Dakota Gold Corp. (DC:NYSE American) released assay results from nine drill holes at its Richmond Hill Gold Project in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota, including one drill hole extending the mineralization of the system, already described as more than a mile in strike length.
Hole RH23C-016 intersected 3.5 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 23.7 meters. When length weighted, had an average grade of 0.95 g/t Au over the 306.9-meter drill hole.
The intercept is possibly a feeder to the overlying the MW3 Main Zone of mineralization and adds a new exploration target at the project, the company said.
"The mineralized basement zones, like those intercepted in RH23C-016, also return higher gold grades and are a great opportunity to improve the gold endowment at Richmond Hill," noted Dakota Gold Vice President Exploration James Berry.
Spring and early summer drilling have been concentrated on validation and metallurgical test work, Dakota Gold said.
"We think DC has done a solid job of expanding mineralization at Richmond Hill within and beyond the breccia pipe bodies," Agentis Capital analyst Michael Gray wrote.
"We think DC has done a solid job of expanding mineralization at Richmond Hill within and beyond the breccia pipe bodies," Agentis Capital analyst Michael Gray wrote in a September 7 research note.
"We think the 6+ breccia pipes that have been defined over a +1.5km trend remain undertested, and there is high prospectivity for Precambrian-hosted Tertiary mineralization adjacent to the breccia pipes."
The company said it will return to exploration drilling at the site with the goal of producing a maiden resource in Q1 2024 using 880 historical drill holes and the current results.
"DC continues to drill aggressively across its Homestake District land package," Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Fairbairn has written. "Results to date bode well for the next resource update, with indications that Richmond Hill hosts a substantial high-grade gold orebody."
Dakota Gold has four drills operating on its Homestake District properties on its Richmond Gold Project Hill and the Maitland Gold Project, located about 2 miles east.
The Catalyst: Validation, Metallurgical Drilling Done
Of the other assays released this week, drill hole RH23C-015 intersected 1.89 g/t Au over 18.7 meters and 1.23 g/t Au over 59.8 meters.
The company said it has completed the validation and metallurgical drilling program at Richmond Hill and is waiting for the last of the assay results before selecting metallurgical samples.
"Identifying and then tracing the structures controlling the high-grade gold mineralization will be a priority for future drilling," Berry said.
"DC continues to drill aggressively across its Homestake District land package," Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Fairbairn has written. "Results to date bode well for the next resource update, with indications that Richmond Hill hosts a substantial high-grade gold orebody."
The Richmond Hill project is 1.5 miles north of Coeur Mining Inc.'s (CDE:NYSE) Wharf Mine, which produced more than 79,000 ounces Au in 2022 and is the only current operating gold mine in South Dakota.
Robert Quartermain and Jonathan Awde head Dakota, which is exploring the 46,000 acres it has acquired and consolidated over the past decade surrounding the historic Homestake Mine. Industry giant Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE) also backs Dakota Gold.
Much of the land owned by Dakota Gold has not been explored in nearly 30 years, leading some to hope for a large discovery there.
"Dakota Gold is now seeking to revitalize this legendary district," Fairbairn wrote.
Another Homestake Ledge System?
Last month, the company announced that partial assay results extended its JB Gold Zone discovery at its Maitland project by 171 meters.
Drill hole MA23C-022 confirmed that Homestake-style gold mineralization is present 5 kilometers northwest of the 40-million-ounce (Moz) plus historic Homestake Mine, the company said.
The lower portion of the drill hole intersected 19.55 g/t Au over 5 meters in a step-out from drill hole from MA23C-017, which intersected 12.51 g/t Au over 4.7 meters.
The JB Gold Zone could be the company's "most significant discovery to date," noted Canaccord Genuity analyst Peter Bell in an August 3 research note.
The JB Gold Zone could be the company's "most significant discovery to date," noted Canaccord Genuity analyst Peter Bell in an August 3 research note.
"The two holes suggest a thickened zone of mineralized iron formation, similar to the 'ledges' mined in the old Homestake Mine," wrote Bell. "Although much is still to be proven at the drill bit if additional drilling demonstrates JB is a new ledge, we believe Dakota could quickly advance it from initial discovery to a substantial, high-grade deposit."
Berry called the grades "analogous with the mineralization encountered at the Homestake Mine."
Streetwise Ownership Overview*"With every new intercept, we have increased confidence that we have identified another Homestake Ledge system at Maitland," he said.
Ownership and Share Structure
According to the company, approximately 30% of the company's shares are with management and insiders. Out of management, Co-Chairman Robert Quartermain holds the most shares at 9.32% or 7.34 million shares, Reuters said. President and CEO Jonathan Awde is next at 7.85%, with 6.18 million, while COO Jerry Aberle holds 5.33%, with 4.2 million. The remainder of the 30% is held by other members of management and the board of directors.
About 26.6% of the shares are with institutional investors. According to Reuters, those include Van Eck Associates with 3.74%, The Vanguard Group Inc. with 3.33%, Blackrock Institutional Trust Co. with 3.73%, and Sprott Asset Management LLP with 0.71%.
About 27.4% is with strategic investors, including Barrick Gold Corp., which owns 3%. The rest is retail.
Dakota Gold has a market cap of US$214.22 million, with 78.76 million shares outstanding and about 59.49 million free-floating. It trades in a 52-week range of US$4.14 and US$2.61.
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Important Disclosures:
- Dakota Gold Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
- As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Dakota Gold Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp.
- Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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