Timberline Resources Corporation reported the results from the first four holes of the 2022 drilling program at its 100%-controlled Eureka Project in Nevada. The holes tested the central and southern sections of the Water Well Zone (WWZ) to the east of the Lookout Mountain gold resource. They totalled 1,470 meters and consisted of pre-collars by reverse circulation (RC) drilling completed by core to depth.

All four drill holes encountered significant gold mineralization and confirmed that the WWZ hosts an extensive area of gold mineralization in the Cambrian-aged Dunderberg Shale and upper Hamburg Dolomite. Two of the holes, BHSE-223C and 224C, offset mineralized RC holes previously announced (BHSE-187 and BHSE-209). BHSE-226C and 230C were south and north step outs from highly-mineralized drill hole BHSE-212C, which was reported during the first quarter.

Each of these holes was drilled vertically to test the central and southern portions of the WWZ, where the base of the east-dipping Dunderberg Shale is consistently mineralized at its contact with the underlying Hamburg Dolomite. Two holes are offsets from the highly mineralized interval reported from BHSE-212C (41.1m at 5.03 g/t gold) on March 9, 2022. All the holes in this area encounter the intensely altered (sulfidized, carbonized, and variably silicified and argillized) gray to black and brecciated Dunderberg Shale that marks its basal section throughout the WWZ.

BHSE-230C is collared approximately 50m north from BHSE-212C. It cut a narrow high-grade interval at the top of the basal breccia unit (accompanied by arsenic sulfides and high pyrite content), likely associated with a fault, as well as lower grade gold to its base. Timberline geologists also noted elevated gold (0.81 - 3.83 g/t) in the upper oxidized portion of the Hamburg Dolomite, where that unit has been intensely sanded.

BHSE-226C was collared approximately 75m south of BHSE-212C. It encountered a thinner section of carbonaceous brecciated basal Dunderberg, but the interval was intensely silicified and highly pyritic (without visible arsenic sulfides). The upper part of this interval was not elevated in gold, but the bottom 7.6m of the breccia unit was highly mineralized, including maximum assays of 16.9 and 12.5 g/t gold.

Once again, low levels of gold extend well into the oxidized and brecciated Hamburg Dolomite. The holes farther north in the WWZ (BHSE-223C and 224C) were aimed at following up on favorable indications from earlier RC holes, BHSE-187 and BHSE-209. All four of the RC and core holes were collared to drill vertically, but both of the older RC holes deviated to the west such that the mineralized intervals were separated by approximately 25 from their respective core offsets.

The new core holes compare relatively favorably to the nearby RC holes. However, in each case, the overall thickness and grade of mineralization reported from the zone was higher from the core hole than its respective RC offset. shows a comparison between BHSE-187 and BHSE-223C.

Each of the holes encountered a strong zone of higher-grade material at the top of the black, sulfidic, carbonaceous unit in the Dunderberg. The overall thickness of gold mineralization above a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade reported from the core hole exceeds that of the RC hole (39 vs 35 meters), but the maximum gold assay is slightly higher from the RC samples (5.04 versus 4.83 g/t). There is greater disagreement between BHSE-209 and BHSE-224C, more similar to the previously seen example from BHSE-205 (RC) and BHSE-220C.

The intercepts in the RC hole were much less continuous and lower grade in gold. The overall grade thickness of the mineralization in BHSE-224C is approximately 78 gram-meters of gold, whereas the grade thickness of the intercepts in BHSE-209 was 25 gram-meters of gold. The core hole also included maximum gold assays of 8.2 and 17.65 g/t versus maximum assays in the RC hole of 1.78 and 2.92 g/t. This first batch of holes from the 2022 drilling clearly signals that the WWZ mineralization at the base of the Dunderberg Shale is present over a large area.

The most robust zones of thicker and higher-grade mineralization are presently known to be at the northern and southern limits of drilling and assay information. Core hole BHSE-226C is a significant step out from BHSE-212C, and the gold zone has been extended and remains open to the south and east. Timberline is still drilling in the vicinity of these southern drill holes.

Drilling will continue through September and into October with a steady flow of results expected over the coming weeks. In addition to holes in the northern part of the WWZ, assays are also awaited from RC drilling at the Oswego Target and the Relay Zone.