Big Nugget Gold Project Area.

Record-high gold prices have prompted Constantine Metal Resources to begin exploring mining potential in the Porcupine Creek area, a project it’s calling the “Big Nugget Gold Project.”

Mining in Porcupine dates back to 1898 when gold was first discovered in the area. Between 1898 and 1936, it was the site of significant placer mining activity. Surface gold discoveries in the 1980s and early 1990s pointed to a potential source of the placer gold on land that is currently under Constantine’s control.

“We have been aware of the potential source area for the Porcupine placer (gold) on Constantine lands for some time, and the current gold market sparked additional research of historical information that is quite fascinating and spurred the current activity,” president and CEO Garfield MacVeigh said in an interview Aug. 31.

This year, Constantine has begun work to validate historical information about gold deposit locations.

The work includes locating historical prospects and gold veins, and sending samples to the lab for analysis, MacVeigh said. The company is also prospecting for new veins and collecting geological information about the area.

At the peak this summer, Constantine employed between 8 and 12 people on the Big Nugget Gold Project including a trail crew, camp support staff, soil sample collectors and a two-person geological crew working to validate the historical information.

Summer work has also included staking additional claims in the Porcupine region to support the project.

“We have staked additional land to cover prospective source areas for lode gold… that covers an area between our existing state claims and our (Mental Health) Trust Lands lease,” MacVeigh said.

The Big Nugget Gold Project is in a very early stage of exploration, and like any mining exploration project, its timeline is uncertain.

“As you may be aware the Palmer prospects were discovered in 1969 and the main drill discoveries happened in 2007, and we are now thirteen years down the road from the initial drill discoveries,” MacVeigh said. “The initial step (for the Big Nugget Gold Project) is to validate the historical information and develop drill targets to be tested. If drilling is successful early on, then the project could advance fairly rapidly in a five to ten-year time frame.”

MacVeigh said he expects next year will be busy, although Constantine has yet to begin planning for the 2021 season.

Initial funding for the Big Nugget Gold Project comes from $500,000 raised by selling shares directly to private investors earlier this year, according to an Aug. 7 Constantine press release.

The Big Nugget Gold Project is currently Constantine’s only precious metals project. In August 2019, Constantine spun off all of its gold prospecting assets in Alaska and Canada to High Gold, a new company staffed now by three former Constantine managers, leaving the Palmer Project as Constantine’s sole project.

Unlike the Palmer Project, which the company jointly owns with Dowa Metals and Mining Co., Constantine is the sole owner of the Big Nugget Gold Project. Dowa Metals and Mining is financing more than its 49% share of Palmer Project work this summer, reducing Constantine’s ownership in the joint venture but allowing the company to retain its controlling interest.