Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 22, 2025) - Gladiator Metals Corp (TSXV: GLAD) (OTCQB: GDTRF) (FSE: ZX7) ("Gladiator" or the "Company") announces plans to resume drilling at Cowley Park in early February 2025 within its Whitehorse Copper Project.
Phase 1 drilling at the advanced high-grade copper prospect Cowley Park (10,000m planned) will focus on:
Targeting the strike and down dip extensions to the high grade exoskarn identified in the 2024 drill program at Cowley Park;
Resource definition; and
Expanding the Cowley Park footprint.
Phase 2 drilling at Cowley Park (9,000m planned) will be scheduled and planned for the second half of 2025 and will focus on delivering a maiden resource as soon as possible.
Recent drilling and geophysical programs, including induced polarization (ongoing) and drone borne aeromagnetics has led to an expanded and enlarged re-interpretation of the geological model used to explore Cowley Park.
The new model supports the existence of an offsetting NNE dextral fault displacing mineralization thereby significantly enlarging the exploration potential of Cowley Park.
Three newly identified geophysical anomalies will be drill tested as part of the 2025 drill program.
Gladiator CEO, Jason Bontempo, commented: "In 2024 we successfully extended high-grade mineralization along strike and at depth and identified three new, highly prospective geophysical targets which promise to significantly expand the known extents of Cowley Park if successful. This work confirmed our belief that Cowley Park will deliver a material cornerstone high-grade copper resource inventory within our 35km long Whitehorse Copper Belt Project, where we are initially targeting over 100mt of high-grade copper resources along the belt.
We are excited to commence our 2025 phase 1 drill campaign at Cowley Park. With a treasury exceeding $18M, we are well-funded to complete an aggressive drill program on and around Cowley Park to assess its true size potential with the objective of delivering a maiden resource as soon as possibl,e as well as follow-up on the other Whitehorse Copper Belt exploration targets."
Resumption of Drilling
Drilling is planned to resume in early February, initially targeting the strike and down dip extensions to the high grade exoskarn intersected in recent drilling (Figures 1 and 2) that returned significant high-grade mineralization over broad widths in CPG-045, CPG-047 and CPG-049. These holes support mineralization continuing for at least 220 metres from near surface down dip whilst remaining open at depth, to the west and towards the east. Significant results from Gladiator's 2024 drill program include:
CPG-047 - 98m @ 1.49% Cu, 0.04 g/t Au, 3.68 g/t Ag & 187 ppm Mo from 103m including 20m @ 5.53% Cu, 0.07 g/t Au, 11.47 g/t Ag & 229 ppm Mo from 145m, including 14m @ 7.67% Cu, 0.07 g/t Au, 15.16 g/t Ag & 217 ppm Mo from 145m
CPG-049 - 79m @ 1.37% Cu, 0.06 g/t Au, 4.38 g/t Ag & 261 ppm Mo from 71m including 26m @ 3.31% Cu, 0.06 g/t Au, 8.97 g/t Ag & 44 ppm Mo from 88m
CPG-045 - 38m @ 1.01% Cu, 0.06 g/t Au, 4.83 g/t Ag & 604 ppm Mo from 96m including 12m @ 1.73% Cu, 0.10 g/t Au, 7.75 g/t Ag & 1,052 ppm Mo from 96m & 4m @ 2.50% Cu, 0.10 g/t Au, 11.15 g/t Ag & 1,051 ppm Mo from 122m
Hole CPG-018 (drilled by Gladiator in 2023) intersected minor skarn mineralization over the last 1.6m of the hole (200.1 to 202.69m EOH). With the results of CPG-047, mineralization is now believed to remain open at depth. Gladiator plans to further test the down dip potential of this zone by extending CPG-018 along with drilling further holes along strike upon the restart of drilling in February 2025.
Figure 1: Plan map of all drilling at Cowley Park over LIDAR DTM. All drill collars completed by Gladiator to date colored by sum Cu% x Length (m), historical collars marked as light-colored dots.
Figure 2 Section (Line 3) through the Cowley Park prospect looking 280o (20m Window approximately West) showing only Gladiator drilling and recently returned assay results along the interpreted granodiorite-skarn boundary.
Recent drilling and geophysical programs, including induced polarization (ongoing) and drone borne aeromagnetics has led to the re-interpretation of the geological model used to explore Cowley Park. The new model supports the existence of an offsetting NNE dextral fault displacing mineralization significantly enlarging the exploration potential of Cowley Park.
Identification of the fault has opened the possibility to extensive exploration potential along strike of known mineralization and has identified a further three untested magnetic responses proximal to known mineralization and the emplaced granodiorite (intrusive) hosting the Cowley Park prospect (see Figure 3).
The Company believes the previous geological interpretation prematurely constrained the strike extents of the known high grade exoskarn mineralization. The 2024 drill program has confirmed the Company's belief that mineralization associated with the higher-grade exoskarn is now open at depth and along strike and is not constrained as implied by the previous model.
Figure 3: Plan map of Cowley Park over drone magnetics, LIDAR and DTM. Gladiator drill collars colored by sum Cu% x Length (m); historical collars marked as non-Gladiator drilling.
Mineralization within the exoskarn is now interpreted to be occurring as a wide zone of high-grade mineralization contained within a broader mineralized skarn that is steep to moderately dipping (approximately -70 degrees to the south), rather than flattening at depth and returning to the near surface in the south (previously described as "The Bowl" Interpretation). The new geological model supports that:
The two main existing lodes (Northern & Southern) are now thought to be separated by a large regional lateral (dextral) off-setting fault that is of a similar orientation to that found at the Little Chief Mine. This implies that previous drilling was unable to detect the projected lodes across the fault, specifically the southern lode on the western side of the fault where the emplacement of the granodiorite is dominant.
Mineralization appears to be associated with the gradient (from low to high) of the magnetic response proximal to the intrusive system (granodiorite), implying that significant untested exploration potential exists to the north and south of the emplaced granodiorite.
The new interpretation of the intrusive contact suggests the system remains open along strike, as drilling completed to date has not yet fully tested the strike extents of the magnetic gradients. The Company believes known higher grade exoskarn style mineralization that occurs proximal to the contact, including to the northwest and east of the "Northern Lode" and to the east of the "Southern Lode" could be extended further east.
Magnetics has also identified similar untested anomalies (Figure 3) proximal or along strike to identified mineralization surrounding the emplaced granodiorite at Cowley Park. Drill planning to test these anomalies in 2025 is underway.
Mineralization within the endoskarn is now interpreted as being defined by brittle deformation proximal to the endoskarn-exoskarn contact and is moderately to steeply dipping (to the south) localised to the contact.
QA / QC
For the relevant discussion on QA/QC and tabled details for the quoted intersections included in this release, refer to Gladiator's News Release dated January 14, 2025 "Gladiator Drills 36m of 1.23% Cu and 20m of 1.22% Cu at Cowley Park and Returns 40.2m of 1.74% Cu from Unassayed Historic Core".
Qualified Person
All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared or reviewed and approved by Kell Nielsen, the Company's Vice President Exploration, a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Jason Bontempo"
Jason Bontempo Director and CEO
For further information contact: Olav Langelaar, VP Corporate Development +1-604-961-6511 olangelaar@gladiatormetals.com
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