American Pacific Mining Corp. (“American Pacific”) is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced at its 100%-owned Madison Copper-Gold Project (“Madison” or the “Project”) located in Silver Star, Montana. This marks the start of the Company’s 3,000-metre drill program following the receipt of updated permit approval earlier this year.
Image 1. First hole, APMMAD25-01, with the historical Broadway Mill in the background. Image Credit: American Pacific Mining Corp.
The drill program is designed to test five priority target areas identified through extensive data integration and analysis. These targets include porphyry concepts and multiple skarn extensions both laterally and down plunge of known mineralization. The program will also focus on near-mine extension drilling at the Broadway mine area, where historic production totalled 144,000 ounces of gold from surface oxide mineralization, between 1880-1950. (see Image 1 and Figure 1). No drilling has been done in the area since mining operations concluded and sulfide mineralization, which was not considered economic during the historical mining period, has never been tested. The planned drilling also includes select regional shallow discovery targets. Collectively, the 2025 drilling is taking aim at high impact targets that have the potential to deliver significant value by demonstrating the scale of the system well beyond the areas historically mined.
Exploration Highlights:
- The drill campaign will leverage insights gained from the Silverstar Fault Complex, a key structural feature identified as a critical control on mineralization.
- Induced Polarization (IP) surveys have revealed compelling geophysical anomalies along the fault complex, guiding the targeting of skarn, porphyry, and orogenic mineralization in previously undrilled areas.
- Porphyry Potential: Drilling to date at Madison has primarily targeted high-grade copper-gold skarn mineralization within the upper 300 meters from surface. Limited drilling has penetrated deeper levels, leaving the porphyry potential largely untested. The Company has four drill holes planned to test two compelling porphyry targets: (1) a down-plunge target directly beneath the historical Madison Mine, where increasing mineralization and modeling suggest proximity to a source; and (2) a regional target to the southwest where coincident IP chargeability, zones of magnetic highs and lows, and potassium radiometric highs, collectively support the potential of a mineralized source. These deeper holes represent a significant upside opportunity to vector into a causative intrusive source.
Eric Saderholm, P.Geo., Managing Director of Exploration and Qualified Person for the Project, commented: “This drill program represents a comprehensive analysis of years of meticulous exploration and preparation. With these well-defined targets, we believe this campaign will provide meaningful insights into Madison’s potential as a district-scale copper-gold system.”
Figure 1. First drill holes underway testing historic Broadway Mine area. Image Credit: American Pacific Mining Corp.
The red outline within Figure 1 highlights the projection of the favourable contact zone between the Madison limestone and the quartz monzonite intrusive, which has returned high-grade copper-gold values in surface sampling. This critical contact is interpreted to be a contributing control on mineralization and remains largely untested along strike and at depth. While the figure projects historic Broadway mine workings, the drill holes shown are southern step-outs located up to 50 meters south of known workings. The Company interprets that historical mining may have ceased upon encountering sulfide mineralization at depth or due to a lack of processing technology at the time, which presents a compelling opportunity to test below and along unmined extensions of this contact zone.
Figure 2. Permitted holes for 2025 drilling at Madison Project. Image Credit: American Pacific Mining Corp.
Madison Project Sampling and Analysis Quality Assurance and Quality Control Statement
American Pacific is committed to maintaining high standards of accuracy and reliability in sampling and analysis procedures. The following Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) measures are employed in the sampling and analysis processes.
Analytical Methods for the Project Include:
Paragon Labs
- 50AR-MS: Multi-element analysis (50 elements) using Aqua Regia digestion with ICP-MS for trace elements.
- AuAg-GR30: Gold and silver analysis via 30 g fire assay with gravimetric finish for high-precision results.
- Au-FA30: Gold determination using fire assay with Aqua Regia digestion and spectroscopy for detailed concentration measurement.
- OLAR-ASS: Over-limit Aqua Regia digestion ensures accurate results for high-concentration samples.