Seabridge Gold Inc. [SEA-TSX; SA-NYSE] has completed the acquisition of a 100% interest in the 3 Aces gold project in the Yukon, Canada, from Golden Predator Mining Corp. [GPY-TSXV; NTGSF-OTCQX] for 300,000 Seabridge common shares, potential future cash payments totalling $2.25-million and continuing royalty participation in the project by Golden Predator.
Seabridge Gold chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk said the 3 Aces project is a first-rate exploration play with the potential to host a high-grade commercially viable orebody. “We think 3 Aces is a worthy addition to the three outstanding exploration opportunities we already own in British Columbia, Nevada and the Northwest Territories. Golden Predator has done an excellent job of demonstrating the exploration potential at 3 Aces, confirming the project’s positive metallurgy and establishing excellent relationships with local first nations and communities.”
The acquisition agreement provides for additional payments to Golden Predator of $1-million upon confirmation of a 3 Aces NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource of 2.5 million ounces of gold and a further $1.25-million upon confirmation of an aggregate mineral resource of 5 million ounces of gold. The agreement also grants Golden Predator a 0.5% net smelter royalty on the project.
“Our current plan is to assemble and evaluate the wealth of data developed by GPY for the targets in the central core area with a view to initiating an aggressive drill program next year,” Fronk said.
3 Aces is a district scale, orogenic-gold project consisting of 1,536 claims covering approximately 350 km2 located in a readily accessible part of southeastern Yukon. Historical work has identified a broad area of gold in soil extending more than 20 km along strike and recent drilling in the central core area has progressed to a point where, with additional exploration drilling, the property could potentially advance to an initial resource with exceptional grade.
At 3 Aces, discrete quartz veins containing arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite-pyrite and free gold are found within a broad zone of gold-bearing iron carbonate-clay alteration envelopes which will be targeted in the company’s exploration.
Past drilling has encountered a significant number of gold-rich zones on the stratigraphic/structural contacts at 3 Aces. By early 2019 the project had completed about 300 holes; 37% of these encountered over 5.0 g/t gold intersections and 27% have returned over 8.0 g/t gold. Many of these holes were close-space offsets on high-grade veins that crop out, but all veins identified in the central core area have encountered high-grade intersections. Significant effort was expended by Golden Predator to ensure that sampling of these high-grade, nuggety intervals produced reliable and repeatable assay results. A sampling protocol is now in place to achieve reliable results.
Selected intervals from previous drilling include 32.86 g/t gold over 10.67 metres, 50.40 g/t gold over 8.00 metres, 81.35 g/t gold over 4.57 metres (all in Spades High-Grade Zone); 16.75 g/t gold over 18.29 metres in the Hearts Zone; and 16.15 g/t gold in another occurerence.
Seabridge Gold holds a 100% interest in several North American gold resource projects. The company’s principal assets are the KSM and Iskut properties located near Stewart, Britiah Columbia and the Courageous Lake gold project located in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Golden Predator is focusing its efforts on advancing the Brewery Creek Mine Project in the Yukon.