Oct 3 2019
VR Resources Ltd., the "Company", or “VR”, is pleased to provide an update on recently completed surface exploration at its Amsel property, one of seven properties within its Big Ten epithermal gold project located in the Walker Lane mineral belt of west-central Nevada. Based on the results of the surface geochemistry program,
- The Company staked additional claims to double the size of the Amsel property so as to cover a gold-silver soil anomaly 1.8 x 2.2 kms in size within a silica-potassium alteration cap, and;
- Planning is now underway for IP geophysics over the large gold-silver geochemical anomaly now defined at Amsel, to test for sulfide minerals and assess first pass drill targets.
A surface grid of regolith soil sampling was completed in July. It totaled 123 samples on 8 lines in an orthogonal grid covering the 1.8 x 2.2 km potassium radiometric anomaly and silica alteration cap at Amsel (see Figures in previous news release dated July 2, 2019). An illustration of the key results includes:
Figure 1. Gold-silver geochemical anomaly 1.8 x 2.2 km in size. Gold in regolith soil is up to 0.25 g/t. Silver is anomalous over the same broad area of silica and potassium alteration, with values up to 2.19 g/t in the southwest part of the grid. The epithermal trace element indicators arsenic and antimony are also anomalous throughout the alteration cap, and are strongest in the northeastern part of the grid.
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Figure 2. A high temperature alteration signature including molybdenum, tungsten, rubidium and thallium is evident throughout the 1.8 x 2.2 km alteration cap at Amsel. The sheer size and strength of this high temperature alteration contrasts to the Danbo property located 3 kms to the southeast where alteration is restricted to the margins of the high-grade gold-silver quartz veins.
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Photo 1. View to the west of the hilltop of silica-potassium alteration at the Amsel property. The southern and eastern portions of the 1.8 x 2.2 km gold-silver soil anomaly are previously unexplored; historic workings and grid work evident on the top of the hill did not extend over the southern and eastern flanks of the hill, where the high temperature signature associated with the gold-silver soil anomaly is strongest.
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Photo 2. Grab sample photos of an epithermal quartz vein from the Danbo property, and an epithermal quartz vein breccia from the Amsel property, both with multi-phase disseminated sulfide and sulfosalt minerals, and both with recurring quartz precipitation as grain coatings and as drusy vug fillings.
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Spectral analyses of rock samples from each of the 123 grid stations are in progress. Results will provide a detailed alteration mineral map for the 2x2 km alteration cap and gold-silver soil anomaly at Amsel.
Gold occurs with silver in electrum and in fine-grained sulfide minerals in epithermal quartz veins sampled at the Amsel, Danbo and Clipper properties along the 20 km Big Ten gold trend (see Photo 2 below). As such, planning is now underway for an induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey this fall to test for a concentration of sulfide minerals within the hilltop of alteration at Amsel which is now shown to be anomalous in gold and silver over an area of approximately 1.8 x 2.2 kms.
VR’s CEO, Dr. Michael H. Gunning, reiterated that “Our conviction on the potential at Amsel is reflected in our expansion of the property first in spring 2019 based on the results of our airborne survey, and then again this September based on the new soil anomaly. The hill at Amsel is large, with silica alteration and quartz veins in rhyolite tuff spanning more than 1,000 feet of topographic relief, with a surface footprint defined by the 2 x 2 km gold-silver soil anomaly; the gold and silver grade of quartz veins on the Company’s Danbo property located 3 kms to the southeast speaks to the potential for gold-silver mineralization within and below the Amsel hill. The robust nature of the Amsel soil anomaly is clear, based on the correlation of gold and silver precious metals with epithermal trace element indicators such as Sb, and the higher temperature signature from elements such as Mo and W; we believe that the demonstrated size and strength of the soil anomaly and alteration system make the 18 Moz. Round Mountain deposit located in a similar volcanic setting to the northwest is a compelling analogue for Amsel. Modern exploration tools and current mineral deposit modeling will allow VR to refine and improve upon the historic exploration at Amsel, and ultimately identify and prioritize drill targets for the core of the epithermal gold-silver system. We look forward to providing further updates as our exploration continues towards first-pass drill testing.”
The reader is referred to Figures 3 and 4 of the previous news release dated July 2, 2019, for a long section of Big Ten gold trend, and a cross-section of the target alteration cap at the Amsel property. The Company’s website at www.vrr.ca provides a more complete overview of the Big Ten epithermal gold project, including locations and descriptions of the seven individual properties, select property-scale plan maps with gold-silver assays from surface grab samples, and field photographs of epithermal textures in sulfide-bearing quartz veins. This includes a bulleted description of the various airborne surveys and surface exploration programs completed by VR between 2016 – 2019.
About the Big Ten Project
The Big Ten project is located in Nye County in west-central Nevada. It is in the southern part of the Monitor Range, approximately 50 kilometres northeast of Tonopah. Cost effective exploration is afforded by road access to the property on Nevada State Highway 82, with actively used historic ranch and mine roads throughout and within the various properties along the trend.
There are currently seven properties along the 20 km length of the Big Ten mineral trend. They total 103 claims covering 2,105 acres. Each property is a single, contiguous claim block. The properties are owned 100% by VR, registered to the Company’s wholly-owned, Nevada-registered US subsidiary. There are no underlying annual lease payments on the property, nor are there any joint venture interests, carried interests or back-in rights on the various properties. There is a 3% net smelter returns royalty on certain claims in the Danbo property, and a 2% net smelter returns royalty on the Amsel property.
The land package is the result of reconnaissance surface exploration by VR throughout 2018, in addition to a high resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric survey, and airborne hyperspectral survey used to map alteration minerals. The integrated results of the various surveys define a structural corridor and mineral trend 20 kilometres long which transects the entire Big Ten volcanic caldera.
The Big Ten Tertiary volcanic caldera is located along the eastern margin of the Walker Lane mineral belt, host to numerous Cenozoic-aged gold and silver deposits in western Nevada. Big Ten is located immediately to the southeast of the Round Mountain (18 Moz gold) and Manhattan (800,000 oz gold) epithermal gold systems which occur in similarly aged rhyolite volcanic centers. The low-sulfidation character of the hydrothermal system at Big Ten is also comparable to that at Round Mountain.
Technical Information
Summary technical and geological information on the Company’s various properties is available at the Company’s website at www.vrr.ca.
VR submits all surface grab samples and/or drill core samples collected from Nevada-based exploration projects for geochemical analysis to the ALS Global (“ALS”) laboratory in Reno, Nevada. Sample preparation is completed in Reno. Analytical work is completed at the ALS laboratories located in Vancouver, BC., including ICP-MS analyses for base metals and trace elements, and gold determination by atomic absorption assay. Analytical results are subject to industry-standard and NI 43-101 compliant QAQC sample procedures at the laboratory, as described by ALS.
Technical information for this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101, and reviewed by Justin Daley, P.Geo., Principal Geologist at VR and a non-independent Qualified Person who oversees and/or participates in all aspects of the Company’s mineral exploration projects. The content of this news release has been reviewed on behalf of the Company by the CEO, Dr. Michael Gunning, P.Geo., a non-independent Qualified Person.