A publicly traded, Nevada-focused precious metals exploration company boosts an high grade grassroots discovery with upside potential for the resource.
Western Exploration Inc. (TSXV:WEX) is set to embark on an highly targeted drilling campaign in 2024, looking to expand its gold and silver resource at its wholly owned Aura project. This initiative, focusing on the Jarbidge rhyolite east of the Gravel Creek resource area, has the potential to unlock considerable value.
The junior mining company announced its resource expansion drilling program back at the beginning of the year and offered more details in May, proposing serious potential for investors, backed by encouraging assay results from 2023 and a strategic drilling plan. Let’s take a deeper look at the project before we discuss why this is a big deal.
About the Aura Project
The Aura Project is a standout in the junior mining space, with established resources across three deposits: Doby George, Gravel Creek and Wood Gulch. The project benefits from well-established infrastructure, including year-round accessibility by highway and county-maintained roads, and nearby access to water and electricity.
Western Exploration holds exploration, development and mining rights on 9.3 square kilometres of privately owned fee lands through a mineral lease agreement, with the option to purchase these lands for the development of Doby George.
- Doby George: 407k oz at 0.98 g/t gold (indicated), 118k oz at 0.73 g/t gold (inferred)
- Gravel Creek: 245k oz at 5.81 g/t gold equivalent (indicated), 442k oz at 5.02 g/t gold equivalent (inferred)
- Wood Gulch: 105k oz at 0.74 g/t gold equivalent (inferred)
Focus for the 2024 drill program
The 2024 drilling campaign is designed to capitalize on the promising findings from the 2023 drilling program. Key highlights include:
- Significant discovery zone: Assay results and structural studies from 2023 identified a north-south trending, moderately west-dipping zone featuring high-grade gold (Au) and silver (Ag) bearing quartz-pyrite-marcasite veins, stockwork and hydrothermal breccias. This zone is 140 to 250 metres east-northeast of the Gravel Creek resource area.
- High-grade intercepts: Two parallel vein zones and associated splay structures have revealed multiple +20.0 g/t AuEq intercepts over a dip length of 200 metres, with drill widths ranging from 0.3 to 4.6 metres and grades up to 257.0 g/t Au and 1,655.0 g/t Ag.
- Drilling program: Major Drilling Group International Inc. has been contracted to supply two drills for a 4,000-metre oriented core drill program. The drilling will bracket the 2023 discovery section with 80-metre step-out fence drilling on strike to the north and south, as well as 80 metres up dip. Site preparations are set to commence in mid-June, with drilling to follow shortly afterward.
- Expansion potential: With confirmation of grade and structural trends, the company plans to expand drilling efforts to link the other +5.0 g/t AuEq legacy drill intercepts within the Jarbidge rhyolite. This area measures 550 metres by 350 metres and covers a vertical range of 615 metres, promising significant resource expansion potential.
In an exclusive interview with The Market Online’s Ryan Dhillon, Western Exploration’s chief executive officer Darcy Marud explained that financing that closed at the end of March was earmarked specifically for the drill program at the Gravel Creek deposit.
“In 2023, we did a smaller program that was very successful, we delineated a new zone with some very high-grade gold and silver, and this money that we raised this year is to follow that up and do some drilling around the new discovery and bring that into a resource,” he said. “That’s one thing people like to see, high-grade deposits, they make money in any gold price environment.”
Click the interview below to watch the conversation in full.
Significance of results for resource expansion potential
Marud emphasized the importance of the 2023 structural interpretation, which revealed an expanded resource potential in the Jarbidge rhyolite. The 2024 drilling program aims to extend the vein zones intersected in the “Discovery Section” with 80-metre step-out holes, hoping to expand the Gravel Creek resource base. The goal is to link multiple high-grade Au-Ag vein zones in the Jarbidge rhyolite, significantly enhancing the resource base.
Structural trends provide focus for 2024 oriented core drilling
Analysis of the 2023 oriented core data by Oriented Targeting Solutions identified a complex network of veins, stockwork and hydrothermal breccias. These structures follow steep to shallow northwest to northeast trends, mimicking known structural controls on mineralization. The strongest correlation between holes WG456 and WG457 connected mineralized structures to a north-northwest trending corridor, dipping moderately west-southwest towards the main GC Fault zone. The Upper and Lower Veins, defined by multiple legacy intercepts, show high-grade mineralization with substantial gold equivalent values.
- Upper vein: 2.07-metre drill width at 28.05 g/t AuEq (4 intercepts)
- Lower vein: 3.13-metre drill width at 25.26 g/t AuEq (4 intercepts)
Initial drilling in 2024 will focus on the discovery section, 500N, with holes drilled along strike and up dip on 80-metre step-outs.
Future exploration targets in the Jarbidge Rhyolite
Future exploration will extend northeast of Gravel Creek into an area with multiple legacy intercepts, measuring 550 metres by 350 metres and covering a 615-metre vertical range. Priority targets include high-grade Au-Ag intercepts, such as 3.04 metres at 53.50 g/t AuEq, 0.3 metre at 60.05 g/t AuEq, and 1.95 metre at 21.96 g/t AuEq. These targets are drill-ready and offer significant exploration potential.
Wood Gulch-Gravel Creek – district scale resource expansion potential
Share structure
As a business in the early stages of this project, Western Exploration presents a clear bonus for ground-floor investment. The company’s leadership believes the team is spending enough money to advance its projects on schedule.
Public companies have the advantage of being able to sell shares to raise cash, though this company has the benefit of impressive shareholders such as Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE/TSX:AEM) and Golkonda, a private equity syndicate consisting of approximately 70 long-standing shareholders, including U.S. Global, Europac, King’s Road, Open Sky and Parkwood directors and management.
Meet the team
CEO Marud came to the role with a great deal of experience, having served former executive roles in exploration and development at such companies as Meridian Gold and Yamana Gold, where he made precious metals grassroots discoveries across the Americas, including Chile and Mexico.
He is joined at the helm of Western Exploration by chief financial officer Curtis Turner, CPA, who has held VP of finance and other executive roles at Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX:AR) and Meridian Gold.
Senior consulting geologist John Cleary has been a consultant for Western Exploration since its inception in 1997 and was the co-discoverer of the Gravel Creek deposit.
Rounding out the executive team is the general manager of the Aura Project, Mark Hawksworth, P. Geo. He has held executive roles in exploration and development at Meridian Gold and Yamana Gold.
Investment corner
Western Exploration’s 2024 resource expansion drilling program presents an exciting opportunity for investors, working to significantly enhance the resource base of the Aura Project.
With promising assay results and a strategic drilling plan, the company is well-positioned for growth. Investors are encouraged to conduct further due diligence and visit Western Exploration’s website at westernexploration.com to learn more about this promising opportunity.
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(Top image: Western Exploration Inc.)