Sep 26 2015
SnipGold Corp. is pleased to announce the completion of the 2015 exploration program on its wholly-owned Iskut Property in Northern British Columbia.
The 2015 exploration program focussed on sampling, prospecting, and a 14.7 kilometre ground-based electro-magnetic geophysical survey (the "2015 EM Survey") in the McFadden area, one of the many prospective areas of the Property. The 2015 EM Survey was completed by Superior Exploration with data processing utilizing the VLF2D-MF software package developed by Fernando Santos and Shaun Parent. The geophysical interpretation and assay results are pending.
John Zbeetnoff, President and CEO, states, "We have focused our efforts on advancing the McFadden target to drill-ready status as we believe it provides the Company with the best opportunity to develop high-grade gold resources. Drill testing may start as early as the next field season."
"The Board of SnipGold is pleased with advances that have been made on the Property with the limited funds on hand," said Patrick Soares, Chairman of SnipGold. "The Board and management are significant shareholders of the Company and continue to fund the exploration of what they believe to be highly prospective tenures with the belief that the Property hosts high-grade gold resources and large gold-copper porphyry systems."
The McFadden area is highlighted by a linear trending boulder field where numerous samples have typically assayed in excess of 100 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au"). The source of these boulders is interpreted to be covered by a narrow channel of the Johnny Mountain Glacier.
Historical McFadden exploration in the 1980s and early 1990s included the delineation of a linear trend of high-grade gold-bearing boulders, trenching and 9 drill holes. This early trenching was not successful in penetrating through the till and glacial moraine and did not reach bedrock. The drill holes were typically oriented to test for mineralization parallel to the Johnny Mountain Mine trend. The majority of these holes did not reach bedrock and were abandoned in either glacial ice or till. No mineralization was intersected by the early drilling.
SnipGold resumed exploration of the McFadden area in 2013 and was successful in reproducing the +100 g/t Au assays from boulders. The high-grade samples typically display a very well-developed shear fabric in a strongly altered host rock which contains 25 to 90% pyrite. SnipGold's compilation efforts included a review of a 2006 airborne survey which highlighted two weakly conductive areas in the narrow channel of the Johnny Mountain glacier which is believed to cover the bedrock source of the high-grade boulders. One of the anomalies is closely associated with a magnetic low. The conductors are interpreted as possible gold-bearing pyritic structures and the magnetic low is believed to represent an area of magnetite destruction related to alteration associated with the mineralizing fluids.
Map 1 below shows the area of the 2015 EM Survey and the relative position of the two airborne conductors and the magnetic low. As seen in Map 1, the 2015 EM Survey was designed to better define one of the two airborne anomalies at McFadden as well as to test the Gold Rush and Victoria vein systems which are northeast extensions of the Johnny Mountain Mine. The 2015 EM Survey was completed within 40 metres ("m"), and to the northeast of, the historic Johnny Mountain Mine underground workings.
The area immediately northeast of the Johnny Mountain Mine hosts spectacular but narrow historic trench results up to 2,178.4 oz/t (74,689 g/t Au) over 0.1 m in trench Tr-R20. This area has undergone diamond drill testing with intercepts up to 1.10 oz/t Au over 20 feet (39.9 g/t Au over 5.64 m) in hole SK85-85. Historic follow-up drilling in the area was shallow, and the area is untested below 100m from surface. (These assay data are part of SnipGold's historic exploration records and have not been verified by SnipGold's Qualified Person).
The 2015 EM Survey tested the two dominant trends known to host the high-grade gold in the local area. The first trend is oriented at 120 degrees azimuth ("Az") and hosted the Snip Mine structures, and the second is at 060 Az and is coincident with the Johnny Mountain Mine trend. In addition, the 2015 EM Survey tested an area where these two trends are projected to intersect. The McFadden airborne conductors as well as the magnetic low highlighted in the 2006 airborne survey are coincident with the 120 Az trend.