Rackla Metals Inc. announced that the Company has completed its 2023 exploration program that included 3,039 m of diamond drilling in 17 holes focused on Reduced Intrusion-Related Gold Systems (RIRGS) at the Astro intrusive complex, in the eastern Selwyn Basin of Yukon and NWT. The Astro intrusive complex is comprised of the Astro, HIT and SER properties. Twelve holes (2,041.3 m) were drilled on the Astro property and 5 holes (997.5 m) were drilled on the HIT property.

The HIT property covers the Canol Trail Stock, a K-feldspar porphyritic biotite monzogranite belonging to the Cretaceous-aged Tungsten Suite. Seven mineral occurrences have been identified on the property, each exhibiting characteristics of RIRGS, including: magnetic low in the intrusion with a magnetic high in the altered sedimentary rocks around the margins, sheeted quartz-sulphide veining in the intrusion, a gold-bismuth-arsenic chemical association. The drill program on the HIT property tested a high priority 1,500 m by 1,000 m Au/Bi/As anomaly defined by soil, rock and talus fine sampling.

The anomaly is associated with a northwest trending structural corridor exhibiting strong sheeted veining in the Canol Trail Stock. Four holes (HIT-001 to HIT-004) tested the Mehitabel, Central, and Ridge zones. Hole HIT-005 tested the Gully Zone.

HIT-001 intersected stockwork veining in the Central Zone while HIT-002 intersected similar veining 400 m south towards the Ridge Zone. Holes HIT-003 and HIT-004 were drilled 700 m along strike to the northwest of HIT-001 targeting an area of highly fractured, sheeted veins at the Mehitabel Showing (Figure 2). HIT-003 and HIT 004 cut a zone of intensely sheeted quartz (Qtz)-pyrrhotite (Po)-arsenopyrite (Aspy)-bismuthinite (Bi)-chalcopyrite (Cpy) veining that measures approximately 290 m in width and includes intervals with up to 55 veinlets per metre and quartz-sulphide veins up to 3 m wide.

In hole HIT-003, the intense sheeted veining was consistent over the entire 273 m drill hole and averaged approximately 12 veins per metre. Most of the veins have sericite-carbonate altered selvages and there are variable amounts of carbonate-filled microfractures in the host granodiorite. HIT-004 was drilled from the same pad as HIT-003 in the opposite direction and cut the steeply southwest dipping sheeted veins at a slightly lower angle but the veining and alteration was comparable to HIT-003 for most of the 178.31 m hole.

These 2 holes tested a section of this structural corridor measuring 290 m in width and to a depth of 210 m vertically below surface. The sulphide-bearing veins observed in the drill core demonstrate how the effects of surface weathering and oxidation of the sulphide minerals create the slabs of monzogranite observed on surface. HIT-005 was drilled on the southeast corner of the HIT property to test a hornfelsed block of silty-limestone sediments within the monzogranite.

Due to mechanical problems the hole was abandoned at 50 m, just short of the targeted zone.