Onyx Gold (TSXV: ONYX) has initiated drilling at its King Tut Gold Project, situated in the Tombstone Gold Belt in east-central Yukon, Canada. The King Tut project, the most developed of the four properties owned by Onyx Gold in Yukon, displays high-grade gold-in-soil anomalies associated with reduced intrusions. This mineralization pattern is similar to the one found at Snowline Gold Corp’s recent Valley discovery at their Rogue project, located 50 km away.

Project crews have been working at the King Tut site since the beginning of July, conducting preliminary operations to refine targets. Drilling is currently underway at the first hole at the Main Tut gold-in-soil anomaly.

Brock Colterjohn, President & CEO of Onyx Gold, commented in a press release: “We’re very excited to launch the first-ever drill program at King Tut. Our first drill program will target two highly prospective gold anomalies at Golden Mask and Main Tut, which we believe are some of the best undrilled intrusive-related gold-in-soil anomalies in this emerging new gold district. In addition, our planned mapping, sampling, and drone-magnetic survey work programs represent a significant and extensive regional exploration program on a district-scale property that has seen no significant work completed in more than a decade. We look forward to communicating our progress to the market over the coming months.”

For the 2023 exploration program, the company aims to examine several extensive, undrilled gold-in-soil anomalies connected to identified felsic intrusive rocks and their contact with metamorphic ‘hornfelsed’ aureoles, as mapped by a previous company during the 2010 and 2011 field seasons. The exploration includes approximately 2,500 meters of helicopter-supported diamond drilling with one rig, primarily focusing on the Golden Mask and Main Tut anomalies.

The Golden Mask area, having several crucial characteristics of RIRGS deposits, will be the focus of about 75% of the drilling operations. The remaining 25% will be assigned to the Main Tut anomaly, targeting gold mineralization associated with thick (35-50 meter), tabular aplite with quartz-arsenopyrite vein material. This operation will be accompanied by extensive geological mapping, a planned 1,200 sample soil program, prospecting, rock sampling, airborne drone-magnetic surveying, and LIDAR imagery over the main anomalies to enhance drill targeting and property-wide evaluation to identify other potential areas for follow-up.

The Golden Mask anomaly is located within and adjacent to the upper carapace of an elongated granitic stock. The anomaly is almost entirely composed of samples that returned > 20 ppb gold, with most samples exceeding 50 ppb gold to a maximum of 1,423 ppb gold-in-soil. The anomaly is open for expansion to the southwest, south, and north.

The Main Tut anomaly, located 9 km east of Golden Mask and near the center of the property, has an arcuate shape over six kilometers in length and 200 to 1,500 m in width. It is defined by a broad zone of moderately to strongly anomalous gold-in-soil values to a maximum of 13,390 ppb gold.

Highlights from the program are as follows: 

• Plans for 2,500 meters (8-12 drill holes) of diamond drilling with one drill rig;
  • 100% allocated towards discovery drilling at two untested intrusive-related gold-in-soil anomalies, Golden Mask and Main Tut;
• Detailed airborne drone-magnetic surveying and LiDAR imagery to refine drill targeting and delineate new targets in prospective geological and structural corridors;
• Geological and alteration mapping to contextualize historical work and generate new targets in prospective areas for follow-up, and;
• Sizeable soil and rock grab sampling programs to generate new target areas (1,200 soil samples planned)