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Message: Atac and Barrick join forces in the Yukon

Atac and Barrick join forces in the Yukon

http://www.northernminer.com/news/atac-barrick-join-forces-yukon-explore-rackla/1003785626/

 

Atac Resources president and CEO Graham Downs at the Rackla gold property in the central Yukon.  Credit: Atac Resources.

Posted By: Matthew Keevil April 19, 2017

VANCOUVER — Atac Resources (TSXV: ATC; US-OTC: ATADF) is the latest explorer to attract major attention amid a new-era gold rush in the Yukon.

On April 10, the company announced an option agreement on its expansive Orion project, wherein Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: ABX) could earn a 70% interest in nearly 800 sq. km that hosts Canada’s only Carlin-type gold district.

The terms outline potential investment by Barrick totaling $63.3 million, which includes a private placement of $8.3 million and a two-staged, $55-million exploration earn-in option to acquire up to 70% of Orion, which comprises the central portion of the 1,742-sq.-km Rackla property 100 km due northeast of Keno City.

Map of Atac Resources’ 1,742-sq.-km Rackla property in the Yukon. Credit: Atac Resources.

“We’ve actually had a relationship with them for a long time, and they’ve been following our story. Barrick’s team out of Nevada is obviously leaders in terms of Carlin-style geology, and they will bring a systematic exploration strategy that’s well-suited for the project size,” explains president and CEO Graham Downs during an interview at Atac’s Vancouver offices.

“We’d been talking about the details of a partnership for many years, and under this agreement we get to maintain our ownership in essentially the book-ends of the land package. Barrick was certainly intrigued by drill results at Orion in 2016,” he adds.

Orion covers 780 sq. km and includes the drill-confirmed Orion and Anubis Carlin-type gold discoveries, as well as eight other “early-stage Carlin-type gold prospects.” The area is part of the broader Nadaleen Trend — which also hosts the Osiris, Ibis, Conrad and Sunrise target areas — where mineralization reportedly occurs in limestone debris flows and turbidite deposits characteristic of an offshore sedimentary environment.

Camp facilities at Atac Resources’ Rackla gold project. Credit: Atac Resources.

Atac completed 1,540 metres at the central Orion zone in 2016 that targeted pyritic siltstone and footwall brecciated limestone stratigraphy along the Anubis Fault. Diamond drilling returned elevated gold and associated pathfinder elements (arsenic, antimony, mercury and thallium) that are “characteristically peripheral to Carlin-type mineralized systems.” The assays were headlined by 61.29 metres of 2.75 grams gold per tonne from 18 metres depth in hole 16-010.

“In terms of timing, I think it was just a question of finding a deal that worked for both sides. Barrick’s team definitely likes the rocks, and it came to a point where they wanted to get in there and have boots on the ground,” Downs continues.

“It’ll be a real collaboration. Our exploration has been heading in the right direction, and Barrick has indicated that in our conversations over the years. For us it ended up being more of a market, or capital, issue. They bring a more systematic outlook to exploration and give us the backing to really dig into that district-scale potential at Rackla. I think we’re looking at a fresh start that involves a review of the entire land position,” he elaborates.

A core shack at Atac’s main Rackla camp. Photo by Matthew Keevil.

Barrick must incur $35 million in exploration expenditures over five years to acquire a 60% interest Orion, which includes $10 million in guaranteed fieldwork over the first three years. The gold major would earn the final 10% via a subsequent, $20-million investment.

Atac will also receive a capital boost courtesy of the private placement, which will result in Barrick holding a 19.9% equity stake in the junior. The company indicates the proceeds will fund a previously announced $10-million program at the Osiris and Rau projects, which are not subject to the earn-in agreement. The offering will consist of 16.7 million flow-through shares to be sold at a price of 50¢ through a donation arrangement structured by PearTree Securities.

The Rau Trend occupies the western edge of the Rackla land package, and hosts the Tiger carbonate-replacement gold deposit, the Airstrip gold anomaly, and the Ocelot silver-lead-zinc discovery. Meanwhile, the Osiris project sits on the properties eastern extent and is highlighted by the Conrad Carlin-style zone, where Atac cut 43 metres of 18.44 grams gold from 66 metres depth in hole 12-114.

“We’re definitely going to be prioritizing that high-grade mineralization at the Conrad zone around the 350 and 650 faults, which we’ve modeled. Drilling to-date has really been parallel to those faults so we’re going to change the orientation,” Downs says.

“It’ll be similar at Osiris North where we have pretty wide spacing right now. It’s really a question following up on grade and building ounces. We’re hoping to work towards a resource in the near term. We have a number of zones over a large area, and each one could end up being a stand-alone deposit,” he adds.

In mid-January, Atac outlined plans for a 15,000-metre diamond and rotary air blast (RAB) drill campaign.

Stacks of core boxes at Atac Resources’ Rackla gold project 100 km due northeast of Keno City, Yukon. Credit: Atac Resources.

The exploration initiative would reportedly target “high-grade gold structures at the Conrad and Osiris zones.” Diamond drilling will focus on high-grade gold mineralization the company suspects is associated with the 350 and 650 faults, where hole OS-10-008 returned 21.13 metres of 8.03 grams gold from 41 metres depth, and hole OS-12-184 intersected 51.82 metres of 4.05 grams gold from 147 metres depth.

“We’ll end up reviewing that exploration program since we’ll have more money earmarked for the Conrad and Osiris areas. The Orion program will have to be re-jigged with Barrick’s input,” Downs comments, adding that the companies hope to get drills turning by early June.

Atac has traded within a 52-week window of 32¢ and 95¢, and closed at 58¢ per share at the time of writing. The company reported working capital of nearly $16 million at the end of 2016, and maintains 123 million shares outstanding for a $71 million press-time market capitalization.

“I really do believe there’s a bit of a flight from risk element going on when you talk about the recent investments in the Yukon,” Downs concludes. “The jurisdiction has proven to be a stable place to work over the years, and it’s truly under-explored. There’s a ton of potential, and you can work there. I also see companies becoming more comfortable working in Canada’s north, and that will keep growing over time.”

http://www.northernminer.com/news/atac-barrick-join-forces-yukon-explore-rackla/1003785626/

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