Jun 27 2012
Strongbow Exploration Inc. is pleased to announce it has completed initial sonic drilling programs at the Midway and Ridgeway gold projects, South Carolina. This work included an initial test of the Lloyd zone at Ridgeway where hole SDH-RS12-02 returned 28.96 m grading 0.97 g/t Au, 8.4 g/t Ag, and 1,840 ppm Mo, including 4.57 m grading 3.3 g/t Au, 42.0 g/t Ag and 6,960 ppm Mo.
Ridgeway
A total of six holes tested three targets at the Ridgeway project. Two holes drilled 15 metres apart at the Lloyd zone encountered well developed hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization from top to bottom, with SDH-RS12-01 returning 28.04 m grading 0.44 g/t Au, 1.7 g/t Ag and 145 ppm Mo and SDH-RS12-02 returning 28.96 m grading 0.97 g/t Au, 8.4 g/t Ag, and 1,840 ppm Mo, including 4.57 m grading 3.3 g/t Au, 42.0 g/t Ag and 6,960 ppm Mo. This mineralized exhalative vent system is located three kilometres southeast of the North Pit at the Ridgeway mine. Based on current and historic exploration data, the Lloyd zone is estimated to dip moderately (45-50 degrees) to the north and has a minimum 300 metre east-west strike extent. Historic drilling tested the zone to only shallow depths, typically less that 100 m, and further drilling is required to fully test the depth extent of this prospect. Three of the remaining four Ridgeway sonic holes, testing two separate target areas, encountered hydrothermal alteration with associated, locally anomalous, gold and molybdenum values within mafic to felsic volcanic rocks. One of these targets represents a new discovery and is located 5 km east of the Ridgeway North Pit. SDH-RS12-06 returned values from background up to 157 ppb Au, and is situated within a 700 m by 400 m gold, molybdenum and arsenic soil geochemical anomaly, in an area where strongly sericite altered felsic volcanic rocks and siliceous exhalites have been mapped at surface. Both target areas require additional sonic drilling, as well as ground geophysical surveys to further define diamond drill targets.
Midway
At the Midway project, a total of seventeen sonic drill holes were completed within nine target areas. Local development of hydrothermal alteration was identified in four areas including weakly elevated gold values ranging from background up to 119 ppb. Six of the sonic drill holes were collared in close proximity to Romarco's Haile gold mine property and variably intersected volcanic or fine grained sedimentary rocks. Elevated gold with anomalous molybdenum, spatially associated with the contact between the volcanic and sedimentary rocks, highlights the exploration potential of this area which is 2,000 metres along strike to the northeast from the Haile gold mine deposits. Results indicate that further sonic drilling is required to help map the location of this important volcanic-sediment contact in the Midway area and better position future diamond drill holes.
All sonic holes were drilled vertically and ranged in depth from 6.71 m to 32.61 m. Sonic drilling allows for complete recovery of sand and saprolite overburden, as well as underlying bedrock, and drilling was typically terminated once sufficiently competent rock had been encountered to allow for identification of bedrock type and any accompanying alteration or mineralization. Sonic drilling is intended to better define the complex geology beneath overburden within each target area and is not considered a definitive test of each exploration target.
About the Midway and Ridgeway Projects
The Midway project is located within the prospective, 16 kilometre (10 mile) Haile-Brewer gold trend in South Carolina. All of the Midway properties are located adjacent to either the past producing Brewer gold mine or properties owned by Romarco Minerals Inc. (R-TSX) including the Haile gold mine and Buzzard properties. Current measured and indicated resources reported by Romarco for the Haile gold mine consist of 4.0 million ounces gold with additional inferred resources of 0.8 million ounces gold. Gold mineralization at the Haile and Brewer mines, as well as at the nearby Buzzard prospect, is hosted within volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Carolina slate belt (CSB).
The Ridgeway project covers a prospective area of the CSB located along strike to the east of Rio Tinto's past producing Ridgeway gold mine. The Ridgeway mine is also located within the CSB and produced approximately 1.5 million ounces of gold between 1988 and 1998.
Strongbow's exploration programs are conducted under the supervision of David Gale, P.Geo. (BC), Vice-President of Exploration for Strongbow and a qualified person under NI 43-101.
STRONGBOW EXPLORATION INC.
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