Oct 11 2013
Redhawk Resources, Inc. ("Redhawk" or the "Company")(FRANKFURT:QF7) is pleased to provide information concerning an upcoming drill program and information on multiple exploration targets at the Copper Creek project.
The Redhawk geologic team recently updated an assessment of areas with potential to increase the tonnage and grade of the Copper Creek resource. The targets considered included infill targets within the current resources, direct extension to those resources, as well as stand-alone targets separate from the known resources representing potential separate new deposits within the Copper Creek property. Based on the assessment it was determined to focus on one of the district stand-alone targets which has the potential to provide the greatest incremental value to Redhawk and the Copper Creek project. The stand-alone targets chosen for the drill program commencing in November 2013 are the Prospect and Dark Canyon targets (see attached map). The "American Eagle area" refers to the known resource area of porphyry-style mineralization on the Copper Creek property.
The recently completed (June 2013) Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) demonstrates the potential viability of the current resource contained in the American Eagle ore body and provides a conservative non-optimized valuation model. The American Eagle deposit remains open in most directions and has a high probability of additional resource expansion. Redhawk has approximately 33 square miles (85.5 square kms) of contiguous property and therefore has control of the mining district containing this large system. A successful drilling program in either the Prospect and Dark Canyon target or the Deep American Eagle target will affirm Redhawk's geologic model. This affirmation combined with further drilling programs has the potential of increasing the available copper resource and size of the mining operation at Copper Creek. This potential increase in the size and scope of Copper Creek is of interest to third parties currently reviewing Copper Creek.
Joe Sandberg, President and CEO stated:" The existing mining plan as set out in our PEA is a large size underground operation. The potential to increase the scope of the operation by having an additional resource area other than the American Eagle deposit to provide feed to a mill is of interest to the Company and larger mining companies reviewing our project. The updated geologic model provides the Company with an indication this is a real possibility in the new northwest area we have chosen to explore. We will initially focus on the Prospect and Dark Canyon area and will follow up on the Deep American Eagle target in a future drill program. Either target has the potential for dramatically changing the value equation for this project."
PROSPECT AND DARK CANYON TARGET
Approximately three year ago it was realized that Copper Creek is an "early halo type" copper porphyry system and this has led to substantial advancements in the geologic model for the project. It was determined that at least two pulses of early halo veins are present, with one outcropping at surface. Surface mapping over the existing American Eagle resource has shown there exists a strong correlation between surface vein intensity and mineralization at depth. Redhawk has completed mapping of vein intensity and styles across the majority of the property, resulting in the outlining of two large populations of intense veining at the surface. One of these vein zones closely maps the "footprint" of the known American Eagle copper resource. The second is centered 6,500 feet (2 kilometers) to the northwest in an area with very sparse drilling known as Prospect and Dark Canyon. This intensely veined zone is clearly distinct from the American Eagle zone and has the potential of representing a separate hydrothermal "cell".
Geology of the area is dominantly volcanic rocks cut by numerous hydrothermal breccias and porphyry bodies. This area displays the strongest quartz-sericite alteration and pyritic mineralization on the Copper Creek property, suggesting a new copper ore zone. Extensive and strong surface anomalies in copper, molybdenum, gold, and tungsten, as well as downhole anomalies in arsenic, antimony, tungsten, lead and zinc support the underlying copper target. The Prospect and Dark Canyon area has received very limited drilling. Redhawk intends to commence an approximate 16,000 foot (4800 meter) drill program on this area in November 2013, funded by the recently announced private placement which is scheduled to close on October 15, 2013.
DEEP AMERICAN EAGLE TARGET
Analysis of three-dimensional multi-element geochemistry in the American Eagle deposit area by Redhawk in mid/late 2012 led to the recognition that elements such as arsenic, tellurium, bismuth, and tungsten that are normally found in the upper parts a porphyry copper systems (above the copper orebodies) are most strongly concentrated below the American Eagle copper ore zone. These patterns suggested to Redhawk geologists that another copper ore body likely lies undiscovered beyond the depth limits of current drilling.
In January 2013, a state-of-the-art geochemical model for a porphyry copper system was released by the Mineral Deposits Research Unit (MDRU) at the University of British Columbia in a professional short course. This model was recognized as providing the key to validating the conceptual deep target. As expected, the most important upper-level elements in the MDRU model are arsenic, bismuth, tellurium and tungsten. Three-dimensional mapping of these elements from drilling in the American Eagle area showed that most of these elements occupy two discrete zones, one above and one below the American Eagle copper deposit. The shallow zones are interpreted to be metal halos formed above the known copper deposit. The deeper zones are potentially related to an undiscovered copper deposit at still greater depth.
Confidence in the deep target was reinforced by observations that the elements of interest were zoned exactly in the sequence predicted by the MDRU model. These patterns suggest that the top of the deeper copper zone should lie approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below surface. The deeper bismuth, tellurium, and tungsten zones are all of higher grade than the corresponding shallow zones. This comparison leads to the potential that a deep copper zone could be higher grade than the existing American Eagle copper resource. A very analogous geologic situation is found at the Escondida district in northern Chile. There, anomalous near-surface geochemical, alteration and vein patterns led to deep drilling that successfully discovered a second, younger copper ore body 800 meters beneath the original deposit. The near-surface anomalies at Escondida are similar to those observed in the deeper parts of the American Eagle area. Testing of the Deep American Eagle target will conducted under a future drill program.
About Redhawk
Redhawk is a Canadian-based resource exploration and development company with primary focus on the accelerated development of its advanced stage Copper Creek copper-molybdenum project in San Manuel, Arizona. The 100% owned Copper Creek property consists of approximately thirty-three square miles of contiguous patented and unpatented mining claims and state prospecting permits, located about 70 miles northeast of Tucson, Arizona and about 15 miles east of San Manuel. The property is in the prolific southwest US porphyry copper belt at the projected intersection of a major northwest belt of porphyry copper deposits or mines (Ray, Miami/Globe, Superior/Resolution, Johnson Camp) and a major east-northeast belt of porphyry deposits (San Manuel/Kalamazoo, Silver Bell, Lakeshore, Safford, Morenci). The property is within sight of the former BHP Kalamazoo/San Manuel copper smelter and mine and within 30 miles of an existing operating copper mill and smelter. The area is a mining friendly and politically secure location with excellent and readily accessible infrastructure including power, rail, water, roads and qualified consultants.
A map of Redhawk Resources Copper Creek Property, Arizona, USA is available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Redhawk_1010.pdf
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
R. Joe Sandberg, President & CEO