Gladiator cuts 1.1% copper from surface in Yukon

Gladiator Metals (TSXV: GLAD; US-OTC: GDTRF) says it intersected shallow copper at the Best Chance prospect on a 35-km long company property in the Yukon.

Hole ACG-009 cut about 77 metres grading 0.7% copper, 0.04 gram gold per tonne, 7.18 grams silver and 8 parts per million molybdenum from 2.75 metres depth, Gladiator said Tuesday. This included 18 metres at 1.1% copper, 0.06 gram gold, 12.04 grams silver and 4 ppm molybdenum from 28 metres downhole.

Gladiator’s most recent drill program at Best Chance covered three holes and 515 metres. The goal was to evaluate near-surface high-grade copper skarn mineralization along the 2-km long Arctic Chief trend, which the company views as a high-priority target.

Best Chance is part of the Whitehorse copper belt, which hosts multiple mothballed mines and comprises more than 30 copper-related, primarily skarn, occurrences covering a 35-km long, 5-km wide area on Whitehorse’s western outskirts.

“This result at Best Chance highlights the underexplored resource potential of the more than 2-km Arctic Chief mineralized trend that has been mapped on surface but remains undrilled,” Gladiator CEO Jason Bontempo said in a statement.

Priority prospect

With only 10 holes so far drilled by Gladiator, Best Chance “has become an advanced priority prospect within the Whitehorse copper belt to unlock potential near surface high grade copper resources,” he added.

Another highlight hole from Gladiator’s drilling at Best Chance is ACG-008, which returned 13.38 metres grading 0.85% copper, 0.03 gram gold, 4.46 grams silver and 33 ppm molybdenum from 7.62 metres depth.

Noteworthy intercepts of unmined mineralization from historical drilling at Best Chanceinclude hole BCH-010, which cut 20.2 metres at 1.5% copper from about 88.5 metres depth.

Additional assay results for 11 holes at the Arctic Chief prospect – covering 2,695 metres – were recently completed. Results should be released in the coming weeks, the company said.

Intermittent exploration

Exploration and mining development have taken place intermittently in the area since copper mineralization was first discovered in 1897. The Whitehorse copper belt’s main production era lasted from 1967 to 1982, yielding 267.5 million lb. copper, 225,000 oz. gold and 2.84 million oz. silver from 11.1 million tonnes of ore milled.

Gladiator’s Whitehorse copper project is connected to several access roads and trails located within 2 km of the South Klondike Highway and the Alaska Highway. An extensive network of historical gravel exploration and haul roads exists throughout the project area. Access to existing electric power facilities is available via the main Yukon power grid. 

Vancouver-based Gladiator said Tuesday it’s aiming to report the Whitehorse copper project’s maiden resource in next year’s second quarter.

The company has about $17 million in cash to fund exploration work this year. Its 2025 drilling program is scheduled to cover 28,000 metres.

Shares of Gladiator rose 2.5% to 84¢ each Tuesday morning in Toronto, giving the company a market value of about $67 million. The stock has traded between 33.5¢ and 90¢ over the past year.