US-listed gold explorer Austin Gold [NYSEAM:AUST] is pushing ahead with exploration activities at its two prime locations in Nevada and Oregon. This includes soil sampling at its Lone Mountain Project in Nevada and a reverse circulation drilling program scheduled in for Stockade Mountain in Oregon.
The Lone Mountain Project area exposes one of about a dozen lower-plate carbonate windows through the regional Roberts Mountains thrust and related faults. The large Carlin-type deposits at Carlin, Jerritt Canyon, and Cortez are localized in or near such carbonate windows.
Lone Mountain: another Carlin Trend success story?
Additionally, the Lone Mountain Project is an Eocene intrusive complex, and such high-level intrusions have regionally been linked to a wide array of Eocene gold mineralization from Carlin-type and distal disseminated gold deposits to high-temperature Au-Ag-Cu-Zn skarns.
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The project is located 20 miles northeast of the Carlin Trend (where more than 100 million ounces of gold have been produced) and is on the southern end of the Independence-Jerritt Canyon Trend (where more than 9 million ounces of gold have been produced).
Although significant historical exploration has been conducted at Lone Mountain, large areas of the property remain untested, or minimally tested, by drilling. Historical soil and stream sediment sampling programs reveal areas with strongly anomalous arsenic, antimony and mercury in structurally complex zones that have not been drilled.
Austin has completed a soil and stream sediment sampling program consisting of 2,027 soil and 122 stream sediment samples. Analytical results are being received in batches from the laboratory and will be analysed and reported on when all results are in hand. The results of these sampling programs, combined with the historical results and gravity surveys conducted in 2023, will be used for gold deposit targeting.
Planned drill program at Stockade Mountain
At the Stockade Mountain Project in Oregon’s Malheur County, Austin Gold is planning a reverse circulation drill program to follow-up on encouraging gold mineralization encountered during the 2023-4 winter drilling program. As previously reported, the initial three holes confirmed that the mineralizing system at Stockade Mountain is robust and contains significant gold grades, with the strongest intercepts being 8.19 grams/tonne (“g/t”) over 4 feet (1.2 m) and 9.32 g/t over 2.7 feet (0.82 m).
Due to the long access roads and the 5-acre disturbance limitation under a Bureau of Land Management “Notice” level exploration permit, Austin is undertaking a “Plan of Operations” using an environmental consultant to allow for greater flexibility for drill site locations and access.
Austin Gold’s drilling program is designed to test beneath known high-level gold/silver-bearing stockwork mineralization for high-grade vein deposits formed deeper in the hydrothermal system. Austin Gold confirmed it has all permits in place to conduct the program, which will be subject to suitable drill availability and weather.
At its Kelly Creek Project, in Humboldt County, Nevada, Austin is monitoring nearby competitor activity in this high gold price environment and will continue to determine the best options for further exploration.
