Western Exploration Inc. (the "Company" or "Western Exploration") is pleased to announce the commencement of the 2022 diamond drill program (the "Drill Program") at its 100% owned Aura project, located in Elko County, Nevada (the "Aura Project").
The Drill Program forms a part of the recommended two-phase exploration program as outlined in the Company's technical report on the Aura Project, entitled "2021 Updated Resource Estimates and Technical Report for the Aura Gold-Silver Project in Elko County, Nevada" and dated October 20, 2021 (with an effective date of October 14, 2021), which was prepared for Western Exploration by Mine Development Associates (the "Aura Technical Report"). The Phase 1 Drill Program provides, among other things, for approximately 2,000 meters of large diameter core drilling in 10 to 12 drill holes at the Doby George mineral deposit.
The purpose of the Phase 1 Drill Program is to evaluate areas within, and adjacent to, the current resource boundary to:
- validate and delineate current mineral resources;
- locally test for the expansion potential and structural controls on mineralization;
- provide samples for metallurgical test work to outline leach kinematics, as well as ore and waste rock characteristics; and
- expand upon geotechnical studies through additional test work.
The results of the Drill Program, including all metallurgical testing and other exploration activities completed at the Aura Project, will be used to determine the basis for completing Phase 2 of the exploration program on the Aura Project, which is expected to focus on advancing the Doby George deposit towards the completion of a pre-feasibility study ("PFS").
Following the commencement of drilling at Doby George, Western Exploration's Chief Executive Officer, Darcy Marud, commented: "The Aura Technical Report recognized Doby George as an undeveloped high-grade oxide resource located in one of the most favorable mining jurisdictions in the world. We see the execution of the Drill Program as the first step towards unlocking the full potential of the Aura Project and towards the completion of a PFS at Doby George."
About Doby George
Doby George is one of the highest grade, undeveloped open pit heap leach resources in northeast Nevada and one of three mineral deposits on Western Exploration's 100% owned Aura Project. The Aura Project is located 32 kilometers north of the Jerritt Canyon mine, which has been in continual operation since 1981. The deposit is an outcropping, high-grade sediment hosted mineral deposit that has been defined by drilling along a strike length of approximately 2 kilometers and to a depth of approximately 250 meters, with the zone of oxidation extending approximately 150 to 200 meters below surface.
The deposit was initially discovered by Homestake Mining Company in the mid 1980s. Since that time, 827 drill holes have been completed, totaling 115,197 meters of drilling. This includes 74 drill holes, totaling 22,622 meters that were drilled by Western Exploration LLC between 1998 and 2017.
Metallurgical test work completed on oxidized material by Homestake Mining Company, Independence Mining Company, and Atlas Precious Metals Inc., has indicated favorable metallurgy for standard cyanide heap leach processing. Results from the previous metallurgical testing completed on 52 bottle rolls and 23 column leach samples indicate that heap leach gold recoveries approaching seventy percent can be expected via a crush of 1 to 1.5 inches.
In addition to an established mineral resource estimate (as determined in accordance with NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")), the Aura Project has well established infrastructure including year-round accessibility by highway and county-maintained road and nearby access to water and electricity. Western Exploration has exploration, development, and mining rights on 930 hectares of privately owned fee lands through a mineral lease agreement with a local landowner and may purchase those fee lands at any time for the development of Doby George.
The 6,000-hectare Aura Project is unique in the junior mining space insofar as resources have been identified in three different deposits (Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch), as supported by the Aura Technical Report (see Table 1 below).
Table 1. Updated resource estimates for the Aura Project
| MINERAL RESOURCE(1) |
| |
Indicated< |
Inferred |
| |
Tonnes
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au
(ozs)
|
Ag (g/t)
|
Ag
(ozs)
|
AuEq (g/t)
|
AuEq (ozs)
|
Tonnes
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au
(ozs)
|
Ag (g/t)
|
Ag
(ozs)
|
AuEq (g/t)
|
AuEq (ozs)
|
|
Doby George(2)
|
12,922,000
|
0.98
|
407,000
|
-
|
-
|
0.98
|
407,000
|
4,999,000
|
0.73
|
118,000
|
-
|
-
|
0.73
|
118,000
|
|
Wood Gulch(3)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4,359,000
|
0.66
|
93,000
|
5.80
|
808,000
|
0.74
|
104,543
|
|
Gravel Creek(4)
|
1,315,000
|
4.73
|
200,000
|
75.0
|
3,169,000
|
5.81
|
245,271
|
2,744,000
|
4.16
|
367,000
|
60.20
|
5,307,000
|
5.02
|
442,814
|
|
TOTAL
|
14,237,000
|
1.33
|
607,000
|
75.0
|
3,169,000
|
1.43
|
652,271
|
12,102,000
|
1.48
|
578,000
|
15.74
|
6,115,000
|
1.71
|
665,357
|
Notes:
(1) Au equivalent oz assumes US$1,800 per oz Au and 70:1 ratio of Ag:Au.
(2) Pit constrained 0.2 g/t AuEq cutoff for oxide, 0.4 g/t Au cutoff for mixed and 1.4 g/t Au cutoff for unoxidized.
(3) Pit constrained 0.2 g/t AuEq cutoff.
(4) 3.0 g/t Au cutoff.
In 2017, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited became a partner of the Company and has invested over US$14 million in support of the Company's exploration initiatives. In addition, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited provides technical expertise to the Company through a joint technical committee with Western Exploration's management team.
Source: https://www.westernexploration.com/home/default.aspx