Trailbreaker Resources Ltd. has announced results from its 2025 exploration program at the Atsutla Gold project in northwestern British Columbia, revealing significant expansion of high-grade gold structures and discovery of new copper-gold-silver mineralization. The findings indicate a potentially substantial mineralized system covering approximately 21.5 square kilometers in an area with limited historic exploration.
Detailed prospecting and mapping in the Highlands zone area has expanded the known footprint of high-grade gold showings and led to discovery of new high-grade copper-gold-silver showings on recently acquired claims. The Highlands zone shear structure, which hosts high-grade gold-bearing quartz veins with assays up to 630 g/t Au, has been expanded to a 1.0 km x 1.2 km area through exploration on recently acquired claims. This expansion demonstrates the continuity of mineralization beyond previously known boundaries.
A newly discovered zone of high-grade copper, termed the Highlands North zone, was found 1.1 km north of the high-grade gold showings, yielding up to 1.65% Cu, 5.92 g/t Au, and 551 ppm Ag from separate rock samples. The high-grade copper values were returned from more steeply dipping quartz veins from 20 cm to 80 cm thick, hosting chalcopyrite, bornite, malachite, azurite, and pyrite. Five rock samples in this area returned assay values greater than 1% Cu, and eight samples returned values greater than 100 ppm Ag.
The importance of these findings lies in their demonstration of a much larger mineralized system than previously understood. Trailbreaker's team interprets the gold mineralization to be orogenic in nature, with multiple gold ± silver ± copper-bearing shear zones related to larger faults occurring in the area. The shear structure delineated at the Highlands zone appears to be continuous, with similar structures found at the Christmas Creek zone 1.5 km to the east and the Snook zone 4.5 km to the north, creating a total surficial footprint of 5.0 km x 4.3 km.
Daithi Mac Gearailt, CEO of Trailbreaker, emphasized the significance of the discovery, stating that the Highlands zone continues to exceed expectations and that its footprint expands with each campaign. He noted that this is a new discovery where high-grade gold and silver have been discovered at surface over multiple kilometers, and it has never been drilled. The company's 100%-owned Atsutla Gold project covers over 40,000 hectares of ground with very limited historic exploration, suggesting substantial untapped potential.
The 2025 exploration program consisted of the collection of 147 soil samples and 77 prospecting grab samples during late August and early September. Final assays were not received until late December due to multiple re-analyses of high-grade gold, copper, and silver as well as additional QA/QC completed by Bureau Veritas Labs. The highest gold value returned from the program was 401.8 g/t Au with 493 ppm Ag, obtained from a rock taken 140 m from previously discovered high-grade showings.
Statistical analysis of rock and soil sample assays in the Highlands zone shows that gold correlates with mercury, selenium, lead, silver, antimony, copper, and arsenic. High bismuth values also occur, but are generally related to high-grade copper. Reconnaissance soil sampling to the west of the Highlands North zone returned values up to 66 ppb Au, suggesting potential for additional mineralization in this direction.
The Highlands zone and greater Atsutla West area are fully permitted for drilling, and during the 2025 program, the Trailbreaker team ground-truthed potential drill pads to test the shear structure. The Swan target, situated 26 km to the southeast, is also fully permitted for drilling. The two areas represent different deposit models: Atsutla West is an orogenic Au target while Swan is a porphyry Cu-Au-Ag target. For additional information about the company's projects, visit TrailbreakerResources.com.
These exploration results have implications for the mining industry in British Columbia, potentially identifying a new significant gold district in a region with limited historic exploration. The discovery of both high-grade gold and copper mineralization in close proximity suggests the presence of multiple mineralizing events and increases the economic potential of the area. For investors and the mining sector, these findings demonstrate the value of systematic exploration in underexplored regions of mining-friendly jurisdictions like British Columbia.
