Tonopah Nevada, USA
Golden Arrow Project
Fairchild Gold: Golden Arrow Presentation
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Location:
The Golden Arrow Gold-Silver Property is located within the Golden Arrow Mining District in Nye County, Nevada. The property is located 35 miles east of Tonopah, and is accessed via paved roads and graded gravel roads.
Water for exploration activities can be obtained from agricultural wells in the Stone Cabin alluvial valley west of the project. Electrical power lines are located 11 miles north of the project and 10 miles southwest of the property; either of these could be extended to the property to provide electrical service to a mining operation.
Geology:
The Golden Arrow Project is underlain by andesitic to rhyolitic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. Numerous historic prospects and shafts, exploited veins and mineralised breccia lenses along the Page Fault Zone. Gold was also historically extracted from two other areas, Hidden Hill and Gold Coin.
The gold-silver mineralisation at Golden Arrow is volcanic-hosted low-sulfidation epithermal in origin that appears to have been overprinted by a later high-sulfidation epithermal system. The historic drill results demonstrate that precious metals exist in both high-grade veins and in more widespread, disseminated mineralization within both the Gold Coin and Hidden Hill Deposits.
Structure:
The most prominent structure visible in the surface geology is the Page Fault Zone, which extends across the property from a northeast to north trend, terminating at Confidence Mountain.
Alteration:
The volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks that host the gold-silver mineralization exhibit variable to extreme alteration. Intense chalcedonic silicification is observed in outcrops on the western flank of Confidence Mountain, while in drill holes, intense fine-grained silicification is present, as is argillic alteration.
Gold-bearing quartz veins along the Page Fault and surrounding Deadhorse Hill are characterized by crystalline quartz and adularia with very limited selvedges of silicification and sericite. Gold mineralization within the Hidden Hill zone is typically associated with intense clay-pyrite alteration.
Supergene oxidation may extend to depths of more than 600ft along fault and fracture zones, but more generally extends to depths of 100-200ft in the Hidden Hill and Gold Coin zones.
Historic Exploration:
Gold was first discovered in the Golden Arrow Mining District in 1905, and by 1917, deposits were being explored at the Golden Arrow, Gold Bar, and Desert shafts. Gold production continued until the 1940s from several shafts up to 500ft deep. The amount of gold produced over this period is unknown.
The Golden Arrow property has been explored by a succession of companies since 1981. This work has included geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys, and 61,268 m (361 holes) of drilling.
Resource Estimate:
Golden Arrow contains a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for the Gold Coin and Hidden Hill Deposits of 295,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.79g/t Au and 4,362,000 ounces of silver at an average grade of 11.23g/t Ag within the measured and indicated categories
An additional 60,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.34g/t Au and 2,322,000 ounces of silver at an average grade of 11.31g/t Ag are contained within the inferred category.
Exploration Targets:
To date, most of the Golden Arrow drilling has been focused on the two known centers of mineralization at the Gold Coin and Hidden Hill Deposits.
The Golden Arrow District has the potential to contain additional undiscovered mineralization and Fairchild is focused on several exploration targets that have been identified for further evaluation:
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The northeast-trending Page fault is a good-quality exploration target defined by historical workings, gold and silver mineralization, surface mapping, offset rock types, a clear break on gravity, magnetic, and electrical signatures. It has received little historical drill testing. Some of the drill holes intersected the fault, but the accuracy of the data does not allow for a definitive interpretation of the dip.
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The northeast-trending structural feature along the northwest edge of the Golden Arrow fault block (parallel to the Page fault) is a well-defined magnetic and gravity lineament that may be an additional control of mineralization. It has never been drill tested.
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Potential for discovery remains along the northwest-trending. Additional geologic mapping with some rock sampling would help identify these structures.
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The circular feature appears in multiple geophysical data sets, but it has not been recognized on the ground nor tested by drilling. Additional geological work, and perhaps drilling, should be considered to understand and test this feature.
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Several studies have recently been completed on caldera systems in Nevada that include information specific to the Kawich caldera. Regional exploration specific to the relationship of hot springs mineralization in the vicinity of the Kawich caldera should be undertaken to identify additional potential mineralization in and near the Golden Arrow property.
