Discovery In First Holes Drilled At Bear Head Zone
VANCOUVER - Cross River Ventures Corp. reported on the Bear Head Zone maiden drill program at the McVicar Project, located 150km northeast of Red Lake Ontario. Highlights include: Discovery drill hole BH-02 intersected 0.5m of 41.1 g/t gold with visible gold in core at 153.75 m downhole; Maiden 8-hole diamond drill program tested a new gold trend (the "Bear Head Zone") that was discovered in 2021 with surface samples grading up to 19.75 g/t Au; All 8 holes intercepted anomalous gold mineralization greater than 0.25 g/t Au; and Planned follow-up work includes geophysics and step-out drill holes.
In the summer of 2021, Cross River completed extensive targeted prospecting work on the McVicar Property located in the Archaean Lang Lake greenstone belt, which resulted in the discovery of a new surface gold trend, the "Bear Head Zone", which was drill tested by the company in winter 2022. The Bear Head Zone is a +700-meter long gold trend with surface samples returning up to 19.75 grams-per-tonne (g/t) gold over coincident LiDAR and magnetic features (Press Release October 5, 2021). No previous drilling has ever been completed at the Bear Head Zone target.
Eight diamond drillholes tested the Bear Head Zone during the winter 2022 program, and all holes intercepted anomalous gold mineralization greater than 0.25 g/t Au. Drilling identified an altered and mineralized corridor >710 m long, open to the east and west along strike.
Hole BH-02 intersected 0.5m of 41.1 g/t gold in a smoky grey quartz vein with visible gold, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite at 153.75m downhole (117m vertical depth). The quartz vein cross-cuts a locally sheared mafic metavolcanic succession, with a feldspar-porphyry dyke cutting host rocks proximal to the vein footwall. The gold interval is located near the east-west trending contact between volcano-sedimentary host rocks and a tonalite intrusive body. The contact area is characterized by damage zones and abundant shearing, various styles of alteration and veining, as well as feldspar porphyry dikes.
BH-01 is the westernmost hole drilled at the Bear Head Zone and is designed to test an east-west trending quartz vein zone beneath the 1.415 g/t Au sample collected on surface in 2021. BH-01 cut 16 meters of overburden before intersecting chlorite-carbonate altered mafic metavolcanic rocks containing instances of moderate shearing with minor intervals of sericite-silica alteration, with up to 5% grey to white quartz veinlets. The best gold intercept occurs between 16-19 meters downhole and averages 0.356 g/t Au. Pyrite and pyrrhotite are present as fine disseminations and as a stringer veinlet network. At 78m, the hole intersected an intrusive tonalite body to EOH at 185.5m.
BH-02 was drilled 300m east of BH-01 and targeted an east-west oriented magnetic high feature located north of the quartz-veined topographic ridge system tested by BH-01. After 25 meters of overburden, the hole intersected an intensely sheared clastic sedimentary rock (argillite) that contains smokey quartz veins, disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite. From 44 -163m downhole, chlorite-calcite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks were intersected, with locally strong shearing, and intermittent zones of moderate sericite and silica alteration. From 62-67m interbedded banded-iron-formations were noted, often with up to 8% banded pyrite and pyrrhotite. The mafic metavolcanic unit (72 to 155 meters downhole) contains narrow smoky grey and white quartz veinlets creating a broad low-grade gold halo (samples up to 1.17 g/t Au, 0.23% Cu over 1m), as well as a 0.5m meter sample with 41.1 g/t Au, where a 20cm (true width unknown) smoky quartz vein contains visible gold, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. At 163m the hole intersected tonalite intrusion to EOH at 206 meters.
BH-03 was drilled 100m east of BH-02 and targeted the quartz-veined ridge topographic high, specifically below the 19.75 g/t Au sample collected in 2021. After 15 meters of overburden the hole intersected chlorite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks to 117 meters downhole. The metavolcanic rocks are moderately sheared (locally) and contain smoky-grey and white quartz veins, quartz breccia, and sulfide stringers with sericite halos. From 20m to 105m downhole, a low-grade gold envelope is present (similar to BH-02). The highest grade sample was taken from a moderately veined interval with foliation-hosted pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, grading 3.23 g/t Au and 1.185% Cu over 0.47m. From 117m to 192m (EOH), the tonalite intrusion was intersected and intermittently cut by fine-grained mafic dykes.
BH-04 was drilled 100m east of BH-03 and targeted a quartz-vein topographic high ridge with a coincident magnetic anomaly (high). Below 28 meters of overburden the hole cut interbedded clastic metasedimentary rocks (argillite), mafic metavolcanic rocks, and banded iron-formations (locally enriched in arsenopyrite and pyrite) to 97m depth. From 97m to 181m, mafic metavolcanic rocks are present cut locally by fine-grained mafic intrusions (dykes). The mafic metavolcanic rocks are cut by 2-3% smoky-grey to white quartz veinlets which ran up to 0.895 g/t Au & 0.243% Cu over 1m. From 181m to 290m (EOH) the hole intersected tonalite intrusion cut by mafic dykes.
BH-05 was drilled toward the north and cut a topographic/magnetic low situated between the Bear Head Zone surface exposure and the Chellow Vein (600m to the north). After 26 meters of overburden, the hole intersected sheared argillite to 224m depth. The argillite is locally pyrite +/- pyrrhotite bearing in foliation parallel layering with occasional course arsenopyrite. From 224m to EOH at 449m, the hole intersected foliated chlorite-calcite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks (local argillite interbeds) with narrow zones of sulfides, and minor quartz-carbonate veining. The highest grade gold sample occurred at 63.4m in the sheared argillite, with 0.256 g/t Au, 32.6 g/t Ag, 0.483% Zn, and 0.476% As over 0.5m.
BH-06 was drilled 100m east of BH-04 and targeted a quartz-veined topographic high ridge system and coincident magnetic high anomaly. After 20 meters of overburden the hole cut the sheared argillite unit down to 59m, followed by banded iron formation interbedded with mafic metavolcanic rocks down to 67m downhole. From 67-165m, chlorite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks were cut by sparse intermediate to mafic dykes, and local zone of sericite + silica alteration. The mafic metavolcanic unit contains 2-5% smoky-grey to white quartz veins, with increasing sulfide abundance (pyrite + pyrrhotite + chalcopyrite) moving downhole, grading up to 0.42 g/t Au over 2m, and up to 0.16% Cu over 1m. From 165m to 225m the tonalite intrusion was intersected and intermittently cut by fine-grained mafic dykes.
BH-07 was drilled towards the north to test the topographic/ magnetic low situated between the Bear Head Zone surface exposure and the Chellow Vein (600m to the north). After 21 meters of overburden, the hole intersected the same lithologic sequence as BH-05, with strongly sheared argillite down to 234m, followed by chlorite-altered mafic metavolcanic rocks down to EOH at 489m. Within the mafic metavolcanic unit from 454-488m downhole, quartz + carbonate breccia veins up to 50cm wide with trace chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite were intersected. The highest grade gold sample occurred at 429m downhole in the mafic metavolcanic rocks, with 0.267g/t Au over 2m.
BH-08 is the easternmost hole drilled at the Bear Head Zone and is designed to test an east-west trending quartz veined topographic ridge system. BH-08 cut 12 meters of overburden before intersecting sheared argillite containing local concentrations of banded sulfides (pyrite, pyrrhotite, and arsenopyrite), with samples in this unit grading up to 0.328% Zn and 0.471% As over 1m. At 74m, the hole intersected mafic metavolcanic rocks, cut by narrow smoky grey-white quartz veinlets and trace sulfides which ran up to 1.1 g/t Au over 1m, and 0.403% Cu and 0.269 g/t over 0.51m. From 185-245m (EOH) the hole intersected tonalite intrusion cut by minor mafic dykes.
The geology and mineralization encountered in the drill program are similar to that described at the historic Golden Patricia Mine, located along strike 30km to the SE along the Bear Head Fault Zone. The Golden Patricia Mine produced 619,796 oz at 15.2 g/t Aui, and is hosted in a continuous 40 cm wide smoky quartz vein with visible gold, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite. Like the Bear Head Zone (McVicar Project), veining at Golden Patricia is also hosted in mafic metavolcanic rocks with feldspar porphyry intrusions, iron formations, and shearing. The Golden Patricia shear zone is interpreted as a splay of the Bear Head Fault.
CEO, Alex Klenman, said, "We are pleased with the results of the company's initial drill test on the Bear Head trend. The Cross River technical team identified this area as a priority target for gold mineralization and drilling has now confirmed discovery in this highly prospective zone. We look forward to next steps on the large prospective McVicar property and to follow up drilling at Bear Head. We're also eager to see the results from drilling at the Altered Zone and anticipate receiving shortly."