Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. has intersected 0.56 grams per tonne of gold over 99.84 meters in drill hole QGQ25-23 from 182.20 meters depth at its Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property in central British Columbia. This intercept includes a higher-grade section of 1.00 g/t gold over 40.56 meters, with a narrower zone showing 9.99 g/t gold over 1.92 meters. The company reported that gold grades have been capped at 10 g/t for reporting purposes. This broad intercept is significant as it demonstrates continuity of mineralization over a substantial width, a key factor in assessing the economic viability of a potential deposit. The presence of a higher-grade core within the broader zone is particularly encouraging for resource development.
Two additional drill holes, QGQ24-21 and QGQ25-24, intersected intermittent anomalous gold mineralization but were terminated early due to mechanical issues while drilling. Drill hole QGQ25-22 was terminated early due to excessive deviation and returned no significant results. All completed holes ended within anomalous intersections, suggesting mineralization continues beyond the drilled intervals. Interval widths reported currently have insufficient data to reliably estimate true width. This implies the potential for the mineralized zone to be even more substantial once true widths are determined, which is a critical next step in evaluation.
The ongoing fall drilling program is testing north of the Halo zone, with drill hole QGQ25-28 currently in progress. The company is targeting areas proximal to the greenstone and argillite inferred contact to vector into further mineralization to the north. The Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property is located 4 kilometers northeast of Hixon in central British Columbia and is road accessible. The strategic focus on geological contacts is a standard exploration technique for identifying high-potential areas in similar gold districts.
Drill core samples were sent to ALS Canada Ltd.'s laboratory in North Vancouver, with samples internally sent to their Thunder Bay, Ontario facility for gold analysis using PhotonAssay™ technology. This method uses larger sample sizes (400-500 grams) compared to traditional fire assay methods, providing more thorough assessment of gold distribution in coarse gold settings characteristic of the Halo zone, where nugget effects can impact conventional assay results. The use of this advanced analytical technique is important for obtaining reliable data in coarse-gold environments, reducing the risk of under-reporting gold grades.
The property is bordered by Osisko Development and located along a favorable geological corridor adjacent to the Spanish and Eureka thrust faults over a 94,899 hectare area. Historically, over 101 placer gold creeks along the 90-kilometer trend from the Cariboo Hudson mine north to the Quesnelle property have recorded production, with successful placer mining continuing to this day. The geological setting shows strong similarities with the Spanish Mountain gold deposit located 120 kilometers southeast along the same trend. This context is crucial, as it places the new drill results within a proven, district-scale gold system, significantly de-risking the exploration potential and suggesting the intercept could be part of a larger mineralized trend analogous to known deposits.
