Aug 14 2014
Aegean Metals Group Inc. ("Aegean" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following update on exploration activities at its 100%-owned Doña Inés and Exploradora East prospects in northern Chile's Region III.
The Doña Inés property is located within an underexplored epithermal gold-silver belt that extends northwards from the Maricunga belt to the Peruvian border, where Gold Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") made the Salares Norte gold-silver discovery. The Exploradora East prospect is located approximately 10 km north-northwest of Doña Inés, but lies within one of Chile's most productive porphyry copper belts that include the nearby El Salvador mining operations owned by the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile ("Codelco").
"Aegean's staking of the Doña Inés and Exploradora East properties in early 2014 was the direct result of a regional target generation program focused on the discovery of covered epithermal gold and porphyry copper deposits in Chile's most prospective mineral belts," commented Eric Roth, Aegean's President & CEO. "Strong precious metals anomalies have been identified on surface at the Doña Inés property, which we now plan to follow-up with ground geophysics and drill testing in short order. At Exploradora East, prominent base metal anomalies have been identified on surface and suggest potential for porphyry style mineralization underlying ignimbrite cover. Separately, we are also pleased to be progressing with the application for the listing of our shares on the Bolsa de Valores de Santiago ("Santiago Stock Exchange"), which will complement our TSX.V and Frankfurt listings and provide Chilean investors with the opportunity to acquire Aegean shares through a local exchange."
Doña Inés Gold-Silver Prospect
The Doña Inés prospect is located approximately 190 km NE of the city of Copiapo in Chile's Region III, within an underexplored, predominantly Miocene-age volcanic arc and epithermal gold-silver belt that extends from the northern margin of the Maricunga District to the Peruvian border. Recent discoveries in this belt include Gold Fields Salares Norte project (May 2014 Inferred Resource of 23.3 Mt @ 4.2 g/t Au and 44 g/t Ag, for 3.1 Moz Au and 34 Moz Ag) and Pircas prospect (oxidized high sulfidation epithermal system), which are located approximately 20 km E and 22 km SE of Doña Inés, respectively. The Doña Ines prospect is covered by 3,300 Ha of exploration concessions that are 100% controlled by Aegean's Chilean subsidiary, Minera AMG Chile Limitada ("AMG Chile").
As the Doña Inés property is covered by a thin layer of post-mineralization cover, field work has initially focused on partial leach extraction (Mobile Metal Ion, or MMI) geochemistry. The MMI samples were taken on a 200 m x 200 m grid, and were routinely analyzed for the elements Au, Ag, Cu, Mo, Ba, As, Sb & Hg. Results obtained from the MMI sampling have defined a strongly anomalous Au-Ag-As-Mo metal association at Doña Inés, together with relatively weaker Cu-Ba anomalies. The response ratios calculated for both Au and Ag are exceptionally high (310 and 35, respectively), and suggest derivation from a source with elevated gold and silver values. The central gold anomaly also occurs within a zone of argillic alteration, and represents a priority area for further work.
Future work at Doña Inés will focus on the targeting of a buried high sulfidation epithermal system using a combination of geophysical techniques, including IP (dipole-dipole) and ground magnetic surveys. Drilling will then be undertaken on combined geophysical and geochemical anomalies on a strictly priority basis.
Exploradora East Prospect
The Exploradora East prospect is located approximately 10 km NNW of the Doña Inés prospect, along the eastern margin of Chile's Eocene-Oligocene porphyry copper belt. The Exploradora East prospect is covered by 4,300 Ha of exploration concession that are 100% controlled by Aegean's Chilean subsidiary, AMG Chile.
As the Exploradora East property is completely covered by a post-mineralization ignimbrite/tuff sequence of probable Quaternary-age, initial field work has focused on partial leach extraction geochemistry. The MMI results indicate a Cu-Mo-Au-Ag dominant geochemical signature at Exploradora East. In addition, the prominent NE-SW trend of the Cu, Mo, and to a lesser extent Au and Ag anomalies, appears to suggest a strong NE-trending structural control within the area. However, the response ratios observed for Cu, Mo and Au are relatively modest (up to 15, 95, and 248, respectively), and are suggestive of attenuation by the post-mineralization ignimbrite cover. Full results from the MMI sampling at Exploradora East are available at http://www.aegeanmetalsgroup.com/projects/exploradora_east/.
Future work at Exploradora East will focus on the targeting of a buried porphyry copper system using a combination of ground geophysical techniques, including IP and magnetic surveys, to identify drill targets.
Vicuña-Llareta Prospect, Chile
On February 28, 2014, Aegean announced the signing a binding Letter of Intent with a Chilean vendor to acquire a 100% interest in the Vicuña-Llareta prospect in northern Chile. After completion of the Due Diligence phase, Aegean has decided to not proceed with the signing of the Definitive Agreement and has formally advised the vendor accordingly. No further work will be undertaken at Vicuña-Llareta.
Santiago Stock Exchange Listing
Aegean is also pleased to announce that it has applied to have its common shares listed on the new Santiago Stock Exchange, Venture. On March 3, 2014, the Santiago Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX.V") entered into an agreement that will lead to the creation of a new venture exchange of the Santiago Stock Exchange, the Santiago Stock Exchange, Venture. Aegean's Santiago Stock Exchange listing will complement its existing TSX.V and Frankfurt listings by providing Chilean investors with the opportunity to acquire Aegean's shares on a local exchange.
Chile Explore Report
Finally, Aegean is pleased to announce that President & CEO, Eric Roth, was featured in the August issue of the Chile Explore Report. The full article is available on the Company's website at http://aegeanmetalsgroup.com/investors/media/.
About Aegean Metals Group Inc.
Aegean Metals Group Inc. (TSX VENTURE:AGN) is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of high grade gold, copper and polymetallic deposits in favourable jurisdictions that have the potential to become operating mines with strong cash flows. The Company currently holds two projects in Turkey: the recently optioned Hot Maden gold and base metal prospect in northeast Turkey and the Ergama high sulfidation epithermal gold prospect in western Turkey, where Aegean will ultimately retain a 49% interest upon completion of Teck Resources' back-in expenditure commitments. In northern Chile, the Company also recently staked two new exploration prospects, the Doña Inés gold-silver property and the Exploradora East prospect. For more details on the Company, please visit www.aegeanmetalsgroup.com.
Qualified Person's Statement
The information presented in this press release has been reviewed by Eric Roth, President & CEO of Aegean Metals Group Inc, and is considered to be in compliance with NI 43-101 reporting guidelines. Mr. Roth holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from the University of Western Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr. Roth has 25 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.