East Manhattan Wash Gold Project, Nevada

Overview

The East Manhattan Wash Gold Project is a low grade high tonnage placer style gold-silver deposit. This area of wash is adjacent to and possibly overlies a zone of low sulfidation epithermal gold-silver mineralization, which is believed to be source of the precious metals. The project is located in the Manhattan Mining District of Nye County, Nevada. The project is wholly owned (100%) by the Canadian silver, copper and gold exploration company MAX Resources Corp. The company, which has its headquarters in Vancouver, is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX.V: MXR) and the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB: MXROF). The project which is in the exploration and early development stage is one of three projects that MAX Resource Corp. is currently involved in.

Regional Geology

Gold deposits in the Manhattan District occur along a major arcuate fracture zone on the southern margin of the Manhattan Caldera. The caldera formed 25 million years ago (Ma) during the Oligocene period. Most of the veins in the district occur within a younger E-W oriented graben formed by extensional forces, just lying within the margin of the caldera. The age of the mineralised veins is around 16 million years old. The most productive mines and prospects in the area occur along a 1 km wide zone parallel to the caldera’s marginal ring fault. Gold deposits also exist within the older underlying Cambrian-Ordovician age (542-443 Ma) sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, along the same major fault.

Project Geology

Historic production from the district has been around 1 million ounces of gold, won from placer and hard-rock mines. The majority of hard-rock workings in the area are within Tertiary age (65-1.8 Ma) volcanic rocks.

The area is located 13 km south of the Round Mountain Mine, a joint venture between Kinross Gold and Barrick Gold. The mine has produced in excess of 12 million oz ounces of gold from high tonnage low grade ore, in which the gold is disseminated throughout the rock. The average grade at Round Mountain is only 0.5 g/t gold (Au).

In 2009, MAX Resource Corp. recovered 4.9 g/t gold (Au) and 1.2 g/t silver (Ag) from a 360 kg bulk sample. Assays from 163 soil samples taken in 2010 produced values to 1.27 g/t Au. It is believed that a volcanic rhyolite lithic tuff hosts the reasonably coarse and free gold. Argillic alteration has been observed in the sample pits. This is a form of relatively low temperature hydrothermal alteration during which clay minerals are formed. This may indicate a nearby centre of hydrothermal activity and associated gold mineralisation.

Discussion

MAX Resource Corp. claims East Manhattan Wash is associated with epithermal mineralization which they believe has the potential for a bulk tonnage open pit, similar to Round Mountain. Permits for an extensive program of drilling have been applied for. This program will help determine the overall depth and grade of mineralization in the area.

Further Reading

MAX Resource Press Release Reviews 

MAX Resource Corp. (Corporate Site)

Kinross Gold Corp – Round Mountain (Corporate Site)

Barrick Gold – Round Mountain (Corporate Site)