Kodiak preps 30,000-metre drill program at MPD copper-gold project in BC

• 213 metres of 0.65% copper, 0.37 g/t gold and 2.23 g/t silver (1% copper equivalent) in hole 007. The intersection was part of a 441-metre interval of 0.42% copper, 0.22 g/t gold and 1.49 g/t silver (0.63% copper equivalent) starting at 279 metres downhole.
• Hole 006 cut 171 metres of 0.62% copper, 0.43 g/t gold and 2.55 g/t silver (1.03% copper equivalent) within a broader 449.2 metres grading 0.34% copper, 0.21 g/t gold and 1.48 g/t silver (0.55% copper equivalent) starting at 183 metres.
• And hole 010, a stepout 290 metres of all other drilling at Gate, intersected the first high-grade interval of the 2020 drill program, with 3 metres grading 9.62 g/t gold and 2.4 g/t silver starting at 778 metres downhole.

The company drilled 6,698 metres in nine holes last year at the Gate zone. Drilling has uncovered a high-grade central core within the broader porphyry system at MPD’s Gate zone, which was discovered in 2019.

“Once again, the Gate zone has yielded impressive copper-gold numbers over significant widths,” said Claudia Tornquist, president and CEO of Kodiak, in a release. “With only a small number of holes drilled so far, we have already intersected the newly discovered high-grade zone at Gate and the surrounding larger mineralized envelope over significant dimensions. Over 90% of this kilometre-long target remains unexplored by Kodiak, with considerable discovery potential yet to be unlocked.”

Drilling at MPD has encountered significant copper-gold mineralization and altered porphyritic host rocks, indicating a well-developed alkalic porphyry system. Copper and gold mineralization has so far been drilled over 10 sq. km.

Mineralization at the Gate zone has been traced to 800 metres depth, across a width of 350 metres (east-west) and over 100 metres in length (north-south). However, drilling to date has tested only the northern edge of a 1-km-long copper-in-soil target.

This year’s program will continue stepout drilling at Gate to explore the anomaly as well a related 3-km-long magnetic low, and other targets across the 97.3-sq.-km project.

MPD is in the southern Quesnel Trough, midway between Merritt and Princeton, B.C., in the neighbourhood of several operating mines including Highland Valley Copper, Copper Mountain, Mt. Milligan and New Afton.

Based on early results at the project, Teck Resources invested $8 million in Kodiak last fall for a 9.9% interest.

(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)