Pacific Ridge Exploration (PEX.V) has released assay results for four more holes drilled at the Kliyul copper-gold project this summer, completing 19 holes in approximately 10,200 metres. Assay results from eight holes have now been released and the results from the final 11 holes are expected by year end.
Pacific Ridge is looking for size and grade at Kliyul (CEO Blaine Monaghan mentioned he would like to see a clear path to 250 million tonnes preferably grading 0.50% CuEq). The 10,200 metre drill program at Kliyul was the largest ever and we hope that this will help Pacific Ridge to achieve its goal at Kliyul.
A closer look at the drill results
As always, the Company’s news release contains bullet points that provide a very nice overview regarding the purpose of the holes and highlights of the results. Pacific Ridge deserves praise for doing so.
- KLI-23-055, was the first drill hole to test the Ginger target, an interpreted standalone porphyry target area 1.3 km northwest of the center of KMZ (‘Kliyul Main Zone’) and at an elevation 200 m above KMZ. Drilling intersected a broad zone of chlorite-sericite and sericitic alteration with late stage veins. Massive white quartz veins, interpreted as D-veins or late Lode veins, have low-grade gold returning 19.1 m of 0.36 g/t gold equivalent (“AuEq”) (0.01% copper, 0.34 g/t gold and 0.65 g/t silver). The veins are also anomalous in copper, molybdenum (up to 0.12% over 1.25 m), tungsten, tellurium, and bismuth.
- KLI-23-056, drilled in Kliyul North as a 100 m step out to the west and north of KLI-22-046, returned 37.2 m of 0.27% CuEq (0.14% copper, 0.19 g/t gold and 1.07 g/t silver) from 513 m. While this is a narrow, low-grade interval, it is the second mineralized interval to intersect the western margin of a 400 x 200 m magnetic vector inversion anomaly (“MVI”) and Tilt Derivative (“TDR”) in an underexplored part of the Kliyul porphyry copper-gold complex, called Kliyul NE. From this same anomaly, KLI-22-046 returned 59.0 m of 0.84% CuEq (0.24% copper, 0.87 g/t gold, and 2.29 g/t silver) within 169 m of 0.52% CuEq (0.20% copper, 0.46 g/t gold, and 1.65 g/t silver) (see news release dated January 18, 2023) . The main body of the anomaly remains open and undrilled 400m northeast of the center of KMZ.
- KLI-23-057, drilled on the eastern side of the KMZ, returned 89.3 m of 0.38% CuEq (0.21% copper, 0.25 g/t gold and 0.91 g/t silver) from 290 m and 80.0 m of 0.37% CuEq (0.10% copper, 0.39 g/t gold and 0.85 g/t silver) from 433 m, extending KMZ mineralization 200 m east of KLI-22-045 and 135 m west of KLI-22-049, increasing confidence in the continuity of mineralization over a 600 m east-west distance from the western extent of KMZ to KLI-22-049 in East Wedge.
- KLI-23-058 returned the best result from the Kliyul North zone to date and further proves that Kliyul Main Zone (“KMZ”) mineralization extends into adjacent fault blocks. KLI-23-058 is one of three steep drill holes (also KLI-23-060 and KLI-23-069) spaced 100 m apart that were drilled as an east-west fence across the Kliyul North zone. Results of the other two drill holes are pending. KLI-23-058 returned 103.5 m of 0.63% CuEq (0.18% copper, 0.66 g/t gold, and 0.93 g/t silver) within 388.5 m of 0.42% CuEq (0.18% copper, 0.35 g/t gold and 1.05 g/t silver) from the Kliyul North zone. This interval represents a 130 m northern step-out from copper-gold mineralization in KLI-21-036 which returned 291.7 m of 0.79% CuEq (0.28% copper, 0.74 g/t gold and 2.04 g/t silver within 437 m of 0.64% CuEq (0.22% copper, 0.60 g/t gold and 1.62 g/t Ag).
Do the results meet expectations?
In a previous report we mentioned Pacific Ridge needed to establish two things at Kliyul: size and grade. When it comes to size, the Company appears to be closing in on its goal of achieving 250 million tonnes, which CEO Blaine Monaghan believes is the minimum threshold to attract potential M&A activity. The latest four holes expanded the Kliyul Main Zone mineralized footprint another 150 meters north-south. The size of the system now measures ~600 m east-west, ~600 m north-south, and ~600 m vertical depth. That’s 216 million cubic metres and about 615 million tonnes using a specific gravity of 2.85 (we used the same specific gravity that GT Gold used for the Saddle North deposit).Note: this is nót a resource calculation or target but simply the size and the mass of the mineralization. Not every tonne will meet the cutoff criteria and not every tonne will make it into an open pit model. But the larger the mineralized zone is, the better the chances that Pacific Ridge will be able to achieve and possibly surpass its goal.
The grade remains an important element and we previously argued the company could use some slightly higher grades to compensate for the lower grade intervals. The recently released assay results of the four holes helps a little bit. Holes KLI-23-055 and 056 are obviously weak and 0.24% and 0.27% CuEq over relatively narrow intervals of 19.1 and 37.2 meters respectively won’t cut it. Those holes are important for another reason: hole 56 is the second hole that intersected the western side of a magnetic vector inversion anomaly in an underexplored part of Kliyul while the main body of the anomaly remains open and undrilled. That anomaly is located approximately 400 meters northeast of the center of Kliyul Main Zone. Pacific Ridge is encouraged by the assay results as the company confirmed this ‘new’ zone will be a focus in the 2024 drill program.
Hole 55 drill-tested the Ginger target (located approximately 1,300 meters northwest of the center of Kliyul Main Zone), interpreted as a standalone porphyry target. The Company is still working on fully understanding this target.
The results from hole 057 are more encouraging. Not for the 12 meters of 0.52% CuEq, a narrow interval, but for the thicker intervals like the 34 meters of 0.44% CuEq, which is much more intriguing, even though that intercept started at a down-hole depth of 290 meters.
Hole 058 was the best of the four, and Pacific Ridge understandably used one of the intervals for the title of its press release. And yes, 103.5 metres of 0.63% CuEq is exactly what we were hoping to see to ‘spike’ the overall grade of the deposit. That 103-meter interval was part of a wider interval of 388.5 metres containing 0.42% CuEq where a few more higher-grade intervals are sprinkled through out the hole (for example 28 meters of 0.56% CuEq from 169.0 m to 197.0 m). The the higher-grade interval also contains some narrower but even higher-grade mineralization at depth ( 31.6 metres of 1.17% CuEq from 439.9 to 471.5 m). That is an excellent result.
Pacific Ridge closes small private placement
At the end of September, Pacific Ridge announced it had closed a small hard dollar placement, raising C$661,000. While the company had (and has) sufficient flow-through funds to continue its exploration activities, hard dollars are required for G&A expenses and other non-exploration expenses.
The units were priced at C$0.18 with each unit consisting of one common share and a full warrant with an exercise price of C$0.27, valid for a period of two years. The shares are subject to the common lock-up period of four months and one day which means the shares will be free trading on January 30, 2024.
Conclusion
Over the coming weeks and months we expect to see assay results from the remaining 11 holes that were completed at Kliyul. In addition, the Company is also waiting for assay results from three holes drilled on the RDP copper-gold project by partner Antofagasta (ANTO.L).
The remaining drill results from Kliyul drill will help to determine the next steps for Kliyul. If the technical team sees a clear path towards a minimum 250 million tonnes, you can expect to see another round of drilling in 2024.
Meanwhile, we are also looking forward to seeing the assay results from RDP and hope Pacific Ridge can follow up on the excellent drill results from last year’s drill program, hole RDP-22-005 intersected 497 m of 0.66 CuEq or 0.96 g/t AuEq.metres.
Disclosure: The author has a long position in Pacific Ridge Exploration. Pacific Ridge Exploration is a sponsor of the website. Please read our disclaimer.
