It’s part of the company’s strategic growth plan at the project which contains a resource estimate of a combined 1.22Moz gold equivalent (AuEq) across near-surface oxide (430,600 oz AuEq) and skarn (796,200oz AuEq) mineralisation.
The diamond drilling will target the Sunshine system, one of three major northwest striking faults identified at the project, the others being Moonlight and Daylight – faults which are traceable to the Sunshine pit that was previously mined for gold and base metals.
The diamond holes will aim to confirm the presence of high-grade mineralisation related to the Daylight fault and test below the current resource extent.
Two RC holes are planned in the east of the project, with the first to target the intersection of the Moonlight Fault with a chert-breccia mineralised trend that was recently discovered through rock chip sampling.
Gold mineralisation within the chert is typically lower grade than the structurally hosted mineralisation at the project, but is amenable to heap leach extraction – a widely used method across Nevada’s epithermal deposits.
The second RC hole will target the Sunshine Fault, where rock chip sampling earlier this month returned 16.6g/t Au, 14.5g/t Au, and 11.7g/t Au.
The company is eager to begin drilling now the acquisition of Battle Mountain Resources – and the Independence project – has been ratified at last week’s AGM.
James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY) executive director Andrew Dornan said the plan now is to drill key targets designed to deliver immediate value to the project – with the aim of gathering critical info for a substantial drilling program across all prospects in 2025.
“The focus on both central and southern areas, combined with our strategic approach to drilling, will provide vital geological data and help confirm the prospectivity of the project,” he said.
“With both RC and diamond drilling underway, we are optimistic about the potential to expand on historical results and uncover new, high-grade mineralisation.
“We look forward to updating the market as drilling progresses and results come in.”
Going forwards, the company will also continue to assess the northern section of the project with the plan to generate additional drill targets.
