Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold over Trump election win
Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted net-long positions by 11% to 197,362 as of Nov. 12, the lowest in 14 weeks.
Assay results from 2020 drilling at the Colomac deposit and Treasure Island zone at Nighthawk Gold’s (TSX: NHK) Indin Lake gold property in the Northwest Territories suggest potential for higher-grade zones and additional gold mineralization at depth. Latest results include assays for 10 holes completed at Colomac and three intercepts from Treasure Island, 10 km north of Colomac.
Highlights from Treasure Island include 3.3 metres of 5.62 g/t gold from 274.2 metres; 2.1 metres of 4.65 g/t gold starting at 129.8 metres and 5.5 metres of 207.18 g/t gold from 264.6 metres. Notable results from Colomac include 32.7 metres of 3 g/t gold from 569.1 metres; 61.2 metres of 1.67 g/t gold starting at 659.1 metres; and 30.3 metres of 2.44 g/t gold from 448.9 metres. Colomac results are from zones 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.5 within the mafic sill.
In the press release, Richard Roy, Nighthawk’s VP of exploration, noted that the Treasure Island assays could contribute higher-grade material to the resource while Colomac results indicate good potential at depth.
“Drilling in 2021 will focus on further delineation of near-surface mineralization in an effort to increase the in-pit resources. The potential at depth on Colomac remains very significant, but quality near surface targets remain untested at Colomac and will be prioritized in 2021.”
In late March, Nighthawk announced a C$10.95 million bought deal private placement of flow-through units. Closing is expected around Apr. 13.
Based on a March resource update, that accounted for two-thirds of the company’s 2020 exploration program, Colomac hosts 17.9 million pit-constrained indicated tonnes at 1.62 g/t gold for a total of 930,000 gold oz. Total Indin Lake indicated resources, which include both open pit and underground inventory, stand at 38.7 million tonnes grading 1.81 g/t gold, and contain 2.2 million gold oz. Inferred resources are estimated at 11.5 million tonnes at 2.13 g/t gold, containing 786,100 oz. Resources are defined within the Colomac, Goldcrest, Grizzly Bear, 24 and 27 deposits.
One of the deposits at Colomac produced 527,908 gold oz. between 1990 and 1997 from three open pits.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
