Oct 30 2014
ATAC Resources Ltd. ("ATAC") is pleased to provide an update on exploration conducted in the Anubis area within the Nadaleen Trend of ATAC's 100% owned 1,700 sq/km Rackla Gold Project, Yukon Territory.
Highlights:
- Trenching and geochemical sampling has outlined a cumulative strike length of 8 km of elevated pathfinder element+gold response in overburden and bedrock along favourable northwest-trending extensional faults;
- The anomalies and elevated gold response are strongest where major and secondary faults intersect;
- The geochemical anomalies occur with well-developed Carlin-type hydrothermal alteration and the associated fault zones are considered to be feeder fault systems;
- The overall 18 sq/km geochemical footprint of the Anubis area, together with peripheral occurrences of high-grade silver-lead-gold mineralization at the Corona and Zodiac targets, suggests a very large Carlin-type system; and,
- Within this system, ten priority exploration targets have been identified for follow-up drilling.
"The systematic 2014 exploration program was very successful in achieving ATAC's objective of tracing known gold bearing faults and identifying new mineralized crosscutting faults over the largely untested regional-scale mineralizing system that underlies the Nadaleen Trend," stated Julia Lane, ATAC's Rackla Gold Project Manager. "As with many Carlin-type deposits in Nevada, understanding mineralizing structures and where they interact with receptive calcareous host rocks is a critical step before targeting drill holes. The focused 2014 exploration program at Anubis generated a large amount of exploration data that will be compiled in the coming months to prioritize drill targets."
During 2014 ATAC completed an extensive surface exploration program at the 18 sq/km Anubis area, which is located 10 km west of the Osiris cluster of gold zones - the primary focus of ATAC's exploration since 2011. The Anubis area hosts over ten gold exploration targets, including the Anubis discovery outcrop, where prospecting grab sample assays ranged from below detection to 139 g/t gold. Subsequent drilling beneath the discovery outcrop returned 8.51 m of 19.85 g/t gold (OS-12-001). The Anubis area displays many of the same structural controls and mineralizing characteristics as the Osiris area and is now considered ATAC's second district-scale Carlin-type gold target within the broader 50 km long Nadaleen Trend.
2014 exploration work in the Anubis area consisted of systematic prospecting, mapping, excavator trenching and overburden auger drilling. The goal was to evaluate the distribution of gold mineralization and pathfinder element anomalies within and adjacent to two major northwest-trending extensional faults. Excavator trenching and overburden drilling were specifically used to locate the bedrock source of subdued gold-in-soil response typically associated with Carlin-type mineralization in areas of shallow overburden. The 2014 program at the Anubis area resulted in the completion of 1,050 m of trenching, 50 overburden drill holes and the collection of 172 soil samples and 786 rock samples.
The 2014 program results have enabled ATAC to: (i) better define geochemical anomalies and track the geochemical response back to areas of bedrock alteration; (ii) trace known faults; and (iii) identify new intersecting structures that are the potential feeder systems for mineralizing fluids. Excavator trenching along the Anubis fault was particularly successful in identifying areas of complex faulting that are enveloped by zones of hydrothermal alteration. Trenching of host limestone and calcareous shale returned gold values from below detection up to 2.30 g/t gold over 5 m. The identification of these structures in relation to geochemical anomalies and characteristic Carlin-type alteration is a critical milestone for developing drill targets. Now that the hydrothermal footprint has been outlined, the next step will be targeted drilling to test the intersection of feeder fault systems with favourable host rock units, such as the Anubis area silty limestones.
Updated maps and figures of the Anubis area can be found on ATAC's website at www.atacresources.com.
QA/QC
Samples were forwarded to ALS Minerals in Whitehorse where they were fine crushed before a 250 gram split was pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Pulps were then analyzed at ALS Minerals in North Vancouver. Gold analyses were by the Au-AA26 procedure that involves fire assay preparation using a 50 gram charge with an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish while 49 other elements were determined by the ME-MS61m procedure that involves a four acid digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Samples that exceeded the detection limit of the routine methods are assayed for silver, lead and zinc by the Ag/Pb/Zn - OG62 method involving inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy.
Rigorous procedures are in place regarding sample collection, chain of custody and data entry. Certified assay standards, duplicate samples and blanks are routinely inserted into the sample stream to ensure integrity of the assay process. All of the samples included in this news release have passed the QA/QC procedures as described above.
The technical information in this news release has been approved by Julia Lane, P.Geo., the Rackla Gold Project manager and a geologist with Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Limited, and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About ATAC
ATAC is a Yukon-based exploration company focused on developing Canada's only Carlin-type gold district at its 100% owned Rackla Gold Project. Recent work on the 1,700 sq/km project has resulted in a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Tiger Deposit, drilling of multiple high-grade Carlin-type gold zones and the identification of numerous early-stage gold exploration targets. The Rackla Gold Project has no underlying royalties or third-party interests. ATAC is well financed with approximately $20 million in its treasury.
On behalf of Management and the Board of Directors of ATAC Resources Ltd.
Graham Downs, CEO