Au Gold Corp Receives Drill Permit for Ponderosa Gold Project and Will Commence Fully Funded Drilling in April 2022
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Au Gold Corp
NR1-2022
Au Gold Corp Receives Drill Permit for Ponderosa Gold Project and Will Commence Fully Funded
Drilling in April 2022
Vancouver, British Columbia – March 24, 2022 – Au Gold Corp (TSXV:AUGC) (“ AUGC” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce it has received the necessary permits to conduct its inaugural
diamond drill program at its road accessible Ponderosa epithermal gold project 16 km southwest of
Merritt, BC. The fully funded drill program will comprise a minimum 1,500 m of diamond drilling in 10-
14 holes to be conducted by Superior Diamond Drilling Inc. of Powell River, BC. Phase I drilling is
expected to commence in April and will target t he Tomahawk and Flat Iron Zones in the central part of
the property.
Highlights:
• Fully funded diamond drilling of 1,500 m in 10-14 holes to commence in April.
• Targeting 15 m wide auriferous bedrock vein exposure at Tomahawk that has never been drill-
tested.
• Targeting 25 m wide historical auriferous zone at Flat Iron that has never been drill-tested.
President & CEO Marc Blythe commented “We are very happy to have received our permits and get
started on the next phase of exploration at Ponderosa. The Company has conserved funds while waiting
for permits, continuing to hone its exploration plan and prepare to drill. The infill soil sampling carried
out in 2021 highlights additional exploration potential on other lower priority, but still significant targets
at Ponderosa.”
Tomahawk Zone
The Tomahawk Zone is currently ex posed for 55 m along a north-northeast strike and 15 m across the
widest continuous exposure. Dips are moderate to steep toward the west between 45 and 70 degrees.
Mineralization and alteration comprise high level angular volcanic breccias with multiple phases of silica
cement and stockwork style veining; tan to orange -brown clay altered volcanic often finely fractured
with multiple generations of clear to white sheeted quartz; and massive to weak ly crustiform banded
opaque and white quartz veining. Select saw channel samples from hand trenches defining the zone
returned 3.99 g/t Au and 14.9 g/t Ag across 1 m of quartz veining and 0.63 g/t Au across 1.25 m of
adjacent altered volcanic. The vein zone remains open along strike and the hanging-wall contact has not
been delineated.
Flat Iron Zone
The Flat Iron Zone is interpreted as an offset continuation of the Tomahawk Zone and lies 100 m to the
south-southeast across a property scale easterly trending structure. Historical trenching in this target
area encountered a broad zone of altered and silicified volcanic strata with localized quartz vein material
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from which a 25 m interval reportedly returned a weighted average grade of 0. 80 g/t Au. The historical
report documents seven chip samples (0.5 to 1.0 m) within the interval exceeding 1 g/t Au to a
maximum of 7.54 g/t Au across 1.0 m . In addition, a narrow parallel zone of similar mineralization and
alteration was identified by his torical trenching approximately 60 m to the east . Samples of quartz- rich
mineralization from this zone reportedly returned 1.24 g/t Au across 4.0 m.
Further assessment of the Flat Iron target by AUGC in 2021 mapped out two roughly 30 m wide parallel
north-northeast trending zones of rusty clay altered and weakly silicified volcanic with numerous
concentrations of localized quartz vein material ranging in width from several cm’s to 25 cm. This
surface vein mineralization was traced 70 m along strike to the south -southwest from the reported
historical trench locations. A series of composite surface samples consisting only of quartz vein material
from the two parallel zones returned values ranging from 0.10 g/t Au to 1.02 g/t Au. None of the
altered volcanic was sampled.
A single historical drill hole was collared east of the trenches with an azimuth to the west to test what
was interpreted as an easterly dipping target, however, nothing of significance was encountered. AUGC
believes the Flat Iron target has similar geometry to the Tomahawk Zone with a moderate dip to the
west, so it is likely that this historical drill hole tested parallel to the target . Accordingly, drill-testing of
both the Tomahawk and Flat Iron targets will be designed to test the west dipping target.
Detailed Soil Sampling
During 2021, the Company carried out detailed infill soil sampling to better understand the context of
historical anomalies and the impacts of glaciation on the property. A total of 679 samples were
collected from six individual grids along an 1800 m trend through the central part of the property. Grids
were established over specific target areas as follow -up to the newest lineament structu ral analysis
completed from the geophysical and UAV surveys. Sampling was done at 25 m intervals along lines
spaced 25 m apart with samples collected by hand auger to depths where soil could be definitively
identified as B-Horizon or as deep as possible if identification was uncertain. It should be noted that not
all sample sites penetrated the till profile.
The majority of the detailed grid soil sampling increased the tenor of existing sample data for both gold
and arsenic values, expanded the continuity of existing anomalies and provided better internal vectoring
within broader anomalies for identifying potential mineralized zones. Thresholds used to contour gold
and arsenic are unconventionally low but the presence of glacial t ill and the interpretation of the
underlying alteration and mineralization representing a high -level low sulphidation epithermal gold
system is the primary consideration for this methodology.
Option Grant
The Company has granted 150,000 options to a consul tant of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10
for five years. These options vest immediately.
Qualified Person
All scientific and technical information in this press release has been prepared by William
Wengzynowski, P. Eng., a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Wengzynowski is the Exploration
Manager for Au Gold Corp.
Ponderosa Gold Property
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The Ponderosa Gold Property is located 16 km southwest of Merritt, BC, within the Spences Bridge Gold
Belt which forms a northwest trending belt roughly 180 km long and up to 24 km wide.
Exploration by AUGC and others, notably Westhaven Gold Corp., has id entified the potential for gold
associated with low -sulphidation epithermal mineralization (quartz -adularia). Examples of this style of
mineralization include Kupol (Kinross Gold Corp.), Hishikari (Sumitomo Metal Mining) and Fruta Del
Norte (Lundin Gold).
Rocks of immediate interest in the belt and underlying much of the Property comprise successions of
Cretaceous subaerial and pyroclastic volcanic flows which host significant gold mineralization at
Westhaven Gold Corp.’s Shovelnose project approximately 2 0 km southeast of the Ponderosa Gold
Property. Geology across the Ponderosa Gold Property claim group is broadly divided into two
Cretaceous age volcanic sequences comprising subaerial and pyroclastic volcanic flows of the Pimainus
and Spius Formations.
Historical exploration at Ponderosa focused almost exclusively on an in -situ occurrence referred to as
“Axel Ridge”, which is characterized by outcropping cryptocrystalline/saccharoidal to crustiform and
colloform banded epithermal quartz. A series of tren ches were excavated across these outcropping
exposures with highlights including 2.22 g/t gold over 11.7 m, 1.92 g/t gold over 14.0 m (with 3.03 g/t
gold over 8.0 m) and 3.6 g/t gold over 7.0 m. Follow-up diamond drilling of seven holes at Axel Ridge
was u nsuccessful in intersecting the surface mineralization at depth. AUGC is not planning any
exploration at Axel Ridge at this time.
Work conducted in 2019 and 2020 significantly upgraded three historic showings and identified an
entirely new showing. These showings in order of priority are referred to as the Tomahawk, Flat Iron, T -
Bone and Rib Eye zones. The Tomahawk Zone is the most advanced and highest priority showing on the
Property.
The Ponderosa Gold Property is located within the unceded traditional t erritory of the Nlaka’pamux
People.
Further information on the Property can be found on the Company’s website:
https://www.augoldcorp.com/ponderosa-property/.
Cautionary Note
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that te rm is defined in
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
For further information, please contact:
Au Gold Corp
Marc G. Blythe, MBA, P.Eng., President & Chief Executive Officer
Sandrine Lam, Investor Relations Phone: 1-604-687-3520 Ext. 250
Email: [email protected]
To learn more visit: https://www.augoldcorp.com
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