JOHNSON TRACT
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)
- 59.2 metres grading 8.2 g/t Au, 8.8% Zn, 0.4% Cu, 0.1% Pb and 5 g/t Ag (JT19-085)
- 75.1 meters grading 10.0 g/t Au, 9.4% Zn, 0.6% Cu, 1.1% Pb and 6 g/t Ag (JT19-090)
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 | 750k ounces AuEq @ 10.9 g/t AuEq Indicated 134k ounces AuEq @ 7.2 g/t AuEq Inferred |
| Potential Mine Method | Underground |
Resource Estimate
Table 1. JT Deposit Mineral Estimate at 4.0 g/t AuEq Cut-off
(effective date April 29, 2020)
| Category | Tonnes (000s) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Cu (%) | Pb (%) | Zn (%) | AuEq (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 2,135 | 6.07 | 5.8 | 0.57 | 0.80 | 5.85 | 10.93 |
| Inferred | 581 | 2.05 | 8.7 | 0.54 | 0.33 | 6.67 | 7.16 |
| Contained Metal | Contained Metal | Contained Metal | Contained Metal | Contained Metal | Contained Metal | Contained Metal | Contained Metal |
| Category | Au (koz) | Ag (koz) | Cu (M lb) | Pb (M lb) | Zn (M lb) | AuEq | |
| Indicated | 417 | 397 | 26.8 | 37.6 | 275.3 | 750 | |
| Inferred | 38 | 162 | 6.9 | 4.2 | 85.5 | 134 |
Notes
- Includes all drill holes completed at JT Deposit, with drilling completed between 1982 and most recently as September 2019
- Gold Equivalent ("AuEq") is based on assumed metal prices and 100% recovery and payabilities for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, and Zn
- AuEq equals = Au g/t + Ag g/t × 0.012 + Cu% × 1.422 + Pb% × 0.508 + Zn% × 0.610
- Assumed metal prices are US$1350/oz for gold (Au), US$16/oz for silver (Ag), US$2.80/lb for copper (Cu), US$1.00/lb for lead (Pb), and US$1.20/lb for zinc (Zn) and are based on nominal 3-year trailing averages as of April 1, 2020
- An average bulk density value of 2.84 used as determined by conventional analytical methods for assay samples
- Capping applied to assays to restrict the impact of high-grade outliers
- A 4 g/t AuEq cut-off was deemed appropriate for assumed underground mining and mineral processing methods while providing adequate continuity of mineralized blocks
- Mineral resources as reported are undiluted
- Mineral resource tonnages have been rounded to reflect the precision of the estimate
- 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.