Trailbreaker Resources Ltd. (TBK.V) is excited to share that recent surface sampling at the Watchtower zone has revealed a significant gold (Au)-in-soil anomaly spanning an area of 350 meters by 200 meters.
Au-in-soil anomaly and 2024 rock sample results at the Watchtower and Heart zones. Image Credit: Trailbreaker Resources Ltd.
This anomaly trends northwest-southeast and aligns with a broader 3-kilometer gold-in-soil trend. Additionally, rock samples from this area yielded assay results of up to 2.19 grams per tonne (g/t) Au, 0.54 % copper (Cu), and 6.2 g/t silver (Ag) from an outcrop featuring a ‘wormy’ quartz vein stockwork. The ‘wormy’ texture suggests a ductile deformational environment with quartz veining likely formed under high-temperature conditions, possibly near an intrusive body.
The surface sampling was carried out at the Castle Rock property on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), following up on results from 2023. A total of 339 soil and 72 rock samples were collected across the property. Trailbreaker has since applied for an advanced exploration permit for Castle Rock.
The Watchtower zone, initially discovered in 2023 through systematic soil sampling, has shown potential for a significant scale based on follow-up sampling in 2024. This zone’s soil anomaly is positioned obliquely to the Heart zone and may connect with it at the southern edges of the anomalies. The Heart zone's mineralization is hosted by Jurassic granodiorite dykes along a regional-scale structure, and the Watchtower zone may represent a similar buried intrusive center.
Infill soil sampling at the Kokummi zone, located southeast of the Heart zone, indicates the gold-in-soil trend continues over an 850-meter strike length and 250 meters in width. This zone lies along a north-northwest trending fault near the Kokummi stock. The presence of ‘wormy’ quartz veining with potassic alteration and anomalous copper values suggests a possible buried intrusion could be the source of the gold-in-soil anomaly.
Initial prospecting at the Moakwa zone, situated on the eastern side of the Castle Rock property, returned elevated gold values from moss-mat sampling conducted in 2023. Numerous rock samples taken over an 800-meter strike length showed anomalous copper assays up to 0.282%. These copper anomalies at the Moakwa zone suggest potential for further mineralization within the Castle Rock property.
Message from the President
The work at the Castle Rock property continues to show potential for multiple zones of mineralization across the property. In particular, the robust soil anomaly outlined at the Watchtower zone indicates that two potential zones, the Heart and Watchtower zones, may occur subparallel and in close proximity to one another.
Daithi Mac Gearailt, President, Trailbreaker Resources Ltd.
About the Castle Rock property
The Castle Rock property spans 3,108 hectares on northern Vancouver Island, about 70 kilometers northwest of Campbell River, BC. Acquired by Trailbreaker in 2022 through an option agreement, the property underwent initial exploration in 2022, followed by a second surface exploration program in 2023.
The property encompasses five BC Minfile occurrences situated along a district-scale structure extending over 5 kilometers. Recent exploration has revealed gold ± copper-enriched intrusions, with many of these occurrences being relatively new discoveries facilitated by recent logging activities.
Northern Vancouver Island is renowned for its significant Cu-Au porphyry deposits, such as Northisle Copper and Gold’s Hushamu deposit, which has an inferred resource of 5.57 million ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq), and BHP Billiton’s former Island Copper porphyry deposit, which produced over 2.7 billion pounds of copper and more than 1 million ounces of gold.
At Castle Rock, gold mineralization primarily occurs within Jurassic granodiorite dykes along a regional-scale fault zone. This fault zone separates Lower to Middle Triassic Daonella Bed sedimentary rocks from Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation basalts.