Aug 11 2016
ATAC Resources Ltd. ("ATAC") announces exploration results from the Rau Trend located at the western end of its 100% owned Rackla Gold Project, Yukon.
Highlights
- Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drilling at the Airstrip anomaly intersects 13.71 m of 1.43 g/t gold in hole ASR-16-006;
- Soil sampling extends the Airstrip gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly to 11.5 km2; and,
- 10 out of 21 oxide composite float grab samples taken from an underexplored area immediately east of the Tiger Deposit return significant gold values over 1 g/t gold including: 18.30 g/t, 9.21 g/t, 8.34 g/t, 6.06 g/t, 5.21 g/t, 3.91 g/t, 1.70 g/t, 1.67 g/t, 1.24 g/t and 1.15 g/t.
Airstrip Anomaly
Follow-up prospecting, mapping and soil sampling at the Airstrip gold anomaly was recently completed. The initial evaluation program also included drilling seven shallow RAB holes on two priority Airstrip anomalies identified in 2015 and further delineated by geological mapping in 2016. Near-surface gold mineralization was encountered at both of these targets and was hosted in a favourable, variably calcareous siltstone unit. Rock outcrop is limited across the Airstrip anomaly and nine additional targets remain to be tested in the future. An updated Airstrip anomaly map can be viewed on the ATAC website at www.atacresources.com.
The first pass drill results are very encouraging at Airstrip and warrant further drilling. Recent mapping, prospecting and soil results are being interpreted in combination with the new drill information and will be used to define future drill targets. Highlights from the Airstrip RAB drilling are presented in the table below.
| Airstrip Highlight RAB Drill Results |
| |
RAB
Drill Hole |
|
From
(m) |
|
To
(m) |
|
Interval*
(m) |
|
Gold
(g/t) |
| ASR-16-004 |
|
53.34 |
|
59.44 |
|
6.10 |
|
1.04 |
| and |
|
67.06 |
|
68.58 |
|
1.52 |
|
0.73 |
| and |
|
70.10 |
|
71.63 |
|
1.53 |
|
1.11 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ASR-16-005 |
|
6.10 |
|
12.19 |
|
6.09 |
|
0.97 |
| incl. |
|
10.67 |
|
12.19 |
|
1.52 |
|
3.68 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ASR-16-006 |
|
10.67 |
|
13.72 |
|
3.05 |
|
3.75 |
| incl. |
|
10.67 |
|
12.19 |
|
1.52 |
|
6.00 |
| and |
|
51.82 |
|
65.53 |
|
13.71 |
|
1.43 |
| * RAB drill hole intersections are drilled thicknesses. True widths are unknown. |
The Airstrip gold anomaly was discovered in 2015 and is the largest gold-in-soil anomaly in the Rau Trend. The anomaly is located approximately 4 km southeast of the Tiger Gold Deposit and 3 km south of the Rackla Pluton, which is responsible for the development of gold mineralization at the Tiger Deposit. Soil sampling in 2016 increased the size of the Airstrip anomaly from 10 km2 to 11.5 km2 and it remains open to the north, south and west.
Tiger East Exploration
ATAC completed detailed prospecting at a previously underexplored gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly located 125 m from the southeastern limit of the proposed Tiger Deposit pit. Ten out of 21 oxide float composite grab samples, collected over a 150 m long area upslope of the east end of the Tiger Deposit, returned values greater than 1 g/t gold with the most notable sample returning 18.30 g/t.
The identification of a new area of high-grade, at-surface oxide gold mineralization is a significant exploration development for the Tiger area. Follow-up trenching and diamond drilling is warranted to determine if this mineralization could complement the current Tiger Deposit oxide mineral resource documented in the updated May 2016 Preliminary Economic Assessment (see ATAC news release dated May 31, 2016). Gold grades from the 21 oxide samples returned values from below detection to 18.30 g/t gold.
"The recently identified oxide mineralization is a major development as this new area has potential to add oxide gold ounces directly adjacent to the eastern end of the proposed Tiger Deposit open pit," states ATAC's President and CEO, Graham Downs. "This in addition to the fact that we were able to encounter gold in three of our very first scout holes drilled at the Airstrip anomaly is very significant and a testament to the extensive mineralizing system that exists within the Rau Trend."
RAB drilling is currently ongoing 90 km to the east of the Tiger Deposit at the Orion Carlin-type gold discovery within the Anubis Cluster of the Nadaleen Trend and results are pending.
QA/QC
Analytical work was completed by ALS Minerals, with sample preparation in Whitehorse, Yukon or Kamloops or North Vancouver, British Columbia and assays and geochemical analyses in Kamloops or North Vancouver, British Columbia. All rock samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay fusion and atomic absorption spectroscopy finish (Au-AA26) and 48 other elements by four acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ME-MS61). All soil samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay fusion and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry finish (Au-ICP21) and 51 other elements by aqua regia digestion and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry finish (ME-MS41).
RAB drilling is a very effective exploration tool, but does not provide the detailed level of geological and structural information compared with diamond drilling. Accordingly, RAB drilling is primarily used as an early to intermediate stage exploration tool and the results cannot be used for the purposes of NI 43-101 mineral resource estimates.
The technical information in this news release has been approved by Julia Lane, P.Geo., VP Exploration for ATAC and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.