Golden Predator (TSE:GPD) is a leading gold explorer and developer in Yukon, Canada. The company owns 3 advanced gold projects at Grew Creek, Clear Creek and Brewery Creek, along with a new acquisition at Harlan that will all be drilled and defined in 2011. Other holdings include Gold Dome, McConnell, Cynthia and Antimony Projects, and over 2,000 km² of green-field exploration property in the Rogue Region and Selwyn Basin.
Golden Predator collects annual royalties of around $1.5 million on a portfolio of 70,000 acres that are primarily located in Nevada, from Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) at Bald Mountain for a 4.0% GSR, and at Alligator/ Bald Regional for a 1.0% GSR, Midway Gold (CVE:MDW) at the Pan Deposit for 4.0% GSR, and U.S. Gold (TSE:UXG) at the Tonkin Springs Deposit for a 5.0% GSR. NSR of 2% are held over the Taylor Silver Mine operated by Silver Predator (CNSX:SPD), and NSR of 0.5% from Evolving Gold (TSE:EVG) at the Rattlesnake Deposit. Royalties could swell to around $10 million per year over the next few years.
Drilling has already commenced at Brewery Creek, where the company can earn a 75% interest from Alexco Resources (TSE:AXR) by spending $6 million before 2015. The property operated as a heap-leach gold mine from 1996-2002, producing 279,541 ounces of gold, and still has mining permits and a NI 43-101 Indicated Resource of 3.98 million tonnes at 1.35 g/t gold, and an Inferred Resource of 2.20 million tonnes at 2.01 g/t gold.
Recent drilling has discovered high grade gold at the Bohemian Zone, which is located on the eastern extension of a 15 km mineralized trend at Brewery Creek. This drilling indicates potential for low cost, open pit extraction, where assays include 50.5 m of 2.79 g/t gold, at 15.5 m depth in core hole BC10-168, 56.5 m of 3.20 g/t gold at 27 m depth in core hole BC10-170, and 27.5 m of 1.15 g/t gold at 39.5 m depth in core hole BC10-171.
A new high-grade zone has also been identified that cuts the Bohemian Zone and projects toward the Schooner Zone, 400 m to the east. This mineralization extends over 250 m of strike and has 15 to 25 m of true thickness, remaining open at depth and along strike. Gold and arsenic in soils along trend show that the system is likely to continue easterly to Schooner, where trenching yielded 2.58 g/t gold over 30 m in TR98-SK10, and 2.92 g/t gold over 12 m TR 98-SK7.
Expansion of this zone is a top priority, with fresh results released on March 24, 2011, include 31.2 m of 2.61 g/t gold at 49.0 m depth (including 12.7 m at 4.38 g/t gold) in hole BC11-175, 32.9 m of 3.01 g/t gold at 42.6 m depth (including 16.0 m at 4.98 g/t) in hole BC11-176, and 31.0 m of 2.84 g/t gold (including 16.0 m at 3.16 g/t) at 54.0 m depth in hole BC11-177. Current drilling is aimed at extending the corridor, which is located 500 m east of past gold production at the Lucky Deposit.
The Clear Creek Property covers 60 km² and is 60 km from Brewery Creek. The property has produced 129,000 ounces of placer gold, with postulated source rocks lying within the Company’s project area. Five targets have been identified at Bear Paw, Contact, Saddle, Josephine, and Rhosbegobel Zones forming a 5,000 m strike line.
Recent drilling at the Contact Zone includes RC Hole CC10-22 which hit a high grade bonanza vein of 137.50 g/t gold over 1.52 m at 3.05 m depth. A trench excavated next to the drill hole exposed the same vein assaying 265 g/t gold and 111 g/t silver over a 10 cm wide channel sample. RC Hole CC10-20 cut 30.48 m at 0.719 g/t gold from a depth of 38.1 m, averaging 0.44 g/t gold over its entire 136 m length, and ended in mineralization.
Significant silver values were cut from deeper drilling at the Bear Paw Zone, where CC10-02 returned 635.60 g/t silver between 224.37 m and 226.10 m, and CC10-27 cut 2.59 g/t gold over 25.91 m at 10.67 m depth.
The Saddle Zone at CC10-25 cut 22.86 m of 1.24 g/t gold at 10.67 m depth.
The 2011 work program will focus on further drilling and resource definition at Bear Paw, Contact, Saddle and Josephine Zones. Kennecott previously identified a near-surface gold resource at the Rhosbegobel Zone, containing 40 million tonnes of 300 ppb gold; with a higher grade core of 1.5 to 2.0 million tonnes between 0.75 and 1.25 g/t gold down to a depth of 73 m, but no drilling is planned here.
Drilling has also re-commenced at Grew Creek on the Carlos Discovery Zone, which is an epithermal gold discovery within the Tintina Gold Belt that bears similarities to Sleeper and Midas Deposits in Nevada. Prior scout drilling included 146.3 m of 1.72 g/t gold at 40.0 m depth in GC10-001, 132 m of 1.21 g/t gold and 31.75 m of 2.08 g/t gold in GC10-002, where the hole bottomed in mineralization. GC10-003 cut 60.85 m of 1.93 g/t gold and 1.89 g/t silver. Current drilling will test strike and dip extensions and provide data for a NI43-101 compliant resource estimate.
A 75% interest in the Harlan Project, located in the Tintina Gold Belt, was recently optioned from Alexco Resources for a commitment to spend $3.85 million by 2016. Drill targets include the Vortex Zone, which is a soil anomaly extending for 1,600 m and width of 700 m, with elevated in soil gold values, and grab samples returning up to 6.5 g/t gold. A smaller core area within the Vortex Zone is intensely brecciated and clay altered with average gold values exceeding 1 g/t gold and peaking at 10.4 g/t gold.
A second target at the West Porphyry Zone consists of a series of east-southeast trending, steeply south-southwest dipping altered quartz monzonite dykes. Rock chips returned up to 0.86 g/t gold over 20.8 m. Anomalous values to 1.26 g/t gold were returned from dykes across 2.5 km.
The Gold Dome property hosts one of the largest gold-arsenic-bismuth soil anomalies in the Yukon, at 30 km².
The property covers 170 km², and is located 25 km northwest of Mayo. Exploration on six areas has identified significant gold mineralization encountered on five target areas. The Company will seek joint venture terms from senior mineral exploration companies. The property hosts a very large mineralized system with numerous targets that will require a large capital budget to explore fully.
Golden Predator has spun out Silver Predator to monetize and fund development of 20 advanced and development stage silver properties in Nevada and Yukon, and recently raised $22.77 million to fund its aggressive Yukon drilling programs, all of which hold potential to become company makers in a very bullish gold market.