One of Nevada's Best Remaining Carlin-type Exploration Targets
| Location: |
Cortez gold trend, Lander County, Nevada |
| Area: |
300 hectares (740 acres) |
| Ownership: |
Levon Resources 1/3; Coral Gold Resources 2/3
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| Minerals: |
Gold, silver |
| Status: |
Exploration -- deep drilling |
Norma Sass Overview
An outstanding target for discovery of Carlin-style gold deposits, Norma Sass is located immediately south of the Gold Acres mine and west of the Cortez/Pipeline Mine. Its geological/geographical setting make Norma Sass one of the region's prime properties. Previous drilling encountered gold hosted by favorable, lower-plate carbonate strata. Norma Sass is owned 1/3 by Levon and 2/3 by Coral Gold Resources.
Exploration Agreement with Barrick Gold Corp.
Barrick Gold Corp. is exploring Norma Sass under an agreement with Levon whereby Barrick holds an option to acquire up to a 75% interest in the property. Barrick may earn up to 60% interest by incurring total exploration expenditures of at least US $3 million in annual installments by December 31, 2014. They can earn an additional 10% (for aggregate interest of 70%) by incurring an additional US $1.5 million by December 31, 2015, and another 5% (for an aggregate interest of 75%) by carrying Levon and Coral Gold through to commercial production.
Barrick Drilling for Gold in the Lower Plate
In May 2009, Barrick announced plans to do target delineation work in the second quarter 2009, followed by deep drilling in the third quarter. Barrick's primary target at Norma Sass is the Lower Plate of the Roberts Mountains overthrust, where most of the region's larger mines---including Barrick's Pipeline Mine---have encountered world-class orebodies. The conceptual target at Norma Sass is potential high-grade (>0.50 oz Au/t) Carlin-style gold mineralization hosted by sheared carbonate strata in the upper 150 ft of the Roberts Mountains formation.
Barrick's Fresh Perspective on the District
With their fresh perspective on the district and their immediate and long term commitment to expanding their gold reserve base, Barrick is an outstanding partner for us at Norma Sass. They have remapped and reinterpreted the Pipeline open pit geology since their acquisition of Placer Dome, and they have a new stratigraphic model for the host rocks and structural setting of the gold deposit.
Carlin-Style Mineralization Encountered in Earlier Drilling
Past drilling at Norma Sass has encountered significant Carlin-style gold mineralization, including narrow ore-grade intervals (up to 40 ft/0.053 oz Au/t) and a strongly developed trace element suite within favorable lower plate carbonate strata. According to McCormack and Hays (1996), gold mineralization at the Pipeline mine, along with most of the other major gold ore bodies at the south end of Crescent Valley is strongly controlled by sub-horizontal and/or bedding parallel shear zones within the Roberts Mountains formation. At Gold Acres, gold is controlled by a shear zone within the Roberts Mountains formation that dips to the south at 15° to 20°, sub-parallel to the Roberts Mountain Thrust Fault. This shear zone is thought to extend under portions of the Norma-Sass claims. The highest grades at Gold Acres were encountered where NE-trending high angle faults intersect the shallow dipping shear zone.
Geology---on the Margin of the Gold Acres Structural Window
The claims are situated on the southwest margin of the Gold Acres structural window in folded and faulted, early to middle Paleozoic siliciclastic strata of the upper plate of the Roberts Mountains thrust fault. These rocks overlie mildly deformed, coeval lower plate carbonate strata that hosts major Carlin-type gold deposits at the nearby Gold Acres and Pipeline/South Pipeline open pit mines. Lower plate carbonate rocks are not exposed on the Norma-Sass claims, but have been intersected in most drill holes. A series of important northeast striking normal faults extend southward from the Gold Acres pits on to the Norma-Sass claims. These faults are considered potentially important ore-controlling structures. At the Gold Acres mine, located 2,000 ft north of the claims, a mineralized shear zone in the Roberts Mountains formation dips southward toward the Norma-Sass claims, suggesting potential for discovery of gold mineralization at a depth of less than 1,500 ft.
Project Maps
Project Photos
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