Johnson Tract Project

Exceptional high-grade gold asset in accessible Southcentral Alaska

The Johnson Tract Project is a poly-metallic (gold, copper, zinc, silver, lead) project located near tidewater in Southcentral Alaska. The project includes the high-grade Johnson Tract Deposit (JT Deposit) and numerous mineral prospects over a 12-kilometre strike length.

Originally explored from 1982 to 1995, the project was inactive for almost 25 years prior to acquisition by HighGold in 2019. The large land package is under explored with significant exploration potential. HighGold is focused on both expanding the JT Deposit and generating new discoveries.

Select JT Deposit drill intersections include:

  • 108.6m grading 10.4 g/t Au, 7.6% Zn, 0.7% Cu, 2.0% Pb and 8 g/t Ag (JT82-004 Original Discovery)
  • 71.4m grading 20.9 g/t Au, 9.8% Zn, 0.9% Cu, 1.6% Pb and 9 g/t Ag (JT88-034)
  • 137.7 meters grading 11.3 g/t Au, 2.4% Zn, 0.5% Cu, 0.5% Pb and 4 g/t Ag (JT93-067)
  • 107.8 metres grading 12.4 g/t Au, 7.1% Zn, 0.9% Cu, 1.6% Pb and 9 g/t Ag (JT19-082)
  • 75.1 metres grading 10.0 g/t Au, 9.4% Zn, 0.6% Cu, 1.1% Pb and 6  g/t Ag (JT19-090)
  • 74.1 meters grading 17.9 g/t Au, 7.3% Zn, 0.5% Cu, 1.3% Pb and 7 g/t Ag (JT20-092)
  • 56.6 meters grading 19.3 g/t Au, 2.4% Zn, 0.5% Cu, 0.4% Pb and 3.9 g/t Ag (JT21-125)

Snapshot

Location Southcentral Alaska, USA
Ownership Highgold Mining Lease agreement for 100% subject to certain back-in rights by CIRI.
Status Active Exploration
Deposit Type Epithermal with submarine volcanogenic attributes
Property Size 8,475 hectares (20,942 acres)
Host Rock Volcaniclastic
Age Jurassic
Main Economic Elements Gold, Zinc and Copper, with Lead and Silver credits
Approximate Geometry JT Deposit is a thick, steeply dipping body (20m to 50m average true thickness)
Mineral Resource 1,053,000 ounces AuEq @ 9.39 g/t AuEq Indicated
108,000 ounces AuEq @ 4.76 g/t AuEq Inferred
Potential Mine Method Underground

Resource Estimate

Table 1. JT Deposit Mineral Estimate at 3.0 g/t AuEq Cut-off
(effective date July 12, 2022)
Category Tonnes
(000s)
Au
(g/t)
Ag
(g/t)
Cu
(%)
Pb
(%)
Zn
(%)
AuEq
(g/t)
Indicated 3,489 5.33 6.0 0.56 0.67 5.21 9.39
Inferred 786 1.36 9.1 0.59 0.30 4.18 4.76
Contained Metal
Category   Au
(koz)
Ag
(koz)
Cu
(M lb)
Pb
(M lb)
Zn
(M lb)
AuEq
Indicated   598 673 43.1 51.5 400.8 1,053
Inferred   31 207 9.2 4.7 65.1 108

Notes

  1. Includes all drill holes completed at JT Deposit, with drilling completed between 1982 and as recently as October 2021
  2. Assumed metal prices are US$1650/oz for gold (Au), US$20/oz for silver (Ag), US$3.50/lb for copper (Cu), US$1.00/lb for lead (Pb), and US$1.50/lb for zinc (Zn)
  3. Gold Equivalent ("AuEq") is based on assumed metal prices and an estimated metallurgical recovery of 97% for Au, 85% for Ag, 85% for Cu, 72% for Pb, and 92% for Zn based on metallurgical testwork completed in 2022
  4. AuEq equals = Au g/t + Ag g/t × 0.01 + Cu% × 1.27 + Pb% × 0.31 + Zn% × 0.59
  5. An average bulk density value of 2.84 was used as determined by conventional analytical methods for assay samples
  6. Capping was applied to assays to restrict the impact of high-grade outliers, resulting in the removal of 8.4% Au, 10.1% Ag, 2.8% Cu, 6.2% Pb, and 1.3% Zn from the resource block model as compared to an uncapped version.
  7. The economic underground mining cut-off is estmated to be 2.5g/t AuEq derived from the assumed operating cost of $65/t for long hole stope mining, $35/t processing and $20/t G&A and accounting for transport and smelter charges. HighGold elected to report this mineral resource at a higher cut-off grade of 3.0g/t Au, given the high-grade nature of the deposit.
  8. Preliminary underground constraints were applied, including the elimination of isolated or scattered blocks above cut-off grade to define the "reasonable prospects of eventual extraction" for the Mineral Resource Estimate.  
  9. Mineral resources are reported as undiluted.
  10. Mineral resource tonnages have been rounded to reflect the precision of the estimate
  11. Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability

Location Map

Project History

  • The Johnson Tract drill discovery was made by Anaconda Minerals in 1982.
  • Past work (1982-1995) included eighty-eight (88) drill holes for a total of 26,840 meters, and major engineering and mining related studies by Westmin Resources Ltd. that evaluated direct shipping ore to their Premier mill in Stewart, British Columbia.
  • Metallurgical testing on drill core samples has indicated that good gold and base metal recoveries and marketable concentrates can be expected, with concentrates that are low in deleterious elements.
  • Past work prioritized engineering at the expense of exploration, resulting in significant untested exploration potential.
  • The Project reverted to CIRI in the late 1990s and saw no work until HighGold acquired the project in 2019.

Agreement with CIRI

HighGold’s lease agreement with Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (“CIRI”), one of 12 land-based Alaska Native Regional Corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Act (ANCSA) of 1971. CIRI selected the Johnson Tract lands through ANCSA and, in addition to mineral and surface rights, CIRI was also granted port and transporation easement across adjoining parkland to support the extraction of minerals. 

The lease agreement between HighGold and CIRI has an “Initial Term” of 10-years, followed by a 5-year “Development Term” to achieve a mine construction decision, and then a “Production Term” that will continue for so long as operations and commercial production are maintained.  Minimum exploration expenditure and annual lease payments are required to maintain the lease until production. CIRI maintains certain NSR royalty rights and a back-in right for up to a 25% participating interest.

Please click here for more information on CIRI



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