Gold Bull Resources - High Risk, High Reward Drill Program

Gold Bull Resources is a US-based gold exploration and development company focused on discovering high-grade deposits in Nevada. The company aims to increase the existing resource at its Sandman project through a 4,000 m exploration drilling campaign which is currently underway.

Matthew Gordon spoke with Cherie Leeden, the CEO of Gold Bull Resources (TSX-V:GBRC) to discuss the company’s exploration drilling program currently underway and recent activities. 

Company Overview

Gold Bull resources raised approximately CAD$ 6 million at the end of 2021, with the intention to implement the funds on expanding its project resources. The shareholders of the company have indicated that it is preferred for the company to aggressively target large mineralisation deposits and expansion instead of small incremental advancements. The company has as a result implemented a high-risk, high reward mentality regarding its exploration philosophy. The company is now aiming to discover deposits that contain 3 to 5 million ounces of gold.

The reverse circulation (RC) exploration drilling currently underway at the company’s Sandman project is progressing according to schedule, with 1,722 m of the planned 4,035 m exploration drilling program completed. The exploration drilling program has concluded with the drilling of 9 holes, with the first assay results of the RC exploration drilling program expected in March 2022.

The company has recently adjusted its exploration target model to focus on high grade “bonanza style” gold deposits by implementing newly acquired geophysical data. The company plans to conclude with its exploration drilling program at the Sandman project by the end of March, from where it will move its drill rig to its Big Balds project, depending on environmental conditions.

The Sandman project

Gold Bull Resources acquired the Sandman project in 2020 from Newmont Gold. The Sandman Project was first discovered in 1987 by the  Kennecott Exploration Company, from where the project became a joint venture with the Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation between 1994 and 1997. The project was convened to Western States Mining in 1997, with the company excavating a test pit on the property. The project was then acquired by NewWest Gold Corporation in 2005 and later by Frontier Pacific Mining Corp in 2007, where it became a joint venture with Newmont Gold. The project was put on hold between 2012 and 2016 due primarily to the low gold price at the time.

The Sandman Property lies along the North-Northwest trending eastern margin of the Sleeper Rift, which forms part of the Central Northern Nevada Gold Rift. The mineralisation can primarily be broken down into high-grade sulphide mineralisation feeder zones and low-grade oxide mineralisation which lies closer to the surface.

The gold mineralization at the company’s Abel Knoll deposit is unlike any of the other mineral resources located within the project and hosts mineralisation in near-vertical plunging polylithic diatreme breccia deposits. The North Hill deposit of the company hosts mineralisation in shallow dipping, bedding parallel domains, with the Silica Ridge deposit hosting its mineralisation in fault breccias. The Southeast Pediment deposit of the Sandman project is an outcropping, moderately dipping, high-grade vein system, which hosts an oxide gold resource.

Gold Bull Resources published a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate in January 2021, the mineral resource estimate (MRE) was increased by approximately 60% from the MRE completed in 2007. The Sandman project holds 21.8 Mt of gold-bearing ore at an average grade of 0.7 g/t. The mineral resource is comprised of indicated resources of 18,550 Kt of gold-bearing ore at 0.73 g/t gold for 433 Koz of gold and inferred resources of 3,246 Kt of gold-bearing ore at 0.58 g/t gold bearing ore for 61 Koz of gold.

Gold Bull resources has conducted various metallurgical tests on the trench and drill hole samples from the Southeast Pediment, Silica Ridge, and North Hill deposits. The metallurgical test work included bottle roll leach tests, column leach tests, and gravity concentration tests. The bottle roll - and column leach tests have indicated that the gold mineralization is amenable to direct cyanidation with a maximum gold recovery rate of 97% and 88% on average.

The Sandman project has the potential for further resource expansion as several of the resources remain open in multiple directions with the majority of its mineralisation lying within 100 m from the surface.

Big Balds

The Big Balds project of the company is a 100% owned land package located 120 km south of the city of Elko in Nevada. The project lies at the intersection of two prolific gold trends namely the Carlin trend, one of the largest and most productive accumulations of gold deposits in North America, and the Bida Trend.

The Big Balds project lies within 10 km of the Bald Mountain Mine owned by the Kinross Gold Corporation and holds three high priority drill targets, namely the Bald Eagle, Bald Badger and Bald Cougar gold targets.

The drill targets of the Big Balds project have been identified through 3D gravity and magnetics inversion geophysical anomalies in combination with highly anomalous arsenic located close to the surface.

Recent Activity

Gold Bull resources recently announced that it has adjusted its exploration model to be focused on the identification of high-grade bonanza style gold mineralisation at its North Hill, Silica Ridge and Abel Knoll targets at the Sandman project. Cherie Leeden, the company’s CEO, explains that the shift in its exploration model is due to feedback received from its shareholders and states:

“The overwhelming feedback we received from our shareholders is that instead of incremental growth they want to see high risk, high reward.”

The company announced in January 2022 that it had commenced with a 4000 m reverse circulation (RC) exploration drilling program at the Sandman project, the aim of the exploration drilling being the interception of high-grade bonanza style gold feeders. The company is prioritising the drill targets through the implementation of recently acquired geophysical data.

The RC drilling exploration program is progressing as planned with the first assay results of the exploration program expected in March 2022.

Next Steps

Gold Bull resources plan to continue with the RC exploration drilling program at the Sandman project with it expected to be concluded by the end of March. The company has started submitting the samples obtained from the RC exploration drilling in small batches to the assay lab, which will lead to assay results being provided over several weeks.

The company plans to move the RC drilling rig to its Big Balds project, where its plans to complete a 1,500 m drilling program which will comprise 6 exploration holes. The company is fully funded for its planned exploration programs, with USD$ 2 million planned to be utilised for the exploration of its Sandman and Big Balds projects.

Gold Bull resources is currently in discussion regarding the acquisition of additional assets from Major mining companies. The company explains that the delay in any agreement is due to the size of the planned acquisitions and the major mining companies that own them not prioritising the acquisition, leading to delays. Leeden states:

“the Majors move pretty slow in this respect because we're looking at their assets that are worth less than USD$ 20 million and they're dealing with the same couple of lawyers on those assets as they are in their USD$ 100 million transactions”

Gold Bull resources is also underway with discussions with another gold company regarding a possible merger. The roll-up of good assets and strong teams will be advantages to the company according to Leeden, with the possibility of consolidating a handful of companies and assets in the future to form a several USD$ 100 million market cap company.

The company however believes that such mergers take time, with one of the challenges being the merging of individuals and corporate cultures. Leeden states:

“It's not so much the projects, they go together nicely, it's getting the teams and the structure right and the shareholders that play nicely together. Trying to find mutual shareholders is certainly key.”

The company plans to continue with only one RC drill rig in the future and not add a second, to enable a systematic approach to target identification.

‍To find out more, go to the Gold Bull Resources website