Maitland Gold Project
The Maitland project area is an important component of Dakota Gold's exploration strategy for the structural corridor that extends from the Homestake Gold Mine to Dakota Gold's Blind Gold Property at the northern end of the Homestake District. The Maitland Property covers the Homestake iron formation extending from the Blind Gold Property target at the north end to Homestake Mining Company's North Drift gold discovery of the late 1980s to the south. In addition to Precambrian aged gold mineralization hosted within the Homestake iron formation, the property area holds several Tertiary-aged zones of mineralization, including historic mines (e.g., Maitland Mine) hosted in the younger Paleozoic sedimentary and Tertiary intrusive rocks.
The initial 37.8 mineral acres of the Maitland project were acquired in April of 2017 through an Exploration and Mining Lease and Option to Purchase Property Agreement with Trucano Novelty Inc., of South Dakota. On October 26, 2020, Dakota Gold acquired 2,112 mineral-acres from Homestake Mining Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Barrick. Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement, the Company paid consideration to Barrick comprised of $3.5 million cash and the issuance of 750,000 shares of Dakota Gold's common stock. Additionally, Barrick retained a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty on the property. From August 2021 through March 2022, Dakota Gold purchased additional surface rights over existing mineral rights of approximately 168.3 acres to facilitate the exploration of the Maitland Property. Two unpatented mineral claims were staked in late 2022 (6.4 acres) to cover fractional areas of interest on open BLM land. The project mineral rights now total 2,374 acres, all of which are located in the western portion of Lawrence County, South Dakota, USA within Black Hills Meridian, Township 5N, Range 2E, covering portions of Sections 12, 13, and 24, and Township 5N, Range 3E, covering portions of Sections 7, 8, 17, 18, 19 and 20. Annual claim maintenance fees total $330.
Access to the Maitland Gold project is gained by traveling 2 miles north of Lead on Highway 85/14A to Central City/Blacktail and then turning and traveling northwest approximately 1.7 miles on the Maitland Road. The property is proximal to the Company's Cambrian Unconformity Property and is contiguous to the Blind Gold and West Corridor Properties.
Dakota Gold began drilling at Maitland in 2022 and by the end of 2023 completed 36 drill holes extending over a distance totaling 123,000 feet (37,490 meters). On February 8, 2023, the Company announced the discovery of the Unionville Zone in MA22C-009, which intercepted Precambrian hosted, Tertiary-age, epithermal gold mineralization in a breccia located beneath Cambrian hosted Tertiary replacement gold mineralization on the horizon of the Maitland Mine in sedimentary cover. Then, on May 4, 2023, The Company announced the discovery of the JB Zone in MA23C-017, which intercepted high-grade, Homestake-type, Precambrian mineralization over potentially mineable widths. On August 1, 2023, the Company began using directional drilling equipment to accurately offset and step-out from the deeper JB Zone discovery intercept in MA23C-017, as well as, continuing an infilling program between widely spaced drill holes which identified the Unionville Zone and other high-grade intercepts of Homestake-style mineralization identified in earlier drilling.
The Company is planning to continue an aggressive drilling program at the Maitland Property in 2024, subject to the availability of funds from additional equity issuances. This drilling is focused on exploration and expansion of the JB and the Unionville Gold Zones announced in 2022 and early 2023. The drilling will include focused step-out drilling around recent drill hole intercepts, as well as continued extension of the Homestake iron-formation program within the structural corridor extending from Maitland to the Blind Gold Property at the north end of the Homestake District.
