Liberty Gold (TSX: LGD)(US-OTC: LGDTF) has drilled gold beyond the resource boundary at its Black Pine project in Idaho, outlining an extension that could increase the site’s resources.
Drill hole LBP1347 at the Rangefront deposit cut 18.3 metres grading 1.27 grams gold per tonne from 233.2 metres depth, Liberty said Thursday in a statement. The interval was part of a 144.8-metre intercept grading 0.36 gram gold from 167.6 metres downhole.
The results come as Liberty advances Black Pine towards a potential 2028 construction decision. A 50,000-metre reverse-circulation drilling program is under way, with an updated resource anticipated in next year’s first half. Black Pine was added to the federal government’s FAST-41 program in January to coordinate permitting.
“Overall, the drill results from the early stages of the 2026 campaign have expanded the mineralization footprint in Rangefront and provided ample data to de-risk engineering designs,” Owen Nicholls, Liberty’s director of technical services, said in the statement.
Resource growth
Drilling at Rangefront has outlined oxide gold mineralization extending about 200 metres north of the existing resource boundary and up to 400 metres wide. It remains open to the north, Liberty said. The results could support an increase in the project’s gold resources and help refine infrastructure designs.
Other results released Thursday included drill hole LBP1341A, which cut 62.5 metres grading 0.42 gram gold from 222.5 metres downhole. That included 4.6 metres at 1.42 grams gold from 265.2 metres. The intervals are drilled lengths rather than true widths.
Liberty is targeting 25 million to 35 million tonnes of inferred material for potential upgrading to the indicated category. Drilling so far has established a clearer eastern boundary to the deposit, information needed to finalize the design of a proposed heap-leach pad.
Black Pine is a past-producing, Carlin-style oxide gold deposit in southeastern Idaho’s Great Basin. Pegasus Gold operated the mine from 1991 to 1997, producing about 435,000 oz. of gold and 198,000 oz. of silver. Liberty acquired the property in 2016.
Heap leach
A feasibility study released in September outlined a 16-year open-pit, heap-leach operation producing an average of 202,000 oz. of gold annually during its first five years. Probable reserves, effective Aug. 1, total 433.3 million tonnes grading 0.29 gram gold, containing 4.04 million ounces.
Using a 5% discount rate and a gold price of $3,250 (C$4,550) per oz., the study estimated initial capital costs of $411 million and an after-tax net present value of $2.4 billion. It also calculated a 61% internal rate of return and a two-year payback period.
Vancouver-based Liberty is advancing permitting and detailed engineering while continuing infill drilling at the Discovery, J and Rangefront zones. Additional exploration will test extensions of mineralization at the F and M zones, with further assay results expected as drilling progresses.
Liberty shares dropped 4.6% to C$1.86 Thursday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about C$1 billion ($714 million). The stock has traded between C64¢ and C$2.30 in the past year.
Source: https://www.mining.com/liberty-gold-stretches-black-pines-reach-in-idaho/
