On Wednesday, Tower Resources, Ltd (OTC:TWRFF) (TSXV:TWR) announced the assay results for the first two holes of its six-hole delineation program, intended to establish the strike, dip and thickness of its gold resource, which was discovered earlier this year.
The assay results surpassed the original gold discovery (hole RN21-026), in an area the company named the Lightening Zone, to signify how quickly Tower made the discovery after completing its initial till heavy mineral survey just six months prior.
These first two follow-up holes (028 and 029), from locations at Tower’s Rabbit North property near Kamloops, British Columbia, reinforced the significance of its discovery hole while also providing a solid path forward for future drilling programs. The plan was successful, because Tower completed its intended goals and hit gold again.
Hole 028 yielded 1.55 grams per ton of gold (g/t Au) over 138 meters, within which 24.5 meters yielded 4.76 g/t Au. Hole 029 yielded 1.78 g/t Au over 70.5 meters, including 13.5 meters yielding 4.92 g/t Au.
What Happened: Tower’s discovery hole (RN21-026) transformed the exploration company into an emerging gold producer, but the results of the two subsequent holes provided the nexus of the discovery.
The two holes, drilled on a section 50 meters northeast of its discovery hole, were arranged in a scissor fashion.
The holes were, “drilled at right angles to the inferred northeasterly (040°) strike of the shear-hosted Lightning Zone, with the objective of determining its dip. Hole 028 was drilled to the southeast (130°) while Hole 029 was drilled to the northwest (310°). Both holes passed completely through the zone, thereby establishing not only its dip, which is essentially vertical, but also its true thickness which is a remarkable 40 meters.”
Notably, the holes showed uniformity to each other and the discovery hole, both which indicate consistent mineralization across the area.
Why It Matters: Establishing the dip and strike of Tower’s deposit quickly and with few holes has enabled the company to confirm its deposit and plan future programs economically and with a high level of predictability for future success.
Likewise, the consistency in Tower’s gold grades increases confidence in the distribution of its mineralization.
Further, Tower was able to establish that the dip is essentially vertical, which is ideal for underground mining.
The History: The till results that Tower obtained last summer “identified a classic gold grain dispersal train that is stronger than any known trains associated with glaciated porphyry Cu-Au deposits, including the giant Pebble deposit in Alaska.” Subsequently, Tower began a four-hole diamond drilling program, which was completed in December 2021.
On Jan. 11, the company announced it had made an impressive discovery in hole 026, with an intercept of 1.40 grams per ton of gold (g/t Au) over 95 meters, within which 19.2 meters yielded 4.21 g/t Au. The discovery guided the next drill program, for which the company is beginning to receive results.
What’s Next: Tower originally announced it planned to begin its next drill program mid-June, but a delay in obtaining lab results has likely pushed the start of drilling to mid-summer. In the meantime, traders and investors will await the assay results of the remaining four holes (030 through 033), which Tower plans to release in batches as the results are received and reviewed.
Interesting Fact: In mining, location is everything and Tower’s Rabbit North property is located between New Gold, Inc’s (NYSE:NGD) New Afton underground copper and gold mine and Teck Resources, Ltd.’s (NYSE:TECK) Highland Valley open pit copper and molybdenum mine.
Tower’s location is in the Kamloops mining district is one of the most cost-effective mining districts in central B.C. due to easy access to labor, housing and materials. So far, the total expenditure of the two drilling programs, with a combined 10 diamond drill holes, can be assumed to come in at roughly $1 million.
Price Action: Tower Resources closed Tuesday's trading session up 5.95% at $0.278.
