Photo by: Pretium Resources
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – British Columbia-focused explorer and project developer Pretium Resources on Thursday reported that surface drilling had confirmed the continuity of mineralisation in the Valley of the Kings deposit beneath the area defined by a 2013 mineral resource estimate.
The Vancouver-based firm intersected gold ore in the two deep geological holes SU-628 (750 m) and SU-629 (958 m) in the stockwork system associated with the latite dyke, which hole SU-627 (1 158 m) previously intersected.
Results from the three holes, all collared from the same location near the Brucejack camp and drilled to the south, confirmed the vertical extension of gold mineralisation below the block model for the December 2013 Valley of the Kings mineral resource estimate.
Hole SU-629 ended in mineralisation. Hole SU-630, an additional 640 m hole drilled from the same collar, confirmed a mineralised extension to the east.
Pretium said it was currently busy with an initial surface drill programme of 5 000 m targeting a deep zone of indicated mineral resources in the Valley of the Kings. The underground drilling from the 1 345-level access ramp was planned to start in September, after a new water treatment plant had been installed.
Pretium was focused on advancing its 100%-owned Brucejack project, in northern British Columbia, to production as a high-grade gold underground mine.
Based on the results of the recently published feasibility study, Brucejack was expected to produce an average of 504 000 oz/y of gold over the first eight years and 404 000 oz/y over the 18-year mine life.
Brucejack's Valley of the Kings hosts proven and probable reserves totalling 6.9-million ounces of gold in 13.6-million tonnes, grading 15.7 g/t. Pretium expects to declare commercial production at Brucejack in 2017.