Nevada King Gold Corp has officially published results from a review, which was designed to study the accomplishments at its 100%-owned Atlanta Gold Mine Project during 2024, including highlights and technical insights from its Phase II drill program.
According to certain reports, the company also took this opportunity to unveil plans for its ongoing Phase III drill program. Anyway, during 2024, Nevada King’s drilling operations would go on to showcase resource growth potential in all directions. This they did while simultaneously continuing to display consistent, high-grade, oxide material over thick intercepts at the 12,000-hectare (120km2) Atlanta Project, located in the prolific Battle Mountain Trend 264km northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Taking a deeper view of Nevada King’s 2024 Atlanta Gold Mine highlights, we begin from how the company made a significant new discovery at the South Quartzite Ridge Target (SQRT), as it intercepted 6.28g/t Au over 54.9m in intrusive rock found immediately beneath the quartzite cap. More on the same would reveal that SQRT is adjacent to and on trend with the Atlanta resource zone. It would further reveal a measurement of 2,500m in strike and 500m width, along with the fact that the target is underlain by a large geophysical anomaly, enjoying a footprint which is significantly larger than the resource area.
Next up, we must get into how geophysics was proven to be an effective tool for finding gold. This is reinforced by three key discoveries made east, west, and south of the Atlanta resource zone in the second half of 2024. In essence, Nevada King intercepted 1.32g/t Au over 22.9m in a clear geophysical anomaly at the East Ridge Target.
Beyond that, geophysical survey results were the impetus for the 150m step out into the Wild West Zone (WWZ), where the company intercepted 7.94g/t Au over 18.3m within 4.67g/t over 42.7m. Markedly enough, geophysics also played a role in the discovery of new targets for the Phase III drill program.
Then, there is expansion potential in play which stems from step out drilling across the resource area. To expand upon that, drilling at the North Extension Target shows mineralization extending to the north of the resource area, whereas on the other hand, drilling west and down dip of the historical resource area in the WWZ reveals a high-grade depth extension of the deposit.
Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in how Nevada King became one of the most active junior exploration companies operating in US. We get to say SO because it completed its Phase II drill program that included 84,284m from 450 holes from 2022-2024. In 2024 alone, the company drilled 75 reverse circulation holes and one core hole at Atlanta accounting for over 17,007 metres.
Moving on, Nevada King’s 2024 review for the given project also revealed positive test outcomes. These outcomes relate to Phase I metallurgical test results showcasing strong recoveries using conventional processing methods for Nevada oxide deposits including 86%-92% for high-grade gold using mill processing, and 71%-87% for heap leach processing hosted in silicified breccias and volcanics, respectively.
During this timeframe, Nevada King also raised C$21.6-million at a weighted average price of C$0.345 per share. Going by the available details, founder and CEO Collin Kettell participated in both financings to increase his ownership position to 18%. Apart from that, management and insiders also increased their total ownership position to 36%, and in case that wasn’t enough, the company event doubled its institutional shareholder base with significant new fund participation.
Hold on, we still have a few bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon Nevada King’s decision to construct road and modify plan of operations. In this context, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the company’s modification to its Plan of Operations, allowing for commencement of Phase III drilling and demonstrating the company’s ability to efficiently permit new drill sites throughout the Atlanta district. Apart from that, road construction to gain access for drilling at the SQRT was also completed ahead of schedule and below budget.
