Having completed 37,500 meters of diamond drilling, approximately 2900 meters of RC drilling and 800 km of airborne geophysics. It’s surprising that the company has yet to file a 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate.
[box type=”info” align=”aligncenter” ]Disclaimer: This is an editorial review of a public press release and not an endorsement. It may include opinions or points of view that may not be shared by the companies mentioned in the release. The editorial comments are highlighted so as to be easily separated from the release text and portions of the release not affecting this review may be deleted. [/box]
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – June 9, 2014) – Rockhaven Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:RK) (“Rockhaven”) is pleased to announce the 2014 exploration program has commenced at its 100% owned Klaza gold-silver property, located in the Dawson Range Gold Belt of southern Yukon.
The 2014 program will include 12,000 m of diamond drilling and will focus on delineating and expanding areas of high-grade gold and silver mineralization (>8.00 g/t gold EQ*). Two drills will be used to test targets which include:
- The Western BRX Zone, where 2013 trenching and limited broadly-spaced drilling have returned strong results over a 750 m strike length, including 68.27 g/t gold EQ (50.1 g/t gold and 910 g/t silver) over 3.25 m from trench TR-13-58 and 8.00 g/t gold EQ (5.78 g/t gold and 111 g/t silver) over 15.62 m from hole DH-12-96;
- The Western Klaza Zone, where initial trenching and drilling returned numerous gold and silver-rich intervals including 11.15 g/t gold EQ (4.51 g/t gold and 332 g/t silver) over 7.12 m from hole DH-12-115;
- The Central Klaza Zone beneath hole DH-12-133, the deepest intercept to date on the zone, which intersected 12.00 g/t gold EQ (11.90 g/t gold and 5.23 g/t silver) over 6.70 m at a depth of 310 m below surface; and,
- The Pearl Zone, a 2013 discovery where two excavator trenches situated 450 m apart averaged 29.04 g/t gold EQ (23.98 g/t gold and 254 g/t silver) over 1.22 m.
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” ] The Yukon is known for it’s mining-friendly atmosphere and the gold contained within it. The territory is particularly famous for invoking dreams of vast riches within early prospectors who would make the journey and begin what was known as the “Klondike gold rush”. Rockhaven is a junior exploration company with several projects in the Yukon. This release deals with their 100% owned flagship “Klaza Project”, an early exploration project that was acquired from Atac Resources in November 2009.
Last year the company completed several trenches along with diamond drilling throughout the property and is now moving forward with drilling below areas of interest. By trenching the company has been able to identify the general trend of the mineralization at surface and has planned several drill holes incorporating this information into their exploration plan. Trenching is another form of surface sampling where an excavator digs a trench across an area of interest based on a set of predefined grids, exposing the surface bedrock. These large trenches can be hundreds of meters long by a few meters wide. They can also be tens of meters deep, allowing exploration geologists to use these trenches to map and sample the rock below.
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Drilling and trenching at the road-accessible Klaza property since 2010 have identified nine main mineralized structural zones and numerous subsidiary structures within a 2000 by 4000 m corridor. Individually, the main zones range from 1 to 75 m in width and are continuously mineralized over strike lengths of 250 to 2400 m. The zones have been traced over a cumulative strike length of 9400 m and all remain open for expansion along strike and to depth.
“We are very excited to begin our fully-funded, 12,000 m diamond drill program which will systematically target high-grade gold and silver mineralization that were broadly outlined by previous drilling and trenching programs,” stated Matt Turner, CEO of Rockhaven Resources. “Additional geophysical surveys and excavator trenching will be done concurrently with the drilling to further expand mineralization within this evolving gold district.”
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” ]Although they don’t discuss which geophysical surveys they will be performing, both airborne and ground based methods can be useful in identifying potentially mineralized structures and conductive or magnetic minerals associated with the gold and silver. The high grade mineralization on the Klaza property is restricted to narrow structures (veins) opposed to being dispersed throughout the property. High resolution geophysical surveys may be useful in “lighting up” these narrow structures. [/box]
Western BRX Zone
The Western BRX Zone is the main target of 2014 diamond drilling. Infill and step-out excavator trenching in 2013 at the Western BRX Zone confirmed continuity of the mineralized structure and further delineated areas of high-grade gold and silver that were partially outlined by widely-spaced drill holes in 2011 and 2012. Highlight results are shown below:
| Drill Hole/ Trench | From (m) |
To (m) |
Interval (m)+ |
Gold (g/t) |
Silver (g/t) | Gold EQ (g/t)* |
| DH-11-37 | 81.13 | 95.93 | 14.80 | 5.43 | 50 | 6.43 |
| DH-11-39 | 151.29 | 152.94 | 1.65 | 23.50 | 239 | 28.28 |
| DH-12-72 | 178.48 | 179.81 | 1.33 | 10.60 | 23 | 11.06 |
| DH-12-96 | 329.74 | 345.36 | 15.62 | 5.78 | 111 | 8.00 |
| TR-13-47 | 30.05 | 31.20 | 1.15 | 87.0 | 768 | 102.36 |
| TR-13-49 | 1.61 | 2.92 | 1.31 | 8.42 | 548 | 19.38 |
| TR-13-58 | 3.35 | 6.60 | 3.25 | 50.1 | 910 | 68.27 |
| TR-13-59 | 11.05 | 15.20 | 4.15 | 7.47 | 537 | 18.20 |
| TR-13-67 | 35.00 | 38.55 | 3.55 | 31.38 | 310 | 37.59 |
| TR-13-73 | 3.70 | 6.20 | 2.50 | 26.10 | 574 | 37.58 |
| TR-13-74 | 12.45 | 14.70 | 2.25 | 31.20 | 1030 | 51.80 |
| TR-13-75 | 4.75 | 6.20 | 1.45 | 11.50 | 1680 | 45.10 |
| and | 17.24 | 20.24 | 3.00 | 34.70 | 160 | 37.90 |
| TR-13-77 | 5.08 | 7.18 | 2.10 | 14.40 | 729 | 28.98 |
| + Represents the diamond drill hole or trench sample length. True widths are estimated to be approximately 80-90% of the interval. |
| *Gold equivalence (EQ) has been calculated using metal prices of $1300 per ounce gold and $26.00 per ounce silver, to be consistent with earlier calculations and assumes 100% recoveries. |
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” ]
Equivalent calculations are often used to standardize assay information of multi-metallic deposits to help compare deposits of the same type (ie. Porphyry Copper). Even though the quantity of silver is significant, the company is using a gold equivalent since gold contributes the highest economic value to the over all assay. Keep in mind that these calculations require the conversion of grades using market prices for the commodities involved and often assume a 100% recovery of the metals. In this case, the company has posted the metals prices used for the calculation and are assuming 100% recovery. Also note that these intervals do not reflect the true thickness of the mineralized zones, though the company appears reasonably confident that they are close.
You can try our metal equivalency calculator to compare different commodity equivalents based on grade, market value and recovery.
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Central and Western Klaza Zones
The Central and Western Klaza Zones host discrete veins, breccias and sheeted veinlets that have been traced over a strike length of 1000 m and to a depth of 325 m down dip. Focused diamond drilling in 2014 will expand the area of known mineralization to the west and to depth where some of the best results have been returned to date. Highlight results from the Central and Western Klaza Zone include:
| Drill Hole/ Trench | From (m) |
To (m) |
Interval (m)+ |
Gold (g/t) |
Silver (g/t) |
Gold EQ (g/t)* |
| DH-10-07 | 134.00 | 149.30 | 15.30 | 7.20 | 260 | 12.40 |
| DH-11-16 | 88.04 | 94.82 | 6.78 | 6.09 | 101 | 8.11 |
| DH-11-28 | 253.66 | 255.12 | 1.46 | 10.25 | 585 | 21.95 |
| DH-12-79 | 91.56 | 94.77 | 3.21 | 3.18 | 516 | 13.50 |
| DH-12-115 | 214.47 | 221.59 | 7.12 | 4.51 | 332 | 11.15 |
| DH-12-133 | 439.00 | 445.70 | 6.70 | 11.90 | 5.23 | 12.00 |
| TR-13-51 | 11.19 | 29.98 | 18.79 | 5.61 | 300 | 11.61 |
| TR-13-52 | 3.75 | 10.59 | 6.84 | 16.20 | 158 | 19.36 |
| TR-13-66 | 18.72 | 20.99 | 2.27 | 25.70 | 449 | 34.68 |
| TR-13-69 | 5.16 | 9.76 | 4.60 | 8.29 | 295 | 14.20 |
| TR-13-70 | 2.50 | 5.53 | 3.03 | 16.76 | 1052 | 37.80 |
| + Represents the diamond drill hole or trench sample length. True widths are estimated to be approximately 80-90% of the interval. |
| *Gold equivalence (EQ) has been calculated using metal prices of $1300 per ounce gold and $26.00 per ounce silver, to be consistent with earlier calculations and assumes 100% recoveries. |
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” ]The prospect has been characterized as a Carbonate Base Metal (CBM) deposit, like the Porgera Mine in Papua New Guinea (Barrick Gold) and the Buritica Mine in Indonesia (Continental Gold). CBM’s are quite similar to epithermal deposits, but rather than solely containing silver and gold like most epithermal deposits, these deposits may also contain copper, lead, zinc and antimony. CBM deposits tend to form within the same tectonic environment as porphyry copper deposits and can develop in fragmented rock (breccias) or vein-like structures.
Active placer mining operations are also located along the north-east and south-east portions of the Klaza property; the gold rush still lives on in the Yukon! [/box]
Pearl Zone
The Pearl Zone was discovered in 2013 and represents the most easterly, and if projected westward, the most northerly mineralized structure identified at the Klaza property. Two excavator trench exposures located 450 m apart returned 28.2 g/t gold and 359 g/t silver (35.38 g/t gold EQ) over 1.20 m and 19.75 g/t gold and 148 g/t silver (22.71 g/t gold EQ) over 1.25 m (see Rockhaven news release dated October 3, 2013). The results are particularly important as no mineralization was previously known in this area. Follow-up drilling will be done in 2014 to evaluate this new high-grade gold and silver discovery, which is open to extension along strike in both directions.
Other Targets
A small proportion of the planned drilling will evaluate particularly encouraging areas in the other six known mineralized zones. In addition, some prospecting, geological mapping and geophysical surveying will be completed in other areas of the property to define additional targets for drilling or trenching. All of the mineralized zones discovered to date at Klaza are marked by linear magnetic lows with coincident soil geochemical anomalies. In areas surveyed, these magnetic lows coincide with distinct chargeability highs and resistivity lows. The focus will be on defining and, as warranted, drill testing similar anomalies elsewhere on the property, with particular emphasis on overburden covered areas to the west of the Western BRX and Western Klaza Zones. In conjunction with 2014 work, ongoing baseline environmental surveys and geotechnical data collection will continue to advance the Klaza property toward the permitting process.
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” ]Magnetic surveys are not only useful for detecting zones that contain magnetic iron-bearing minerals such as magnetite or pyrrhotite. They are also useful for defining sub-surface structures which can contrast due to slight differences in their magnetic signatures. [/box]
Rockhaven has been awarded a grant of $21,300 through the Yukon Government’s Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (YMEP) to conduct exploration on its 100% owned Kluane property. Through YMEP, the Yukon Government will fund 50% of the proposed $42,600 hand trenching and soil sampling program planned on the property.
The 2014 Klaza and Kluane programs are managed by Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Limited (Archer Cathro). Technical information in this news release has been approved by Matthew R. Dumala, P.Eng., a geological engineer with Archer Cathro and qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” ]Having completed 37,500 meters of diamond drilling, approximately 2900 meters of RC drilling and 800 km of airborne geophysics. It’s surprising that the company has yet to file a 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate. Other companies seem to claim more with far less work. Perhaps Rockhaven wants to hit the market with a large resource and a high level of confidence. Not such a bad idea for junior miner’s in this market.
As of writing Rockhaven’s stock is trading at $0.21 which is not far off their recent 52 week high of $0.25 and well above their 52 week low of $0.08.
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