Projects
Bluff Project
Status: Joint venture with Millrock Resources Inc.
Location: The Bluff project is located about 80 kilometres east of Nome, Alaska on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula on the Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. The central point of the project is at approximately 64°35' N, 163°45' W.
The seasonal State-maintained gravel road between Nome and Council passes within 18 kilometres of the Bluff prospect. The project area can also be accessed by barge on craft-accessible beaches as well as an airstrip providing ready access for personnel and equipment. Nome is serviced by scheduled jet aircraft flights each day from Anchorage and has a small port for use for barge delivery of fuel, supplies, and equipment from the Pacific Rim.
Property and Agreements: The Bluff property is comprised of approximately 142 square kilometres. Ryan Gold entered into an option to joint venture the Bluff project with Millrock Resources on April 29th, 2010. The terms of the agreement are:
Millrock Resources Inc. has made an exploration agreement with the Bering Straits native Corporation (BSNC) on three discrete tracts of land on the south side of the Seward Peninsula. The lands at Bluff subject to this agreement total roughly 142 square kilometres. Millrock has the responsibility to make various cash payments, scholarship donations and minimum work expenditures to keep this agreement in good standing. The BSNC lands under its exploration agreement with Millrock at the Bluff project are spilt estate whereby BSNC owns the sub-surface rights while the village corporation (White Mountain Native Corporation (WMNC)) owns the surface rights. Millrock has a surface agreement in place with the WMNC.
Geology and Mineralization: Placer gold was discovered on Anvil Creek, near Nome, Alaska in 1898, which resulted in the entire Seward Peninsula being prospected for gold. One of the early discoveries was at Bluff with the discovery of the high grade gold placer on Daniels Creek and the associated beach and offshore placers. Located at tidewater, a placer deposit that is thought to have produced over 100,000 ounces of gold in the early 1900s is located just downstream from the known lode mineralization in the shallow marine environment.
In 1986 BHP conducted geological, geochemical, geophysical and core drilling programmes on the Bluff prospect. Drilling by BHP identified three zones of mineralization occurring in low-angle structures interpreted to be thrust faults. Mapping has shown that quartz muscovite schists are overlain and underlain by massive marble units. The marble units are massive and grey to buff in color with variations in graphite content, silicification, and with mylonitization near the contacts. The schist is occasionally calcareous, has stratabound zones of sulfides, and is intensely quartz veined in the auriferous zones. The contacts between the units are thrust faults. The largest, most obvious structure is the Bluff Anticline. The fold axis is between Daniels Creek and Swede Creek and strikes north northeast with a plunge of 15° to 20° to the north. Detailed mapping has shown four separate folding events. The relationship between the gold-bearing quartz veins in the schist and the complex structural history of these lithologic units is still speculative.
Significant drill intersections during the BHP drill campaign include 5.48 g/t gold over 10.9 meters, 4.19 g/t gold over 4.5 meters, and 1.93 g/t gold over 16.3 meters. In their final report BHP reported a non compliant NI43-101 resource of:
Previous soil sampling in the late 1980's by BHP showed three large geochemical anomalies with greater than 100 ppb gold spread over an area of about 4 kilometers in length.
Exploration Programs:
2008: Millrock carried out exploration in 2008. Geological mapping and soil sampling identified new zones of mineralization, and identified high priority drill targets. Drilling and resampling of BHP core confirmed the presence of gold mineralization. Significant drilling is required on all zones to establish and delineate gold resources. There are numerous drill targets adjacent and down-dip from known gold zones and untested surface geochemical anomalies. A complete report documenting prior exploration work was prepared for Millrock by independent geologist Donald Stevens of Anchorage, Alaska and has been filed on SEDAR: Bluff Gold Prospect, National Instrument 43-101Technical Report June 5, 2009 Prepared by Donald L. Stevens Ph.D.
2010: During the summer of 2010 24 rotary drill holes were drilled for a total of 2,800 meters. The objectives of the drill programme were to confirm previous BHP drill intersections as well as test extensions of the Daniels Creek and Saddle Zones of mineralization. Drilling was successful in that significant zones of mineralization were intersected, especially in drill hole BLF2021, where 32.0 m grading 3.8 g/t Au, including a section grading 9.0 g/t Au over 12.2 m, was intersected. This intersection appears to be part of a previously undiscovered, parallel zone situated at a lower stratigraphic level than the known Daniels Creek zone. In addition drill hole BLF2015 intersected 32 m at 1.93 g/t Au including 18.3 m at 3.03 m. See News Release of October 20, 2010
2011: Due to the structural complexity and the lack of understanding of the structural controls on the distribution of gold mineralization, the exploration programme will focus on flying a detailed airborne magnetic and radiometric survey as well as conducting a detailed structural mapping campaign of the property. This will allow for better targeting of drill holes in the next drill programme.
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Location: The Bluff project is located about 80 kilometres east of Nome, Alaska on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula on the Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. The central point of the project is at approximately 64°35' N, 163°45' W.
The seasonal State-maintained gravel road between Nome and Council passes within 18 kilometres of the Bluff prospect. The project area can also be accessed by barge on craft-accessible beaches as well as an airstrip providing ready access for personnel and equipment. Nome is serviced by scheduled jet aircraft flights each day from Anchorage and has a small port for use for barge delivery of fuel, supplies, and equipment from the Pacific Rim.
Property and Agreements: The Bluff property is comprised of approximately 142 square kilometres. Ryan Gold entered into an option to joint venture the Bluff project with Millrock Resources on April 29th, 2010. The terms of the agreement are:
- the company can earn an initial 55% interest in the project by meeting the following commitments prior to December 31, 2012:
- incurring US$3.0 million in exploration expenditures;
- making cash payments of US$300,000; and
- issuing 900,000 shares of the company (pre-consolidation) to Millrock
- the company had US$500,000 minimum exploration expenditures in 2010 and made an initial cash payment of $US50,000 and 300,000 shares
- Millrock will be the project operator for 2010 and thereafter at the company's discretion
- the company may opt out of the agreement at any time as it has made $US500,000 in exploration expenditures
- the company may elect to increase its interest to 75% by:
- incurring a further US$3.0 million in exploration expenditures;
- making further cash payments totalling $US600,000;
- issuing 1.1 million additional shares (pre-consolidation) over three years; and
- meeting the obligations of lease agreements with Bering Straits Native Corporation
- Upon the company earning a 75% interest, Millrock will have the opportunity to earn back 25% interest, such that both companies hold a 50% interest, by expending two times the amount the company expended on exploration and property payments at that time
Millrock Resources Inc. has made an exploration agreement with the Bering Straits native Corporation (BSNC) on three discrete tracts of land on the south side of the Seward Peninsula. The lands at Bluff subject to this agreement total roughly 142 square kilometres. Millrock has the responsibility to make various cash payments, scholarship donations and minimum work expenditures to keep this agreement in good standing. The BSNC lands under its exploration agreement with Millrock at the Bluff project are spilt estate whereby BSNC owns the sub-surface rights while the village corporation (White Mountain Native Corporation (WMNC)) owns the surface rights. Millrock has a surface agreement in place with the WMNC.
Geology and Mineralization: Placer gold was discovered on Anvil Creek, near Nome, Alaska in 1898, which resulted in the entire Seward Peninsula being prospected for gold. One of the early discoveries was at Bluff with the discovery of the high grade gold placer on Daniels Creek and the associated beach and offshore placers. Located at tidewater, a placer deposit that is thought to have produced over 100,000 ounces of gold in the early 1900s is located just downstream from the known lode mineralization in the shallow marine environment.
In 1986 BHP conducted geological, geochemical, geophysical and core drilling programmes on the Bluff prospect. Drilling by BHP identified three zones of mineralization occurring in low-angle structures interpreted to be thrust faults. Mapping has shown that quartz muscovite schists are overlain and underlain by massive marble units. The marble units are massive and grey to buff in color with variations in graphite content, silicification, and with mylonitization near the contacts. The schist is occasionally calcareous, has stratabound zones of sulfides, and is intensely quartz veined in the auriferous zones. The contacts between the units are thrust faults. The largest, most obvious structure is the Bluff Anticline. The fold axis is between Daniels Creek and Swede Creek and strikes north northeast with a plunge of 15° to 20° to the north. Detailed mapping has shown four separate folding events. The relationship between the gold-bearing quartz veins in the schist and the complex structural history of these lithologic units is still speculative.
Significant drill intersections during the BHP drill campaign include 5.48 g/t gold over 10.9 meters, 4.19 g/t gold over 4.5 meters, and 1.93 g/t gold over 16.3 meters. In their final report BHP reported a non compliant NI43-101 resource of:
Area |
Tons |
Grade (g/t) |
Ounces |
Daniels Creek |
3,000,000 |
3.43 |
300,000 |
Saddle |
1,500,000 |
3.77 |
165,000 |
Koyana |
2,000,000 |
0.69 |
40,000 |
Total |
505,000 |
Previous soil sampling in the late 1980's by BHP showed three large geochemical anomalies with greater than 100 ppb gold spread over an area of about 4 kilometers in length.
Exploration Programs:
2008: Millrock carried out exploration in 2008. Geological mapping and soil sampling identified new zones of mineralization, and identified high priority drill targets. Drilling and resampling of BHP core confirmed the presence of gold mineralization. Significant drilling is required on all zones to establish and delineate gold resources. There are numerous drill targets adjacent and down-dip from known gold zones and untested surface geochemical anomalies. A complete report documenting prior exploration work was prepared for Millrock by independent geologist Donald Stevens of Anchorage, Alaska and has been filed on SEDAR: Bluff Gold Prospect, National Instrument 43-101Technical Report June 5, 2009 Prepared by Donald L. Stevens Ph.D.
2010: During the summer of 2010 24 rotary drill holes were drilled for a total of 2,800 meters. The objectives of the drill programme were to confirm previous BHP drill intersections as well as test extensions of the Daniels Creek and Saddle Zones of mineralization. Drilling was successful in that significant zones of mineralization were intersected, especially in drill hole BLF2021, where 32.0 m grading 3.8 g/t Au, including a section grading 9.0 g/t Au over 12.2 m, was intersected. This intersection appears to be part of a previously undiscovered, parallel zone situated at a lower stratigraphic level than the known Daniels Creek zone. In addition drill hole BLF2015 intersected 32 m at 1.93 g/t Au including 18.3 m at 3.03 m. See News Release of October 20, 2010
2011: Due to the structural complexity and the lack of understanding of the structural controls on the distribution of gold mineralization, the exploration programme will focus on flying a detailed airborne magnetic and radiometric survey as well as conducting a detailed structural mapping campaign of the property. This will allow for better targeting of drill holes in the next drill programme.
Photo Gallery
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