Seabridge Gold Inc. has announced a 15,000 meter core drilling campaign for this year on its 100%-owned Iskut property in northwestern British Columbia's Golden Triangle. Find out why one newsletter editor says this company should be a vital stock in your portfolio.
Seabridge Gold Inc. (SEA:TSX; SA:NYSE.MKT) announced details of a 15,000 meter coring campaign this year on its 100%-owned Iskut property in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia.
Bronson Slope's expanding mineral resources and Seabridge's 2023 discovery of similar mineralization at Snip North are interpreted to be “high-grade expressions of intrusive porphyry mineralization,” said the company, which is using three drilling rigs helicoptered for the new drilling at a budgeted cost of 12 million Canadian dollars.
“Last year we discovered extensive gold-dominated epithermal-type mineralization that corresponds to the upper parts of significant copper-gold porphyry mineral systems,” said President and CEO Rudi Fronk. “The expansion of Bronson Slope’s mineral resources and new discoveries at Snip North have given us clear direction on where to focus our efforts.”
Fronk said the intrusive targets appear to be rooted in a “district-wide structural trend reminiscent of our KSM deposits,” referring to the company's massive KSM project, located just 30 kilometers by air from Iskut.
KSM is the world's largest undeveloped gold project in terms of reserves and resources, according to analyst Lucas N. Pipes of B. Riley Securities, who rated the stock a buy with a target price of US$60 per share.
“This year’s work is dedicated to realizing the porphyry potential we had in mind when we acquired the Iskut project,” Fronk said.
The Catalyst: A “District-Wide” Structural Corridor
Regional geophysical surveys and surface geology confirmed the “district-wide structural corridor that connects the Quartz Rise, Bronson Slope and Snip North targets,” Seabridge noted in a statement. “Substantial high-level expressions of a Cu-Au porphyry system fit within this regional trend. These multiple targets have only been subject to deep drilling recently, and 2024 is planned to better assess their porphyry potential further deep.”
Results from Bronson Slope drilling last year expanded, along strike and plunge, an intermediate sulfidation epithermal system open in multiple directions, the company said. This mineral zone is adjacent to the previously discovered quartz and magnetite breccia pipe, all of which are indications of an intense and extensive fluid system related to the Bronson Slope intrusion.
Chris Temple, newsletter editor, author and editor-in-chief of The national investorwrote that it's only a matter of time before KSM gets the attention it deserves.
In 2023, drilling at Snip North encountered large intersections of gold and copper.
Highlights included 0.80 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au), 0.07% copper (Cu) and 1.19 g/t silver (Ag) over 277 meters (of which 1.8 meter of 15.3 g/t Au, 1.5% Cu and 430 g/t Ag); 0.61 g/t Au, 0.07% Cu and 1.36 g/t Ag over 252 meters; and 0.30 g/t Au, 0.09% Cu, 0.59 and g/t Ag over 421.5 meters.
“We view these initial results from Snip North positively given the strong indications of a likely deeper, higher-grade porphyry source in the intermediate sulfidation mineralization intersected in this drillhole,” the analysts wrote at the time by Red Cloud, Taylor Combaluzier and David Talbot. In a subsequent note, analysts gave the stock a Buy rating with a target price of CA$46.50 per share.
Objectives for 2024
Earlier this month, Seabridge announced its the 15 best goals for 2024including the filing of “a new technical report for Bronson Slope with 2023 drilling results and an updated resource estimate and (the completion of) a drilling program of at least 12,500 meters at Iskut” .
Top of the list of goals was finding a joint venture partner for KSM. The company indicated that RBC Capital Markets conducts a formal research process.
Pipes said Seabridge had “a clear vision for a possible partnership agreement”.
Upcoming catalysts for Seabridge include the search for a joint venture partner, continued development updates at KSM and continued drilling at Iskut and its 3 Aces and Snowstorm projects.
Chris Temple, newsletter editor, author and editor-in-chief of The national investor, wrote that it's only a matter of time before KSM gets the attention it deserves.
“Even some 'experts' in the precious metals field are WAY behind in their understanding of the kind of world-class monster that Seabridge's flagship KSM project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle has become,” wrote Temple, who said he was “pounding the table.” bullish” on the stock, and not just because of KSM.
“When you consider the rest of Seabridge's world-class portfolio, I think you will think – as I said – that Seabridge deserves to be a key part of your portfolio,” Temple wrote.
Upcoming catalysts for Seabridge include the search for a joint venture partner, continued development updates at KSM and continued drilling at Iskut and its 3 Aces and Snowstorm projects.
Analyst: a possible gold correction is an opportunity
Gold prices fell sharply this week, but technical analyst Clive Maund wrote that the possible correction “is not a surprise”.
“The key drivers of the gold and silver bull market remain firmly in place,” Maund wrote. “This correction in gold and silver should be seen for what it is: the perfect opportunity to further strengthen our positions at better prices before the next major rally.”
Editor of the Captain Ewave newsletter recently analyzed movements in the precious metal and recommended going long gold.
“Are gold and gold mining values about to experience an explosive rise?” he wrote. “Based on our analysis, the answer appears to be a resounding yes.”
Shareholding and sharing structure
Reuters provided a breakdown of the company's ownership and shareholder structure, where management and insiders own approximately 3% of the company. According to Reuters, CEO and Chairman Rudi P. Fronk owns 1.43% of the company with 1.23 million shares.
Reuters reports that institutions own about 55% of the company. According to Reuters, Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd. holds 13.56%, National Bank of Canada 5.24%, Van Eck Associates Corp. 4.06%, Kopernik Global Investors, LLC 3.7%, Paulson & Co. Inc. 2.4% and Sprott Asset Management LP owns 2.23%.
According to Reuters, there are 86.22 million shares outstanding, including 83.74 million floating shares, while the company has a market capitalization of CA$1.81 billion and trades on a range of 52 weeks between 12.62 and 23 Canadian dollars.
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- Seabridge Gold Inc. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee of between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
- Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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