Amanita, Alaska
General
- The prospect contains no prior producing hard rock mines but has historic placer production from multiple drainages. Amanita is part of the Fairbanks mineral district which has produced more than 20 million ounces of gold from placer and hard-rock sources. It is also part of the larger Tintina Gold Province with estimated resources topping 130 million ounces of gold.
- 25 kilometers NE of the Fairbanks city limits and contiguous to the south of Fort Knox with annual production of approximately 380,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of approx. 0.5 g/t Au.
- Mineralized trend identified on Amanita passes through the Fort Knox pit.
- Drill targets identified by soil anomalies extending 2 km by 3 km and previous drilling (erratically distributed) along a 1.6 km long mineralized trend. Avidian has possession of all project data, including the Kinross data pertaining to Amanita which takes in all drilling related information.
Target Type
- Shear zone to structurally controlled mineralization hosted in granodiorite and adjacent schists and quartzites, as is typical in mineralization of the Fort Knox district.
Land Status
- 14.6 sq km comprised of 88 State of Alaska Lode claims with a lease to purchase option spanning a 15 year time period. Avidian can own 100% through a US $3 million buyout, plus purchase the 3% NSR royalty for an additional US $3 million. Lease payment totaling US $1,235,000 spread out over 15 years (starts at $15,000 in 2016, $25,000 in 2017, $30,000 in 2018 and escalates $10,000 per year to the 15th year) with a US $3 million buyout. Lease payments are credited towards the buyout.
Geology
Amanita is underlain by micaceous quartzite and quartz biotite muscovite schist of the Fairbanks Schist unit. The property borders the Mid-Cretaceous Gilmore Dome pluton which is seen in the northwest corner of the claim block and apparently extends to depth under the metamorphic rocks. Historical drill-hole #1 in the northwest portion of the property was drilled through 150 m of continuous granitic rock. At least one southwest-striking felsic dike intrudes across Mason Knob on the property. The geology of Amanita is cut by a series of high angle, left-lateral, northeast faults. As mapped by the State Geological Survey (Newberry et. al., 1996) two of these fault zones, spaced about 600 m to 900 m apart, bracket the Ruby Creek – Tonsina Trend area. Both fault zones continue northeast to underlie the former Monte Cristo and Melba Creeks that are now incorporated into the Ft. Knox mine pit.
Previous Work
Between 1998 and 2001 Kinross held a lease on the Amanita prospect. Before dropping the lease due to low gold prices and an expensive lease deal with owners, their work included the following.
- Defining a 1,500 by 3,700 m soil anomaly for Au with associated As, Bi, Sb, and W.
- Mapping a +/- 300 m wide, sub-parallel zone (Tonsina Trend) of mineralized steeply-dipping northeast faults.
- Identifying an oxidized zone extending to approximately 100 m depth.
- Cross-cutting this zone with a 230 m long trench with channel sampling along the length.
- 4,700 m of reverse-circulation drilling – 39 holes.
- 30 of the 39 holes intersected grades of + 1 g/t Au over widths of at least 1.5 m, with several of the holes reported to contain visible gold.
- Documenting evidence of a biotite altered aureole, indicating proximity to an underlying granitic stock, possibly an apophysis of the Gilmore Dome pluton.
Mineralization
- Highlight drill intersections along the Tonsina Trend include:
- 4.57 m @ 11.49 g/t Au
- 22.86 m @ 1.01 g/t Au
- 12.19 m @ 2.28 g/t Au
- 13.72 m @ 3.02 g/t Au
- Highlight drill intersections outside the Tonsina Trend and within the gold soil anomaly include:
- 10.57 m @ 1.08 g/t Au
- 3.05 m @ 0.96 g/t Au
As a result of previous work a geological picture can be developed that shows bleached and argillic altered northeast fault structures that cut the Fairbanks Schist and underlain by an intrusive body.