Jul 20 2016
IDM Mining Ltd. ("IDM" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that surface mapping and sampling has identified a new, extensive zone of multiphase veining and shearing, hosting high-grade, intrusive-related, gold-silver-molybdenum mineralization at the Lost Valley area of the Company's Red Mountain Project (the "Property"). This new area of the Property was recently exposed by the retreating Cambria icefield.
"Melting alpine glaciers have revealed significant new discoveries in the Golden Triangle area of British Columbia during recent years, including Pretium's Valley of the Kings gold-silver deposit and Seabridge's Mitchell gold-molybdenum deposit," said Rob McLeod, President and CEO of IDM. "The new, high-grade gold, silver and molybdenum-bearing structures found over an extensive area at Red Mountain suggest that the Lost Valley area could be the latest discovery in this prolific region of the province. This area was under a glacier when I worked on the Property as a junior geologist in the 1990's and is now emerging as an exciting new zone of potential significance."
LOST VALLEY PROSPECT
The Lost Valley area is underlain by a monzonite pluton, ringed by hornfelsed sediments and intruding the sulphide-rich Hillside Porphyry. The intrusive is located approximately 4,000 meters southwest of the Marc/AV/JW Zones, and at 800 meters lower elevation. Multiple sets of veins have been identified and are being mapped and sampled as part of an ongoing surface exploration program. Assays have been received for a total of 66 grab, channel and float/subcrop samples to date from throughout the target area at Lost Valley. Assay values range from trace to 165 g/t Au, averaging 10.5 g/t Au, as well as trace to 1,065 g/t Ag, averaging 81 g/t Ag. A total of 22 samples assayed over 3.0 g/t Au, averaging 30.45 g/t Au. Individual assays include: 38 g/t Au and 1,048 g/t Ag, 41 g/t Au and 102 g/t Ag, 42g/t Au and 95 g/t Ag, 49 g/t Au and 280 g/t Ag, 53 g/t Au and 109 g/t Ag, 54 g/t Au and 207 g/t Ag, 56 g/t Au and 81 g/t Ag, 165 g/t Au and 371 g/t Ag. High grades of molybdenum have also been identified at Lost Valley, with all 66 samples ranging from trace to >1.0% Mo, averaging 0.17% Mo. Three samples assayed over 1.0% Mo, including 1.94, 2.05 and 3.45% Mo. The samples are also found to be strongly anomalous in Rhenium, assaying up to 1.65 g/t Re.
The high precious metals results sampled to date at Lost Valley, plus strong molybdenum values along with anomalous rhenium, copper and bismuth geochemistry, suggests an intrusive-related mineralizing system. To date, mineralization has been traced over a 1,200 by 1,000 meter area with over 300 meters of vertical relief on the valley walls.
Multiple phases of quartz veining have been identified within the monzonite intrusive and surrounding hornfels at Lost Valley, typically with abundant coarse-grained pyrite, and commonly found along with molybdenite and local chalcopyrite and sphalerite mineralization. This includes the highest grades samples encountered, which tend to occur in shallow-dipping quartz veins that average 10 to 30 cm in thickness and range up to one meter thick, often occurring along thrust faults. A second dominant set of steeply-dipping veins, typically averaging 3 to 10 cm wide, occur along north-south trends and within multiple identified phases, often within fault zones.
Exploration crews are currently completing follow-up structural and vein density mapping and sampling, including chip-channel and saw-channel sampling. The objective is to refine initial drill targets to be potentially tested later in the 2016 drilling season.
"These exciting new exploration results from Lost Valley highlight the excellent exploration potential at Red Mountain," said Mike McPhie, Executive Chairman of IDM. "Additional discoveries will augment the solid results of our recently updated Preliminary Economic Assessment and provide further evidence of the scope of opportunity at Red Mountain, as we advance engineering and permitting work towards a potential 2017 final investment decision."
IDM's management and board acknowledges the work by geologists David Pawliuk, Natalie King, Andy Randell, Marilyne Lacasse and Andrew Wilkins as well as students Christopher Smith and Mackenzie Baxter. Maps and annotated photos of the Lost Valley area can be found at www.idmmining.com.
Wide, steeply dipping quartz veins, such as the McAdam veins occur within the hornfels zone surrounding the monzonite. This undrilled prospect on the north side of Lost Valley hosts multiple en-echelon shears and quartz-pyrite-molybdenite veins, ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 meters in thickness. Located in steep terrain requiring rope-assisted sampling, 102 chip samples were previously collected by Lac Minerals in 1991. A total of 31 of these historic samples assayed over 1.0 g/t Au, averaging 18.7 g/t Au and 56.1 g/t Ag. Individual channel samples included: 0.2 meters averaging 103.8 g/t Au, 1.0 meter averaging 24.7 g/t Au and 0.6 meters averaging 57.1 g/t Au. Confirmation sampling of quartz-pyrite-molybdenite veins at McAdam as well as some samples from Lost Valley by IDM in 2014 returned assay values ranging from 1.5 g/t Au to 36.7g/t Au. The average of all 42 rock samples collected in the McAdam area was 2.8 g/t Au (see IDM Mining News Release August 12, 2014).
WATERFALL PROSPECT
Additional gold and silver mineralization associated with shear-zone hosted quartz veining within sedimentary rocks has been identified at the Waterfall Prospect, a new zone approximately 700 meters southwest of Lost Valley. In this area, 43 channel and grab samples were collected, ranging from trace to 13.0 g/t Au, averaging 0.65 g/t Au, and trace to 544 g/t Ag, averaging 21.7 g/t Ag. A total of 7 grab samples assayed over 1.0 g/t Au. This area may represent distal veins related to the pluton at Lost Valley.