Golden Ridge Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: GLDN): Advancing High Grade Au-Ag Project in the Heart of BC’s Golden Triangle; Interview with Michael Blady, President & CEO
|
By Dr. Allen Alper, PhD Economic Geology and Petrology, Columbia University, NYC, USA
on 2/1/2019
Golden Ridge Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: GLDN) owns a 100% interest in the 1,700-hectare Hank copper-gold-silver-lead-zinc property located in the Golden Triangle district, approximately 140 kilometres north of Stewart, British Columbia. At the 2019 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, we learned from Michael Blady, President-CEO of Golden Ridge Resources that in 2018 they drilled just under 7000 meters and discovered a Cu-Au-Ag alkalic porphyry, called the Williams Zone, which has become the Company's flagship deposit. Plans for 2019 include drilling the Williams Zone to depth and putting together an inferred resource.
Michael Blady, President & CEO of Golden Ridge Resources, at the 2019 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Drilling in the Upper Alteration Zone
Dr. Allen Alper: This is Dr. Allen Alper, Editor-in-Chief of Metals News, interviewing Michael Blady, who is President-CEO of Golden Ridge Exploration. Michael, could you give our readers/investors an overview of Golden Ridge?
Michael Blady: Certainly, Dr. Allen, thanks. Golden Ridge is a Company that went public is October 2017. We had an option with Barrick Gold on the Hank Project, which is located in northwest British Columbia, in the prolific Golden Triangle. In 2017 we drilled 4250 meters and made a couple new discoveries on epithermal targets on the Hank. In 2018 we drilled just under 7000 meters and discovered a copper gold porphyry, called the Williams Zone. Which has now become a flagship deposit for Golden Ridge. Since then we've also earned a 100% interest from Barrick on the Hank and now control that project outright.
Dr. Allen Alper: Sounds great. Could you tell us about the most interesting parts of the project?
Michael Blady: Sure. The Hank was originally staked and explored by Lac Minerals back in the early 1980s. Lac drilled about a hundred holes in a shallow epithermal target called the Pit Zone, which is topographically very high on the property. From this zone, they put together a small resource of about 60,000 ounces around 4g/t Au. So when we came back to this project, after no work in the zone for almost thirty years, we started with what had been done in the past, and worked our way out from there.
We found that besides that small pit zone, which seemed to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the deposit, there's a huge hydrothermal system at work here, with about three and a half to four kilometers of strike length of hydrothermal alteration. Immediately we thought to ourselves that there must be something else going on here to have such a big hydrothermal footprint. So we started doing more property-wide exploration. That's how we were able to zone in on several other epithermal targets on the property and ultimately the Williams Zone; which could very well be the feeder system for this larger epithermal system.
So we did some property-wide geochemistry. We identified the copper-in-soil anomalies. Previously there had never been any copper showings or anomalies recorded on the property. Then in 2017 we did a ground-based magnetometer survey and we were able to identify a very distinct bullseye magnetic anomaly.
Once we saw that we were very excited, so we went over there with some pickaxes and shovels and we hand trenched. And low and behold, we uncovered a strongly potassic-altered monzonite that was loaded with bornite and chalcopyrite. That was the beginning of the Williams Zone discovery. That was very exciting for our Company and we've followed it up with drilling and proved it with some significant drill intercepts that show that this project could have some legs.
Our best hole from last year was 319 meters of 0.42 grams gold, 0.34% copper, and 2.2g/t silver. And then in the epithermal side, we had twenty meters of just under 12g/t gold-equivalent. So, you know, some decent hits. Now for us this year, our goal is to define the size of these deposits and to put some continuity around them. So 2019 will be an exciting year.
Dr. Allen Alper: Oh I hope so, it's great. Could you elaborate a little bit on what your plans are in 2019?
Michael Blady: 2019 we will be looking to do a drill program where we can start putting together an inferred resource on the Williams Zone. We also would like to follow up with some of our epithermal gold targets, where we had some success last year. But the main priority is the Williams Zone, drilling it to depth. Currently we've only drilled it to about 500 meters, which would have a true depth of about 350. And a lot of these holes have been ending in mineralization.
So we really want to give this thing a test at depth and see what happens with the grade. Because from our early preliminary results, it looks like it's increasing at depth. And we're going to try and drill a couple GT Gold like holes, 880, 1000, 1200 meter holes. We'll also be looking to do some work at the Royalle project, which is in the highly prolific Bralorne mining camp.
Currently we're going through the permitting process, with the government of British Columbia. We hope to have a multi-year, area-based exploration and drill permit in hand, within the next 60 to 90 days.
Dr. Allen Alper: That's exciting. That's great. Would you tell our readers/investors a bit about your background, and that of your Management Team and Board?
Michael Blady: I started in this industry about ten years ago, working with a securities lawyer. I worked on mostly junior mining companies, mining deals, and mining restructuring and building mining vehicles for about four years. I eventually got a knack and a love for geology and I returned to university and did a geology degree.
Since then I've started a geological consulting company. We've been hiring a bunch of young, smart, energetic, go-getters and looping them with some of our more senior experienced management groups. And we are really working to make discoveries and to do them cheaper, better, and faster than anybody else. In terms of our Board at Golden Ridge Resources, we actually just brought on a new Board member, his name is Duane Lo. He comes to us via First Quantum Minerals, Mason resources, Entree, and was also with Luna Gold.
Duane brings us another level of mid-tier to major financial background and backing. Our Executive Chairman and Director is Larry Nagy, he's a prolific mine finder in the Golden Triangle, and has been up in the Golden Triangle since 1965. Also on our team is a gentleman by the name of Dr. Bill Lindqvist. Doctor Lindqvist has had multiple successes on multiple continents over his 40 plus year career.
With those successes he's been involved in the discovery of forty million ounces of gold. We're starting to add and round up the team, but right now we have a good balance of experienced mine finders, corporate management, with some young enthusiasm new ideas and new technology. We're trying to meld it all together to create more success in the future.
Dr. Allen Alper: Sounds like you're going to have a great team there, a bunch of knowledge and enthusiasm. So that's great. Could you tell us a little bit about your share and capital structure?
Michael Blady: Sure. So currently on Golden Ridge we have 79 million shares issued and outstanding. We also have 16 million warrants, with a strike price of twenty five cents, that are issued. So fully diluted and about four million options with a strike of seventeen and twelve and a half, I believe, so fully diluted we got about 99 million shares out.
A big chunk of the warrants are expiring this year. Right now we have just under two million in cash and short-term securities. And then we'll be looking to deploy that capital this year and we'll probably go back to the markets around PDAC in advance of our summer drill campaign. Right now we're sitting in a good position financially, but we will be looking to top up the company treasury before we get to work this summer.
Golden Ridge Resources Ltd.
Dr. Allen Alper: Sounds great. Is there anything else you would like to add Michael?
Michael Blady: Yes, 2019 will be a very exciting year for us. The last couple years we have executed on what we said we were going to do. In 2017 we discovered the Williams and had a lot of drilling success on some of the epithermal targets, and as result of these we were able to garner a lot of information. We took that information and used it to make another discovery in 2018, and we hope to keep building our success in 2019 and creating shareholder value.
Dr. Allen Alper: Sounds great. We’ll publish your press releases as they come out so our readers/investors can follow your progress.
https://www.goldenridgeresources.com/
Mike Blady, CEO and Director
T: 250-717.3151
F: 250-717.1845
|
|