Conquest Resources Limited ("Conquest" or the "Company") is pleased announce that Detour Gold Corporation ("Detour Gold") has commenced a winter exploration program at Conquest's Sunday Lake property (the "Property"), which is currently under option to Detour Gold. The program comprises induced polarization ("IP") geophysics and 1,200 metres of exploration diamond drilling. The Property lies approximately seven (7) kilometres east of Detour Gold's open pit gold mine in northern Ontario, for which Detour Gold today announced the "Start of Production at Detour Lake" (see Detour Gold Press Release - February 11, 2013).
Drilling is anticipated to commence in mid-February. The exploration work program is estimated to cost $320,000 and is funded entirely by Detour Gold. Conquest does not anticipate contributing financially to this final earn-in program.
IP surveys completed by Detour Gold have defined a total of twenty-seven (27) exploration targets potentially prospective for gold mineralization in areas of high chargeability along interpreted structures located in, and adjacent to, the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone (SLDZ), which transects a significant portion of the seven-kilometre length of Conquest's Sunday Lake property.
Four of the twenty-seven target areas are the subject of a four-hole 1,200 metre winter drilling program planned by Detour Gold later this month following completion of a geophysical survey (refer to below).
IP GEOPHYSICAL TIE-ON SURVEY
Line cutting is in progress over the target area in the northern central portion of the Sunday Lake property. Insight Geophysics Inc. ("Insight") of Oakville, Ontario has been contracted by Detour Gold to carry out the geophysical survey which has been designed to tie-on to the existing 2011 IP survey completed by Detour Gold. The tie-on survey is expected to be completed by mid-February.
Insight will be conducting a high resolution, deep penetrating, IP and Direct Current ("DC") Resistivity survey on the Sunday Lake Property. It is anticipated that the results of this survey will provide geophysical information pertaining to the bedrock geology at depth where other surveys have been limited due to the extensive clay-bearing overburden cover that is present over the Sunday Lake property. Information from this survey will assist in prioritizing drill targets for the upcoming drill program.
ONGOING GEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
The remaining twenty-three (23) second- and third-order targets will be subject to further assessment by Conquest and Detour Gold at a later date based on Detour Gold's historical work compilation conducted on the Property and by Detour Gold's MMI soil geochemical program (2010), IP geophysical survey (2011), and 1,600-metre winter drilling program (2011).
During January, Detour Gold conducted a re-logging assessment of historical drill core from two exploration holes (SL-04-01 and SL-04-05) that were drilled during 2004 by Conquest. In 2004, the Company intersected 3.80 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold over 0.60 metres within mafic volcanics in hole SL-04-05 and 2.82 gpt gold over 0.30 metres in sericite altered diorite intrusive in hole SL-04-01. Re-logging by Detour Gold has confirmed the presence of quartz tourmaline veins hosted in diorite intrusive. Additional sampling of micro quartz-tourmaline veins from these previously drilled holes will be submitted for assay later this month.
ABOUT THE SUNDAY LAKE PROPERTY
Conquest and Detour Gold are exploring for structurally-hosted gold mineralization under a joint-venture agreement at Conquest's Sunday Lake property located along the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone.
During September 2010, Conquest entered into a joint venture with Detour Gold on Conquest's Sunday Lake Property, pursuant to which, Detour Gold has the right to earn a 50% interest in the Sunday Lake Property by completing $1,000,000 of exploration, as amended on June 15, 2012, prior to September 30, 2013.