Last week, Omega Pacific Resources (CSE:OMGA, OTC:OMGPF) delivered the results of the first drill hole of its 2024 drill program at the Williams Property in the Toodoggone Region of British Columbia. Drill hole WM24-01 returned 1.69 g/t gold over 104.08 meters including 6.22 g/t gold over 18.98 meters. The results of hole WM24-01 represent the highest gold grades intercepted to date at the Williams Property.
Omega has started 2024 exploration at Williams with an outstanding first result that confirms Williams is a very prospective mineral exploration property in a tier one location to make new copper and gold discoveries.
Omega Pacific has an option to acquire up to 100% of Williams through a combination of exploration expenditures, and cash/share payments to the vendor (CopAur Minerals). By completing C$3 million in exploration expenditures, Omega will acquire a 51% interest in Williams.
Before we delve into the objectives of the 2024 drill program at Williams, it’s important to set the context. The Toodoggone Region of B.C. is a highly prospective area for mineral exploration, renowned for its rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper. Here are some key aspects that make this region attractive for mineral exploration:
- Location: The Toodoggone region is located in the north-central part of British Columbia, approximately 300 kilometers north of the town of Smithers.
- Geological Setting: The region lies within the Stikine Terrane, a major geological belt known for its complex volcanic, plutonic, and sedimentary rocks. The area is characterized by extensive volcanic and intrusive activity, which has led to the formation of various mineral deposits.
Types of Mineralization
The Toodoggone region hosts several types of mineral deposits, including:
- Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposits:
- These deposits are formed from hydrothermal fluids and are typically found in the volcanic rocks of the Toodoggone Formation. Notable examples include the Baker and Shasta mines.
- Porphyry Copper-Gold Deposits:
- Porphyry deposits are large, low-grade but high-tonnage deposits. The Kemess South mine is a significant example of a porphyry copper-gold deposit in the region.
- VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide) Deposits:
- These deposits are associated with volcanic activity and contain valuable metals such as copper, zinc, and gold. The Toodoggone region has potential for undiscovered VMS deposits.
The Toodoggone region’s geology is highly favorable for the formation of ore deposits, with numerous volcanic and intrusive events creating diverse mineralizing environments. Despite its remote location, the Toodoggone region benefits from improved infrastructure, including roads, airstrips, and access to power. This has facilitated exploration and development activities. Moreover, British Columbia’s regulatory framework and government support for mineral exploration provide a conducive environment for exploration companies operating in the Toodoggone region.
The Williams Property is located in the heart of BC’s Golden Horseshoe, a geological pattern of mines and mineral occurrences that connect the Golden Triangle and Toodoggone District. The Project is permitted for exploration, making up 11,490 hectares of largely unexplored land.
Williams has had over 11,000 meters of historical drilling. Drilling has identified two mineralized zones on the property: the GIC Prospect and T-Bill.
The GIC Prospect is the focus of 2024 drilling at Williams and Omega has completed four diamond-drill holes to date. GIC occurs as a 500 x 1,400 meter copper-and gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly that partially overlaps a 600 x 1,800 meter zone of high chargeability and moderate to high resistivity.
GIC was initially identified in the early 2000s due to a large gossan called the Park Gossan:
A gossan is the weathered and oxidized upper part of a mineral deposit, often characterized by a rusty, reddish-brown color due to the presence of iron oxides and hydroxides. It forms when sulfide minerals such as pyrite are exposed to oxygen and water, leading to oxidation.
Gossans often form above sulfide mineral deposits. In porphyry systems, which are known for containing valuable metals like copper, gold, and molybdenum, the presence of gossan can indicate the oxidation of sulfide minerals below the surface.
The GIC Prospect represents a 3+ kilometer long target with overlapping gold-copper rock and soil anomalism and chargeability/resistivity anomalies from induced-polarization (IP) geophysical surveys. The Park Gossan occurs proximal to a large-scale fault and the contact between volcanic and intrusive rocks – a geological recipe that is consistent with mineralization elsewhere in the Golden Horseshoe.
The combination of the Park Gossan and the strong copper/gold geochemical anomalies at GIC had geologists viewing GIC as prospective for porphyry mineralization. However, the latest drilling has Omega geologists such as director Rob L’Heureux thinking that GIC could represent an epithermal gold discovery. The epithermal gold mineralization intersected in holes WM22-02 and WM24-01 could potentially represent a distal expression of a proximal porphyry source.
Mr. L’Heureux P.Geo is a director at Omega Pacific and is also the Qualified Person (QP) on Omega’s technical news releases. He holds a masters degree in geology from the University of Western Ontario and has extensive experience in the Toodoggone Region of British Columbia; from 2018 through 2023, L’Heureux ran the exploration programs at the Thesis Gold (formerly Benchmark Metals) Lawyers Project located 55 kilometers southeast of Williams. He has a keen familiarity with the geology, logistics, environment, and First Nations groups in the Toodoggone.
Earlier this year, Omega added ~1,750 hectares to the property footprint at Williams. The newly acquired mineral claims added some key ground to the west of the known target area at GIC – this ground is prospective for copper-gold mineralization and could potentially host the porphyry source at GIC.
In the news release announcing the additional claims, Jason Leikam, Omega Pacific chief executive officer, commented:
“The purchased claims and staked claims significantly expand the opportunity of the GIC gold-copper target. In particular, the purchased claims, just a short distance from hole WM22-02, secure the complete known target. Surface work on these claims, completed by past owners, shows positive geochemical data that is highly correlative to what we see on our existing claims. The acquisition of both the staked and purchased claims is excellent timing, immediately prior to our upcoming exploration program. We will now expand the program with surface work to generate additional drill targets on these new areas. Over all, the increase in our claim package directly along strike of the GIC target further bolsters confidence in exploration success at the Williams property.”
Phase 1 of the 2024 drill program was designed to follow-up on the historical results of drill hole WM22-02 (2.2 g/t gold over 50 meters). The 2024 drill holes are planned to trace that mineralization to depth and to the east and west. The first hole of the 2024 program (WM24-01) was drilled at a steeper angle to undercut the historical results by approximately 50 meters with the intention of drilling deeper to get the full thickness of mineralization – WM24-01 succeeded in both of these goals while also intersecting high-grade gold over a nearly 20 meter interval in drill core.
An excellent first result.
Four holes totaling ~2,000 meters of core drilling were completed in Phase 1. In particular, the 2nd hole of 2024 was designed to extend hole WM22-02 that ended in gold mineralization. Hole WM22-02 was successfully re-entered, and extended, as part of the 2024 Phase 1 program (WM22-02 (ext)) allowing Omega to complete drilling of the historical intercept. The above noted basaltic unit continued beyond 300 m (original hole depth) and transitioned into heavily silicified and pyritized intermediate volcanic rocks much like WM24-01. Assays are pending for WM22-02 (ext) which will add to the historically reported 2.2 g/t Au over 50 meters.
In total, three holes remain pending assays and Omega will report on additional results as it receives assays. Depending upon results received and market conditions there is potential for remobilization for a Phase 2 drill program at GIC.
The high-grade gold results of WM24-01 have already generated increased investor interest in the company. Now it will be important for Omega to maintain the upward momentum with the results of the remaining three holes from the first phase of 2024 drilling.
Disclosure: Energy & Gold Publishing Ltd. owns shares of Omega Pacific Resources Inc. at the time of publishing this article.
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