Palmetto Gold Project
A Historic Past Producing
High-Grade Gold Project
The Palmetto Project is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada, within the southern portion of the Walker Lane gold trend. Smooth holds a 100% undivided interest (subject to a 2% NSR) in 116 unpatented mining claims totaling 2117 acres on the project.
Ownership: 100%
Project Highlights
- Smooth Rock holds a 100% undivided interest in the Palmetto Project (subject to a 2% NSR).
- Advanced Gold Project with an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimation (WSP Canada Inc, October, 2020) of 300,000 Au oz inferred resources.
- An Exploration and Development Decline/Adit completed to an approx. depth of 300 feet to access the high grade portion of the initial Discovery Zone.
- Significant exploration work completed to date by Newmont Gold, Phelps Dodge Corp, Cambior Inc., Romarco Minerals, Curran Corp., Amselco Minerals, and Escape Gold Group Inc.
- Large land position consisting of 116 unpatented claims (2217 acres) in one of Nevada’s historical high grade mining districts.
- Highlights from Initial 2021 Drill Program Results include: Drill hole SRV 21-01 returned 31.4 g/t Au over 6.5 m (21.3 ft), including 44.3g/t Au over 0.8 m (2.6 ft), and 122.5 g/t Au over 1.1 m (3.6 ft) from a depth of approx. 85 m (278 ft).
HISTORY
GEOLOGY
2021 DRILL PROGRAM
History
The Palmetto Gold Project has had significant exploration work completed to date by Newmont Gold, Phelps Dodge Corp, Cambior Inc., Romarco Minerals, Curran Corp., Amselco Minerals, Escape Gold Group Inc. and most recently by ML Gold Corp. To date, 173 drill holes totaling 43,940 meters have been completed on several targets within the Project. The initial “Discovery Hole” in 1988, was drilled by Phelps Dodge and bonanza gold-silver veins were subsequently drilled by Romarco Minerals in 1997-2002.
In 2020, Smooth Rock engaged WSP Canada Inc. to update and complete a current resource estimation of the Palmetto Project, (Palmetto Resource Estimation and Technical Report, October 20, 2020) using drill data up to October 2017 and applying certain economic constraints. The current mineral resource statement was updated by WSP to reflect a change in gold pricing and an adjustment in the mining costs in the generation of the constraining pit shells. The mineral resource estimation was completed using NI 43-101 standards of practice and classified as an inferred resource.
Estimated Resources
| Classification | Tonnes (000’s) | Au g/t | Ag g/t | Au oz. | Ag oz. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inferred (Pit) | 9,397 | 0.93 | 6.38 | 281,581 | 1,926,652 |
| Inferred (U/G) | 170 | 2.76 | 17.51 | 11,114 | 95,926 |
| Total Inferred | 9,567 | 0.96 | 6.58 | 296,695 | 2,022,578 |
Smooth Rock considers this a current resource estimation, that is reliable and relevant completed by WSP Canada Inc. (Palmetto Resource Estimation and Technical Report, October 20, 2020) on behalf of Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. The mineral resource estimation was completed using NI 43-101 standards of practice and classified as an inferred resource is summarized in the table above.
Geology
The Palmetto Project is a low-sulphidation epithermal system with precious metal-bearing quartz veins, stockworks, and breccias which formed from boiling of volcanic-related hydrothermal systems. Bedrock exposures on the Palmetto Project are largely obscured by a layer of alluvium, and geology is largely interpreted from drillhole data gathered from the previous operator’s exploration work on the project. The Project lies at the junction of a large alluviated area at the base of a steep mountain mass. Essentially, most of the current known inferred resource lies under alluvium and is observed by drilling.
Structurally, the Palmetto Project is dominated by north-west trending dextral slip faults of the Walker Lane fault system, which influence topography, distribution of older rock units, and ongoing sedimentation. Walker Lane faulting began in the area at about 17 million years ago (Faulds et.al.,2005) and continues today. The mountainous western most portion of the Property is underlain by Paleozoic metasedimentary rock, and a variety of Tertiary volcanic rocks. The Palmetto appears to be equivalent to the allochthonous (“upper plate”) rocks of the Roberts Mountain Thrust in central Nevada. Both the Discovery Zone and North-West Zone focus about roughly east-west fault zones. Both zones appear to be south dipping, the Discovery Zone steeply so, with less certainty in the North-West Zone.
Alteration is widespread and varied across the Palmetto Project, representing several separate events through time. The oldest of these is carbon migration associated with folding and thrusting of Palmetto form, which resulted in zones of kerogenous, black siltstone, and chert. These zones are enriched in nickel and vanadium, elements known for their association with hydrocarbons.
2021 Drill Program
The 2021 Palmetto drill program is designed to expand the current resource by drilling the known mineralized zones laterally and at depth, by targeting the high-grade mineralized feeder chutes. Additional drilling will target several mineralized zones with immediate potential to significantly increase the overall resource by increasing drill density between the mineralized shells.
Drilling will also explore several additional mineralized zones hosting significant grades within close proximity to the inferred resource zones, just outside of the known resource areas. Finally, exploration to develop drill targets on several additional targets that host historical workings throughout the property, with minimal or no modern-day exploration. Significant potential exists to expand the Palmetto Property resource in multiple directions.
