Vancouver-based Gold Lion Resources Inc. (CSE:GL) is an early-stage exploration company looking for gold in the resource-rich state of Idaho, a mining friendly jurisdiction that in 2019 was ranked 9th in the world for mining attractiveness by the Fraser Institute. Although not often thought of as a hotbed of gold exploration, Idaho has an extensive mining history that has been rejuvenated in recent years by the likes of Midas Gold Corp. (TSX: MAX), Integra Resources Corp. (TSXV: ITR), and Liberty Gold Corp (TSX: LGD) as well as many other exciting development stage gold Companies.
Gold Lion has assembled a large land position within the state which is spread across three separate gold focused assets; Robber Gulch, South Orogrande, and Erickson Ridge. The Company is quickly pushing all three of these assets towards a drill-ready stage, which is the perfect set up for a very interesting 2021 for the Company.
What makes Gold Lion’s story very interesting is that the Company is currently preparing to drill their flagship Robber Gulch Project in the coming weeks; A Carlin-type gold Property, which south of the border in Nevada are typically massive in size and can be mined very economically.. This Carlin-trend which extends north-south through Nevada has allowed the state to be one of the most prolific gold mining regions in the world, but until recent, exploration for the deposit type stopped at the Nevada-Idaho border. That is until another exploration company, Liberty Gold, began searching for carlin-type gold at its nearby Black Pine project, and is having lots of success.
Carlin-type deposits were first identified in the 1960’s when Newmont Mining (TSX: NGT) made a massive gold discovery near the town of Carlin, Nevada. At the time geologists had little knowledge of this deposit type, where the gold was nearly invisible, hosted in carbonate rocks, and formed by hydrothermal fluids bringing in gold mineralization along regional scale faults. Typically found near the earth’s surface, these deposits typically become open pit operations, with the ore being treated through heap-leaching, cyanidation, and other traditional inexpensive means of extracting gold.
Gold Lion has been conducting preliminary fieldwork on its flagship Robber Gulch Carlin-type gold property which is located just outside of Burley, Idaho. These preliminary results have pushed the Property to an exciting drill ready stage with the identification of two very large gold soil geochemical anomalies typical of Carlin-type systems.
In final preparations for the drill campaign, on November 12, 2020 the company announced that four trenches covering a combined total length of 700 metres were completed through the heart of these anomalies, collecting 257 samples which have been sent to the assay lab for analysis. The trenches encountered several sections of intense quartz stockwork veining, which is typically associated with higher gold grades on the Property.
To show additional progress at one of its other two gold properties, two days earlier, Gold Lion announced the results of its 2020 soil and rock sampling program on its South Orogrande Property and their Dixie Properties near the town of Dixie, Idaho, collecting a total of 76 grab samples and 1158 soil samples. Results included up to 45.8 g/t gold, and values from a newly discovered mineralized quartz vein returned up to 11.8 g/t gold and 44.8 g/t silver. Additionally, the Company expanded its exciting undrilled X-Zone gold geochemical anomaly to over 7.5 kilometers in length.
The fieldwork on these properties was done in preparation for the company’s upcoming drill program which, due to excellent infrastructure and favourable weather conditions, enables exploration activities to continue through the winter months. Gold Lion expects to receive assay results from its trenching program in early December, and those results will dictate where the Company drills its first holes on the Robber Gulch property, which will commence the second week of December and run through the Winter.
With only 37,860,737 shares outstanding, a modest market capitalization of $11.9 million, and $3 million in the treasury, Gold Lion appears to offer junior gold exploration investors an exciting, early-stage gold play opportunity in a State that is just starting to get a lot of attention. And with drilling upcoming on all three of its Idaho gold assets, 2021 could be setting up to be a transformative year for the Company.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Gold Lion Resources is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. The author has been compensated to cover Gold Lion Resources on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.
