Orogen Royalties has acquired the Serpent gold project in central Nevada, US, securing 225 Bureau of Land Management claims spanning 18.8km² and located 25km north-west of Rachel.
The project was established in collaboration with Altius Minerals.
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The Serpent site is described as a district-scale, low-sulphidation epithermal gold target focused on a series of structural trends.
These trends extend 8km and feature kaolinite and illite alteration identified through airborne hyperspectral Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer data.
The host rocks are primarily Oligocene-aged ignimbrite tuffs, estimated to be 23–27 million years old.
A key feature of the project is the north-east-striking Cobra structural corridor, which spans 2km.
According to Orogen, this corridor displays characteristics associated with the upper levels of an epithermal mineral system, including changes in silicification and the presence of opaline and chalcedonic silica.
The area shows evidence of a boiling zone, with reconnaissance rock sampling delivering gold values up to 0.95 grams per tonne (g/t).
Anomalous gold values reaching 0.52g/t were also discovered in a perpendicular structure.
The company notes that these boiling zones appear at the intersection of the two structural trends.
Further south, at the Ant Hill Zone, preliminary rock sampling reported gold grades up to 0.4g/t, mercury concentrations between six parts per million (ppm) and 10ppm, and anomalous levels of silver (37ppm), arsenic and antimony.
Orogen exploration VP Laurence Pryer said: “The Serpent epithermal project contains multiple gold-bearing mineralised structures across an alteration footprint with the size to host a district-scale epithermal system comparable to the nearby Round Mountain or Arthur Gold projects.
“To discover highly anomalous gold in the preserved upper levels of an undrilled epithermal system in a highly prospective host rock and structural setting validates the work Orogen continues to do with Altius Minerals.”
Recent mapping activities on the property revealed the presence of adularia and strong silicification in several additional structures to the north of the Cobra corridor, including the 450m-long Medusa silicified structure. Assays from these areas are pending.
Orogen stated that there is no evidence of previous drilling or significant surface disturbance such as roads or prospect pits within the primary Cobra structural corridor.
The company is making the Serpent project available for options or sale.
