Hunting For
High-Grade Gold
In today’s market, the stories getting the most attention are
high-grade gold discoveries.
That’s perfect for Idaho Champion Gold Mines (ITKO.CSE) — a company that has locked up a project with historic grades that are nothing short of extraordinary.
The best news: they just commenced their drilling program…
Dear Fellow Investor,
The junior exploration space these days is dominated by a few high-grade discovery stories…
The companies and projects that have seen their share prices rise the most are those that show signs of turning in to a mineable (and profitable) high-grade project.
In turbulent markets for gold, nothing pays like discovery.
With the yellow metal recently struggling because of a strong U.S. dollar, companies that have hit significant grades and widths during drilling have seen their share prices double, triple, and even quadruple.
So what’s the key to finding the next potential discovery story?
It starts by looking for companies with projects that have a track record of high-grade gold showings. Bonus points go to those projects fortunate enough to be near past alluvial gold beds (think panning for gold).
That description aptly fits Idaho Champion Gold Mines and its Baner project in northern Idaho…
A History Of High Grade
The area that hosts Idaho Champion’s Baner claims was first mined via small underground workings in the 1920’s. And anecdotal reports from that period suggest that miners had hooked into some very high-grade material.
That finding was followed up in 1940 by Professor Ed Wagner of the University of Idaho. Dr. Wagner assessed the potential of the property by investigating the underground workings. The 46 samples he took from exposed quartz veins averaged an amazing 22.8 grams/ton.
Idaho Champion’s Baner project spans over 1,600 hectares.
Dr. Wagner went on to generate 364 channel samples taken every five feet from the wall of all nine production tunnels left during the 1920’s. The average grade of that material was 1.9 grams/ton, and he estimated the area he sampled contained 75 million tons.
Though historical and not NI 43-101 compliant, that estimate suggests Baner may host a potential multi-million-ounce gold resource.
Plus, the Baner mine, between 1939 and 1940, sent 60 tons of material to the Bunker Hill Smelter in Idaho that yielded 54.6 ounces of gold and 144.2 ounces of silver.
Near 1.5 Million Ounces Of Past Alluvial Mining
Adding to the allure of the Baner project is the fact that alluvial gold deposits were dredged from the tributaries of the Clear Water River that flows near Elk City, Idaho.
In fact, at the Crooked Creek – which is just north of the Baner project – a historic gold rush in the area saw 1.5 million ounces of gold generated in 1905 and 1906.
Crooked Creek: Produced around 1.5 million ounces of gold in the early 1900s.
When geologists know an area has a past history of alluvial mining, they’re always interested in finding the hard rock source of that gold.
Although Baner lies six kilometers to the south of Crooked Creek, the north-south trending Aplite Dike structure that runs north-south through the Baner claims was identified by Dr. Wager as a possible source of the project’s gold.
Prior owner – Premium Exploration – conducted the most recent exploration of the area.
Soil sampling yielded a surprisingly high-grade zone running north-south over the core of the property. A follow-up geophysical survey showed a coincident IP anomaly.
Idaho Champion staked 1,618 hectares of land in 198 claims around Baner in 2016 and 2017 and has the permit ‘in hand’ to begin drilling soon. This will occur concurrently with an active field program that includes sampling and mapping.
Two Additional Projects Add Blue Sky Potential
In addition to Baner, the company also owns the Champagne gold project in southeast Idaho and a collection of cobalt properties in east-central Idaho.
Champagne is a past-producer that generated gold from a heap leach mine in the early 1990’s. The property comes with a historical resources of 2.3 million tons of 1.2 g/t and has the potential to host high-grade, epithermal gold and silver.
In addition, Idaho Champion has optionality on the battery metal boom, thanks to its series of cobalt claims near the properties of eCobalt and US Cobalt - which are soon to merge with First Cobalt.
The company’s in the process of conducting a mapping and sampling program on these claims and is also submitting for a drill permit.
Drilling Is Imminent
It’s the drilling on Baner, however, that deserves the most immediate investor attention…
Idaho Champion has commenced drilling on an up to 5,000-meter drill program on the Baner project and will test a variety of targets throughout the property.
Given this project’s history of hosting high-grade gold, even a couple of drill hole hits could send the company’s share price soaring.
Investors that have a taste for speculating on drill hole results – and appreciate the profits that often follow a discovery – will want to buy Idaho Champion in advance of the first Baner drill results.
CLICK HERE
To learn more about Idaho Champion Gold Mines.
|
