Millrock Resources Inc. and Alix Resources Corp. Aug. 5 said drilling has started at the Divide Project, north of Nome. The companies also said they executed a definitive option and joint venture agreement following a letter of intent announced nearly a year ago.
Millrock is the operator of the 3,300-meter reverse circulation drill program. A total of 25 holes are planned with a maximum hole depth of about 130 meters. Primary targets are located at the intersection zones of the two main structural trends in the Stoneman, Saddle and South zones. The objective is to identify and build a high-grade gold resource on the property.
Millrock recently carried out an extensive program of lithological and structural mapping, and excavated a series of trenches to expose gold-bearing vein systems at surface. The work revealed a strong east-west structurally controlled vein system that intersects the northeast trending system which has been the focus of most of the prior exploration efforts. Additionally, a flat-lying structural trend with strong arsenopyrite mineralization was identified. Geologists are waiting for assay results from the chip samples collected from the trenches.
This year’s exploration is a follow-up on three core holes drilled by Millrock and Alix in 2007.
To further resolve the structural controls on the gold mineralization, a large trench will be blasted. The trench work is intended to expose known mineralization at the Stoneman prospect, where visible gold has been observed at surface. If warranted, a bulk sample will be collected.
Access to the property is via the Nome-Taylor highway which crosses the eastern boundary of the 1,424-hectare claim block. The Rock Creek Mine is located about 33 kilometers to the southwest. Gold mineralization at Divide is hosted in a similar geological setting to that at NovaGold Resources Corp.'s Rock Creek gold mine, which is nearing startup.
