PROJECT UPDATE: Northern Freegold Finds New High-Grade Gold

Dubbed Irene by the company, the occurrence was discovered within a larger target area identified for follow-up as a result of a polarization survey completed by Northern Freegold in 2011. Thirty-four chip samples were collected from bedrock in six separate trenches at Irene. Five of the six trenches crossed the mineralized zone perpendicular to the suspected strike of the zone. Results included 11.30 grams per tonne gold over 1 meter, part of a larger 3 m interval which ran 7.11 grams per tonne.

Northern Freegold says that during its 2013 drill program, attention was focused on the area by local placer mining operators who were processing gravel. Geologists inspecting the placer bedrock noticed areas of extensive brecciation and alteration.

According to the company, the mineralization is hosted in veins and breccias, with the evidence pointing to a low-sulfidation epithermal gold system. The zone extends 80 meters along strike and is open in all directions.

“We are very excited by this new high grade discovery and the potential implications it has on this under-explored area of the ~ 200 square kilometer Freegold Mountain Property,”
President and CEO John Burges said in a statement, adding: Irene represents a very prospective and high priority target for future exploration.”

Today’s news follows an announcement earlier this year that Northern Freegold raised $1.5 million in a private placement. Along with Freegold Mountain, the company is also developing the Burro Creek gold and silver project in Arizona. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Nucleus and Revenue deposits at Freegold Mountain in February showed the deposits would generate a net present value of $615 million and an internal rate of return of 23 percent — with a mine life of 11 years.

Securities Disclosure: I, Andrew Topf, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. 

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