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Enduro Metals (TSXV: ENDR) has completed the option requirements to earn a 100% interest in the Newmont Lake copper-gold project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. The property is located between the former Eskay Creek gold mine and the Galore Creek copper-gold project.
The Newmont Lake property was previously owned by Romios Gold Resources (TSXV: RG), which retrains a 2% net smelter return royalty in any future production. The part of the property that was the subject of the option covers 436 sq. km, and Enduro holds another 217 sq. km that together make up the Newmont Lake property.
After three years of exploration, Enduro is confident there are at least four large mineralized systems – McLymont, Burgundy, Cuba and Chaci – at Newmont Lake.
A high-grade copper-gold epithermal skarn has been identified at McLymont. Burgundy hosts a copper-gold alkalic porphyry. Cuba is a high-grade silver-zinc-copper epithermal skarn. Chachi, which looks to have the largest mineralized zone, has never been drilled. It has the potential to host a multi-element zone that is either an alkalic porphyry or an iron ore-copper-gold deposit.
The Burgundy porphyry was discovered in October 2021 when hole BR21-001 intersected 331 metres of 0.71% copper-equivalent starting at surface, including 18.3 metres at 3% copper-equivalent. The system has been traced on surface along 2,700 metres and up to 600 metres wide.
Enduro also sampled the Cuba mineralization in 2021 along an 1,800-metre anomaly. A quartz-barite vein on the surface returned 1,277 g/t silver, 4.51% copper, 1.11% zinc, and 0.21% lead. Sixty metres along strike, another surface sample assayed 854 g/t silver, 5.34% copper, 4.34% zinc, and 1.53% lead.
When the McLymont fault was drilled in 2020, all 17 holes returned gold mineralization. One hole highlighted by the company returned 28.3 metres grading 10.48 g/t gold, 2.31 g/t silver and 0.36% copper, including 8.9 metres at 32.52 g/t gold, 6.54 g/t silver and 1.07% copper beginning 160 metres down hole.
Enduro was granted the option on the Newmont Lake project in 2018. Since that time, it has completed C$8 million in exploration work, made staged payments to Romios totalling C$2 million, and granted Romios a total of 12 million Enduro shares.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
