Categories: Precious Metals
Topics: General Precious Metals

Scottie Resources (TSX-V: SCOT)(OTC: SCTSF) CEO Brad Rourke on Hitting More High-Grade at Blueberry Zone

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the President and CEO of Scottie Resources, Mr. Brad Rourke. Brad, it's great to have you back on. How have you been? Interesting times out there.

Brad Rourke: Yeah, interesting times for sure. Doing well, I dare not complain. The storms of life are around all of us but we're one of the lucky ones. So life's good, thank you.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, listen, obviously, on a very human side and take and note, globally, it's definitely interesting and volatile and for a lot of people a dangerous time. Switching gears to the markets though, I have to congratulate you and the Scottie team. You're absolutely knocking it out the park. We spoke a bit off air. The latest release was an intercept of 34.6 grams per tonne gold over 11.86 meters. You had a release on the 22nd where you knocked out nine grams per tonne gold over 7.39 meters and 14.5 grams per tonne gold over 3.65 meters. I mentioned off air to you that geologically it seems to me that you and the team have a very clear handle on the model. Can you speak more to that and these latest results?

Brad Rourke: Sure. I think, I just, so we are clear, the results, I think you just said, the second set, that's from Scottie Gold Mine at a different zone, very close but different zone. But let's just talk about Blueberry and because we've got a whole bunch of extremely nice intercepts at the last three years but let's just say, this is when we first attacked or went at Blueberry three seasons ago we were chasing a vein much like we're doing at the Scottie Gold Mine but we found something well in advance of drilling this vein, new discovery for us. We did a tight drill program around that two seasons ago and we came up with this idea, this hypotheses that we're not looking for veins, we're finding gold along a contact in between sediments and volcanic rocks.

So 2021 is the year that we tested that theory. It was just a theory in 2020. So in 2021, the last season we stepped out and we basically have gone from zero to about 720 meters of strike length and we pushed this down to about 225 meters. Again, new discovery. It played out very well for us this season and 78% of our holes hit along that contact. So we've switched focused. We've built the model around the contact between sediments and the volcanic rocks. We can trace that for a lot longer. We lose it under a lake bed that has no water in it anymore but we see that contact going very far to the south and so this thing's open in all directions.

I think we have 10 holes over a hundred gram meters. If people would go and look, just look at the long section of Blueberry and understand that, that's 7,000 meters of drilling only and where there is no grade, there's just no holes. We just haven't drilled it yet. So we're excited. We're onto something. What we do as exploration companies is that we're out hunting. We've found something. We just now have to start determining how big it is but what you can see right now, very exciting and then of course, we're in the right jurisdiction to be.

Gerardo Del Real: And I think context is important. I'm glad that you mentioned the difference between the two sets of results. This being from the Blueberry zone, the other set of results being from the Scottie Gold Mine, which is, and correct me if I'm wrong, I think it's roughly like two kilometers Northeast of the Blueberry zone. Correct?

Brad Rourke: No, it's actually Southwest.

Gerardo Del Real: Okay.

Brad Rourke: Northeast is Blueberry from Scottie but I mean, you can see the two of them. Scottie’s up on the mountain, Blueberry's on the valley bottom but interesting enough is that contact goes all the way to the bottom of the Scottie Gold Mine. Something that we're dreaming of. We're going to test that this year but interesting little thing, internally we're excited but we'll be testing a few things this year to see maybe Scottie's a result of what's happening at that contact. Certainly the Blueberry vein, of which we paid a million dollars for, and that's what we were chasing at Blueberry originally.

Gerardo Del Real: Right.

Brad Rourke: We have a high degree of confidence. That's just a bleed out of minerology from this contact. So we don't even look at the vein anymore and we paid a million dollars for it. A million dollars is still a lot of money to us. But yeah, when we bought it three years ago, it was the biggest risk at the time that we've ever taken. We don't even look at that vein anymore. So we're onto something. It's just a matter of people just taking the time to have a look and interesting times ahead of us, there's a lot of excitement. We're going to drill the heck out of Blueberry this year. Make no mistake.

Gerardo Del Real: When you say that you're going to drill the heck out of it, it looks like more than 15,000 meters. Is that accurate?

Brad Rourke: Well, that's what we're telling the market we're going to do this season. We don't want to... We did 14,500 meters in 2021, 7,000 the year before that and only 2,000 and 2019 was the very first time we ever drill tested. Then we were essentially working on four different zones that all had very interesting possibilities. Where we are today, it's quite funny, I could actually, I have 30,000 meters of drill targeting but because the market being as it is, we don't want to do a meter less than we did last season. So we are telling the market, we're going to do 15,000 meters and we will. So, that's the plan we put together and what I can say is 85% of that drilling will just be at Blueberry for the simple fact that it's skid based... We had four drill pads on the road this year.

So it's more cost effective, gram meter per dollar, that we're seeing now. We're still excited with the other zones. Scottie Gold and you look at those intercepts we're having there, we're expanding at that the known mine. It's very successful for us as well. It's just a little bit more expensive to drill and I think the market being the way it is, we can just keep... 78% of the holes thus far have hit along that contact. When I say hit, we're talking seven gram plus stuff so it's real mineralogy and it's just where our most success is so that's what we'll focus on this year and just, we'll just see how big it is. We have no idea how big it is. We just know it's opening along strike and then more importantly at depth. You see the 400 gram meter hole we just put out is very eye popping but internally it was two weeks ago when we put out 15 grams over 13 meters on Blueberry at depth.

That to us is actually a 200 gram meter hole but we like that one better because it's showing us this goes deeper and potentially getting wider down there. So it's all go for expanding at depth and it's a mesothermal system so we just don't know how long it goes but there's no indication that it has any faulting or anything at this time. So, we're excited to go deep and then we can chase that contact for kilometers. Of course, when you go drilling at depth, you got to be measured. You can't go too big a step out because you might just lose where that contact is but along strike, you can wiggle at that IP and some surface controls. You can know where that contact is. So we can trace it for kilometers to the south anyhow. We're going to get it cut off at the north, we know, because there's an intrusion there but again, there's only 7,000 meters thus far on Blueberry and I think there's 10 holes of over hundred gram meters.

Gerardo Del Real: Exciting stuff. How is the turnaround with the assay labs coming?

Brad Rourke: I think its been a problem for a few years. Well, here's a little market insight and maybe I'm different than most people you talk to. It's probably a blessing that we didn't get our assays back in time. We need them because we're seasonally challenged, just so we can plan the next drill hole. What we did last season is we're doing prep or we have SGS, we have a mobile prep lab and that really allowed us to get feedback and drill off the same season. We've never been able to do that before. That was great but where I go normally we should have had all my drill results out two months ago but it just wouldn't have mattered. As you can see the market's very uninterested in junior mining at the moment. So, the assays, it's an issue. I think it's going to continue to be an issue but us putting the prep lab, the bottleneck is with the crushing of the rocks and so we're doing that right in Stewart and we weren't complaining about our assay turnaround this year, anyway. So maybe my opinion's a little bit different. I just want the assays back as soon as I can to drill the next hole. That's really my goal.

Gerardo Del Real: Sure. It's funny that you mentioned that Brad because I've had the better technical companies have all responded in similar fashion and that being that, yes, we want the assays back as quick as we can have them but in an odd sense, the delay in those assay labs has led to two things, one a stronger gold market, which hopefully bleeds over into the junior space. And two, the ability to really focus on just real quality surface and exploration geochem work, geophysics if it applies and different things for different companies. But we're seeing some really quality exploration leading up to drilling and it's paying off because you're seeing hit rates increase at least with those companies that have better technical teams and are being given a little bit longer field season to execute on those plans. Is that a similar situation with the team at Scottie?

Brad Rourke: No. I'd say you're bang on. Interesting you see it that way because where we're at now, the junior mining market people want to find the discovery and we just happened to achieve all those things during a market that didn't care. We're at the point right now where it doesn't matter how great of a salesman I am or what dream I can... This is all about math. So I just need the drill holes in the ground. The timing is going to be what it is.

We're a mathematical equation right now because we found something. So yes, I want that feedback because I just want to be able to drill off. We theoretically should get smarter with every drill hole we do because we're adding to the model. But right now all I care about is meters. The timing is going to be what it is. But I think Scottie now is just judged purely on how... Just what is there. So it's just a mathematical equation for us. We'll just see how big it is. We don't know how big it is but oh my gosh, it's a lot bigger than what we are showing now, that's for sure.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, and again, it's there and that's the key part. The market will turn when the market turns but clearly you have the goods and I'm looking forward to seeing just how big this turns out to be. Brad, always a pleasure to have you on. We were overdue for a good catch up. I hope to have you back on soon.

Brad Rourke: That'll be great. Well, we'll have a 2022 plan. A few things happening here in the future but rest assured we're out marketing for the next few months. Just get people to have a look.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent.

Brad Rourke: That's all you need to do is have a peek at it. Hope you're having a good day. Nice speaking with you.

Gerardo Del Real: Awesome. Same Brad. Take care out there.

Brad Rourke: Bye now.