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Freegold acquires more Canadian property Claim staking effort near Eskay Creek, drilling planned for Grew Creek in Yukon and Golden Summit property near Fairbanks Patricia Liles Petroleum News Contributing Writer
On a property acquisition spree this year, Vancouver, British Columbia-based Freegold Ventures Ltd. has acquired another Canadian gold prospect this summer, this time in central British Columbia.
Calling it Eskay Rift, Freegold said in a Sept. 1 press release that the grassroots prospect, which is thought to be favorable for volcanic massive sulfide mineralization similar to Barrick’s Eskay Creek project, was identified by a new geological map published in early 2004 by the British Columbia Geological Survey.
Freegold staked more than 400 claim units in the area, and has recently completed geological mapping and collecting 1,000 samples.
“Several significant sulfide showings are reported to have been located, and an additional 40 claim units were staked as a result,” the company said.
Freegold will spend about $250,000 on Eskay Rift this year, company President Harry Barr told Petroleum News Sept. 14. He knows of no previous modern exploration work on the property, he said.
The British Columbia property, along with Freegold’s Grew Creek project in the Yukon, is consistent with the company’s mission of “delineating 3 million drill indicated ounces of gold over the next three years,” the company said, in its release.
Freegold plans to spend between C$200,000 and C$500,000 drilling at Grew Creek this fall, Barr said, depending on the initial drill results. Drill crews began work in mid-September. A minimum of 10 and a maximum of 30 holes will be drilled, with total footage ranging between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, Barr said.
Work will focus on expanding the known mineral resources by testing a new interpretation of the mineralized vein system. In addition, Rat Creek and Tarn targets will be drilled, the company release said. Grew Creek acquired earlier Freegold acquired Grew Creek earlier this year, primarily due to historical prospecting work that has produced a gold resource ranging from 80,000 to 120,000 ounces of gold, Barr said. “There’s gold there and it’s of good grade,” he said. “It’s just not been drilled for the last 10 years or so.”
Across the border in Alaska, Freegold remains active on the Golden Summit property northeast of Fairbanks, as crews will drill this fall on the recently acquired Tolovana prospect. That drilling budget ranges from $175,000 to $250,000, Barr said, again with the final tally depending on initial results. Freegold is working the Golden Summit property in a joint venture agreement with Meridian Gold.
Crews recently completed an airborne geophysical survey of the company’s property at Union Bay, a joint venture project optioned last year by Lonmin. So far this year, the company has spent $1.2 million on Union Bay, which includes drilling and ground geophysical work as well as the airborne surveys, Barr said. “We’re looking at a possible second phase based on the geophysical work and results from ground prospecting,” he said.
Editor’s note: For more information about this story, see the October issue of North of 60 Mining News.
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