminary economic assessment for the Tiger gold deposit.
In 2018, ATAC completed 7 410 m of diamond drilling in 16 holes, targeting a 15 km2 target area.
ATAC traded 24% lower at C$0.25 a share on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of C$37.25-million.