Gold Bull Provides Update on 2023 Work Programs at Sandman Including Optimized PEA and Exploration Testing for Sleeper Style Targets
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Gold Bull Resources Corp. (TSX-V: GBRC) (“Gold Bull” or the “Company”) is pleased to report an update on its ongoing mine economic studies and exploration program at its 100% owned Sandman Project (“Sandman” or the “Sandman Project”) located in Humboldt County, Nevada, USA.
- Optimized Sandman Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) underway targeting >35,000 ounces of gold per annum operation over 10 year mine life.
- Exploration work program revealed at Sandman focused on new Sleeper style discoveries via low-cost exploration.
- Merger and Acquisition (M&A) discussions and due diligence ongoing.
Further Optimized Scoping Study – Focused on the Existing Gold Resources
Engineering work is underway via an optimized PEA also referred to as a Scoping Study (“Study"). The new Study is focused on extracting the entire gold resource at Sandman. On October 27th 2022, the Company released details of a PEA which focused on an accelerated mine scenario via only extracting the gold resources located above the water table over five years. This prior PEA excluded approximately half of the known gold ounces, which are located below the water table. The updated PEA in progress will analyze the economics of the entire resource and is focused on a ten year mine life to produce circa 35,000 ounces of gold per annum. The optimized PEA is expected to be received in early Q2 2023.
Gold Bull CEO, Cherie Leeden commented:
Our Phase 1 PEA illustrated that Sandman represents a low-cost near term mine scenario in the tier 1 mining jurisdiction of Nevada. Our Phase 1 PEA only examined the oxide gold located above the water table, to investigate what an accelerated small-scale development scenario could deliver. Now we are analyzing the life of mine study, including the other half of the gold resource lying below the water table. I expect this will positively change the proposed initial operation economics, taking it from an initial 5 year mine life to a 10 year mine life, based on our existing gold resources, several of which remain open.
In addition to our current gold resource, is the immense exploration potential of this world class gold district which remains severely under explored especially given the prolific gold endowment located along the Sandman-Sleeper trend. Our team is working up some very exciting new exploration targets for testing.
2023 Exploration Program – Targeting New Multi-Million-Ounce Gold Discoveries
The exploration field program for 2023 will include low-cost technical field studies used by major gold mining companies (such as Newmont, Barrick, Newcrest) to test for a new gold discovery at the Sandman Project.
In 2022, the Gold Bull geology team were focused on “Brownfields” drilling within and close to previously identified gold resources. In 2023, the geology team will focus its exploration program in search of a new “Greenfields” gold discovery within the large Sandman land package, which is already fully permitted under the existing Plan of Operation (refer to Figure 1). Gold Bull will apply cost effective spectral mineralogy analysis to search for a mineral called “buddingtonite”, which is considered a close proximity indicator of the Sleeper high grade gold vein and other high grade Nevada gold deposits. This approach has not previously been applied at Sandman however comes recommended via, Technical Advisor, John Wood who discovered the Sleeper deposit. Figures 1 and 3 shows the target areas along the Sandman Northwest and North Trend in search of a new deposit discovery.
Figure 1. Sandman gold bearing Northwest and North Trends depicted over a processed gravity image defining these trends. Existing gold resources are shown in red, and fully permitted Plan of Operations boundary in black.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7ff4d152-a35c-434b-b718-257316606add
Figure 1 is a processed gravity image indicating the basin boundaries relative to Sandman deposits and the Northwest and North structural trends to be tested for a new deposit discovery. Understanding the basin morphology is important as they indicate areas of sag basin tectonism and potential gold bearing structures in which the basins have formed. The Northwest and North Trends are both gold bearing corridors on the Sandman property hosting the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits and Southeast pediment and Abel Knoll deposits. Very little exploration has been conducted historically along these trends.
Field studies shall include evaluation of the prior reverse circulation drill chips and drill core as well as outcrops on the Sandman Project. Of particular focus shall be the identification of buddingtonite and other mineralogy using the spectral technology. Buddingtonite has been identified in outcropping altered basaltic andesite at the Abel Knoll deposit however evades detection using multi element chemistry conducted on routine gold analysis. The methodology is proposed to find buddingtonite spectral signatures as a ‘near-to’ indicator of gold on the Sandman Project.
Figure 2. Regional location map of the Sandman Property, Nevada, USA relative to nearby town Winnemucca and other surrounding significant gold projects, active and historical.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/993cc368-59c4-42b5-871d-cfcd0111e8d1
The former Sleeper gold mine is located 25km north of Sandman’s northern claim boundary.
Another exploration tool which proved successful at Silica Ridge is lag sampling (refer to announcement February 28, 2022 titled Gold Bull surface sampling defines new drill target at Sandman), this method will now be targeted in search of another Abel Knoll high grade diatreme breccia deposit which returned a drill intersection of 144.8m @ 1.67g/t Au from 65.5m (refer to announcement March 21, 2021 titled Gold Bull intersects 144.8m @ 1.67 g/t gold, including 6.1m @ 10.75g/t gold in maiden drill hole at Sandman). This technique shall be applied around the Abel Knoll breccia area which has had no prior exploration outside the drilled breccia i.e., no prior step out scout drilling. A prior CSAMT geophysical survey did not penetrate surrounding lithologies sufficiently to delineate additional drill targets and the area remains undrilled. Nearology (proximity to other known fertile breccias) is also a consideration to find another nearby gold mineralized breccia. No systematic exploration has previously been conducted around the Abel Knoll deposit which is one of the highest-grade gold deposits at the Sandman property and the Company believes an opportunity exists to discover more mineralized breccia given other similar deposits exist within the region.
Figure 3. Northwest exploration target trend (white broken lines) depicted over processed gravity data, illustrating the significant extent of the under explored (barely drilled) structural corridor away from the defined deposits.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e8dd3fd1-c1dc-4038-9912-df8bfa1e0df2
Figure 3 depicts a processed gravity image (residual bouguer gravity total horizontal distance processing) which highlights the Northwest Trend in which the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits are located, the target polygon to the west in which Adularia Hill is located, may form a western basin graben along a tectonic trend, which is largely untested by drilling, and not previously targeted. Further detailed assessments are required for this part of the Northwest Trend at the Sandman property to discover another gold deposit at Sandman.
There is limited drilling along the North-West and North Trends at Sandman (referred to as the Northwest Exploration Target Trend). These trends are mineralized with existing deposits and align to the regional Nevada trend which aligns Sandman with the Sleeper Deposit to the north. This area boasts geophysical and geochemical anomalies that require more detailed assessment and follow up field exploration testing and drilling.
Further evaluation of the historical Sandman surface hyperspectral data will also be conducted and compared to the surface spectral technology field results in search of an additional deposit targeting volcanic hosted structural deposits similar to North Hill and Silica Ridge as well as the Abel Knoll diatreme breccia.
The Sleeper-Sandman corridor is a highly endowed and underexplored terrain given the Sleeper Mine mined
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.