Dec 15 2016
TerraX Minerals Inc. is pleased to announce grab samples up to 72.6 g/t Au from the balance of surface sampling results from the Main and Hanging Wall mineralized structures on the Sam Otto target area. These two sub-parallel north-south striking zones are immediately to the east of the previously reported Dave's Pond structure which contained samples as high as 66.7 g/t Au (news release December 1, 2016). These three structures form part of one large and highly prospective gold bearing system in the Sam Otto area, with multiple shear hosted mineralized zones extending 1-2 kilometers in strike length and 500 meters across strike.
The Sam Otto sampling has extended the Main Zone north and south from the drilling completed in the winter 2016 program that included 49.70 m @ 1.00 g/t Au and 30.70 m @ 1.33 g/t Au (news release April 13, 2016), and it has defined new mineralization on the Hanging Wall zone 50 meters to the east. Surface mineralization has now been identified on these zones for 1.5 km of strike length with grab samples up to 72.6 g/t Au returned during sampling this past summer at the Yellowknife City Gold project ("YCG"). A map of the sampling at Sam Otto is available on our web site under "Sam Otto 2016 Field Exploration" under the "Northbelt" project section.
Joe Campbell, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TerraX, states, "This surface sampling at Sam Otto, coupled with the previously reported results from the Dave's Pond structure, reinforces our belief that the area is one large mineralized system capable of containing significant gold deposits. We are very much looking forward to the pending results of our 2016 summer drill program at Sam Otto." Mr. Campbell further stated, "Sam Otto is one of several targets we are exploring on our 129 sq km property. We believe our Yellowknife City Gold project has the potential for multiple high grade discoveries in a world renowned gold district with excellent access to infrastructure."
The field work at Sam Otto included a total of 224 samples over 2 kilometers of strike length on the Hanging Wall and Main zones. The Main Zone is a recognized mineralized structure with previous trenching from the 1930's. Preliminary drilling by TerraX in 2016 defined a north-south striking trend in the south east corner of the Sam Otto area. The parallel Hanging Wall Zone lies 50-100 meters to the east of the Main Zone and was underexplored until the 2016 surface sampling and mapping. It is now recognized to have similar styles of mineralization and the same potential size as the Main Zone, with both structures having potential for higher grade zones.
The three Sam Otto mineralized structures (Main, Hanging Wall and Dave's Pond) are visible in geophysical and LiDAR surveys along more than 2 kilometers of strike length and each mineralized shear extends across 50-100 meters in width. The most pronounced structures occur in low areas with no outcrop, but sufficient rock exposure was sampled to determine the high gold potential. Within this area, 54 grab samples returned values greater than 0.50 g/t Au, with 40 samples greater than 1.00 g/t Au, of which 12 samples were between 3.00 and 10.00 g/t Au, with two high value of 39.4 and 72.6 g/t Au, as indicated on the Sam Otto sampling map referenced above and available on our web site.
The best mineralized areas discovered to date occur as sericitic-chlorite shear zones with quartz veins and sulphide mineralization. Of particular interest is a 700 meter strike length along both the Main Zone and the Hanging Wall Zone that contains 120 samples, 45 of which returned values greater than 0.50 g/t Au with 35 samples greater than 3.00 g/t Au. This area will be a priority target for the winter drill program scheduled to start in January 2017.
Drilling was carried out on the Main Zone and Hanging Wall Zone in October of this year prior to receiving these assay results from the summer-fall 2016 field program. The Main Zone drilling consisted of two holes (TS16-010, TSO16-13) targeted at extending the strike north and the depth of the zone discovered in winter 2016 by drilling 49.70 m @ 1.00 g/t Au and 30.70 m @ 1.33 g/t Au (news release April 13, 2016). TerraX's first drilling program on the Hanging Wall Zone consisted of four holes (TS16-006, TSO16-07, TSO16-08 and TSO16-09) and tested 100 meters of strike length and 100 meters of dip length on the zone. These drill locations, as well as the drill locations from Dave's Pond, are indicated on the Sam Otto sampling map referenced above. Drill results are pending.
Sampling included insertion of certified standards and blanks into the stream of samples for chemical analysis. Samples were prepared at ALS Chemex's laboratory in Yellowknife and shipped to their Vancouver facility for gold analysis by fire assay and other elements by ICP analysis. ALS is a certified and accredited laboratory service. It should be noted that, due to their selective nature, assay results from grab samples may not be indicative of the overall grade and extent of mineralization on the subject area. The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Joseph Campbell, the Chief Executive Officer of TerraX, who is a Qualified Person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects."
About the Yellowknife City Gold Project
Yellowknife City Gold ("YCG") encompasses 129 sq km of contiguous land immediately north and south of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, TerraX now controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 15 km of the City of Yellowknife, the YCG is close to vital infrastructure, including transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power and skilled tradespeople.
The YCG lies on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering 23 km of strike length on the southern and northern extensions of the shear system that hosted the high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The project area contains multiple shears that are the recognized hosts for gold deposits in the Yellowknife gold district, with innumerable gold showings and recent high grade drill results that serve to indicate the project's potential as a world-class gold district.