Nevada-based gold miner Fortitude Gold [OTCQB:FTCO] recently completed the second phase of the drill programme at its County Line site and results from 14 holes showed several high-grade gold oxide finds. The mineralization is close to the surface making the site a good candidate for an open-pit mine. Intercepts included 7.62 meters grading 10.71 grams per tonne of gold within 24.38 meters grading 5.06 g/t gold.
This latest set of results builds on a maiden drill programme at the site conducted earlier this year which showed intercepts including 15.24 meters grading 7.66 g/t gold. The second portion of results from the latest set of drilling is due to be released over the coming weeks as soon as the assay laboratory finishes its work.
“Twenty-four meters of over five grams per tonne gold, along with numerous additional near-surface high-grade gold intercepts, adds to the critical mass building from our County Line drill programmes,” said the company’s chief executive Jason Reid.
The County Line site has to face a relatively low economic hurdle to become financially viable as it will benefit from the nearby processing infrastructure of Fortitude Gold’s main operation site.
Proximity to Isabella Pearl
County Line sits some 26 kilometres northwest of the company’s operating Isabella Pearl gold mine and is connected to it with the paved Nevada State Route 361. Fortitude Gold targets delineation of sufficient mineralization which would be interesting as potential ore feed for the Isabella Pearl operation. The latest drill intercepts are sitting close to the surface and the mineralizations are of significant widths.
Given how close the two sites are ore could be transported by truck from County Line to be heap leached at Isabella Pearl.
Fortitude Gold is modelling the high-grade mineralization for tonnes, grade and mineral resource delineation and is aiming to publish a maiden resource estimate for County Line in the coming months.
The County Line property located in Mineral and Nye counties covers an area of 2,320 acres with 116 unpatented lode mining claims and six unpatented placer mining claims. It is part of the Paradise Peak collection cluster of high-sulfidation epithermal deposits. The district historically produced a total of 1.5 million ounces of gold and 38.9 million ounces of silver.
This year’s production plans
Earlier this year Fortitude Gold said it expects its Isabella Pearl open pit mine to produce between 36,000 and 40,000 ounces of gold. Through the first three quarters of 2022, the mine produced 30,355 gold ounces, of that 9.500 ounces in the third quarter.
In November, gold prices posted the highest monthly rise in almost three years and are currently trading close to $1,770/oz.
The miner’s strategy is to target projects with low operating costs, high margins, and strong returns on capital. The company plans to grow organically, remain debt-free and distribute substantial dividends. Fortitude’s Nevada Mining Unit consists of five high-grade gold properties located in the Walker Lane Mineral Belt and a sixth high-grade gold property in west central Nevada.
Fortitude Gold is a regular dividend payer with a very high dividend yield, prized by many investors for just this.
