Nevada King Gold Corp. has received approval for 482 additional drill sites at its Atlanta Gold Mine Project in Nevada, enabling the company to accelerate its fully funded 40,000 metre exploration programme with the addition of a third drill rig.
Nevada King Gold Corp. has secured approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the fifth modification to its Plan of Operations at the company’s wholly owned 130 square kilometre Atlanta Gold Mine Project in eastern Nevada.
The approval authorises 78 additional reverse circulation (RC) drill sites and 404 rotary air blast (RAB) drill sites, allowing the company to expand exploration across several priority target areas while increasing drilling capacity through the mobilisation of a third drill rig.
The latest permit enables Nevada King to follow up on previously identified mineralised targets and test extensions across the Atlanta property. It builds on the Notice of Intent permit granted for drilling at the Western Rim target, announced in April this year.
The newly approved drill sites are primarily located within the Atlanta South, Silver Park and Western Rim target areas.
To accelerate exploration activity, the company is mobilising an additional RC drill rig to join the RC and RAB rigs already operating at the site. Both RC rigs will operate continuously on two 12-hour shifts, significantly increasing the pace of drilling.
Nevada King said it remains fully funded to complete its 40,000 metre Phase four RC drilling programme, supported by approximately CAD$18.1 million in cash and equivalents.
Around 12,000 metres of the programme have already been completed.
John Sclodnick, CEO of Nevada King Gold Corp., said: “Our team is excited to accelerate exploration at Atlanta as we return to several areas where prior drilling encountered mineralized gold and silver intercepts. We continue to experience tremendous benefits from our Nevada location, not just from the compelling mineral endowment, but also from the clear, predictable permitting pathway.
Our fifth consecutive modification to the Plan of Operations demonstrates this permitting efficiency as well as the trusted relationship we have built with our regulators. We greatly appreciate the BLM’s continued support and its thorough, efficient review, which was completed just two months after our formal submission.”
Nevada King said the combination of RAB and RC drilling is supporting a more efficient exploration programme.
RAB drilling is being used as a rapid, lower-cost method of drilling through overburden and testing bedrock to identify mineralisation and tracer elements. RC drilling is then used to investigate targets identified during earlier drilling and exploration activities with the objective of intercepting economic mineralisation.
The latest Plan of Operations modification covers 21.1 acres of additional disturbance, increasing the project’s total approved disturbance area to 73.4 acres.
