Aben Announces Ambitious Exploration Plans for Justin Gold Project in the Yukon and Forrest Kerr Gold Project in BC's Golden Triangle Region

 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ABN) (OTCQB: ABNAF) (Frankfurt: E2L2) (the “Aben or the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on the Company’s plans for the coming 2019 drill season at the 100% owned 7,400-hectare Justin Gold Project in the Yukon and the 23,000-hectare Forrest Kerr Gold Project in the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia. This year, the Company plans to extend its drilling season one month by initiating a 2000-meter drill program at the Justin Gold Project commencing in early June. This program will entail 1350 meters of diamond drilling and 600 meters of Rotary Air Blast drilling (“RAB”), along with prospect generating field work. This program should take 3-4 weeks to complete which will coincide with the commencement of the Forrest Kerr Project 2019 drill program at the end of June. The Forrest Kerr drill program is on track to complete a planned 5000 meters but has the ability to add to the size and scope of the program if results warrant. Aben is well funded and looks forward to the onset of exploration on both of these high-quality Canada-based gold projects.

JUSTIN PROJECT

Highlights for 2019

• 600 meters of RAB drilling (up to 20 holes) at the high grade orogenic Lost Ace Zone;
• 1350 meters of diamond drilling (up to 10 holes) to further test the intrusion related gold system discovered in 2010 at the POW Zone;
• Additional prospect generating field efforts;
• Test for the existence of a multi-phase hydrothermal system with the potential for overprinting mineralizing systems with the POW Zone.

Work completed on the Justin Gold Project in 2018 included the collection of 19 channel and 28 chip samples from 5 trenches, 16 rock samples, 7 till samples and 240 soil samples with coverage totaling 6.0 line-km. The 2018 field program focused primarily on the Lost Ace Zone, an orogenic-style quartz-gold bearing zone previously discovered in 2017. 

Coarse Gold Grains from Justin Project, Lost Ace Zone, Yukon:
https://www.abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4303/abn_justin_jn2018-1_coarse_gold_grains.jpg

2019 exploration at the Justin Gold Project will include drilling, prospecting, geologic mapping and surface sampling across the highly prospective property. The first phase is anticipated to begin in early June with mobilization of a track mounted Rotary Air Blast drill to the recently discovered Lost Ace Zone, where 2018 trenching returned values ranging from trace to 20.8 g/t gold over 4.4 meters including 88.2 g/t gold (Au) over 1.0 m. The Lost Ace Zone is located 2 kilometers west of the POW Zone, which was discovered in 2010. The RAB drill is a cost-effective tool to quickly evaluate the high-grade near surface gold-bearing mineralization present at Lost Ace, interpreted to be orogenic-style quartz-gold veins that bear a strong resemblance to and share a similar geologic setting with Golden Predator’s adjacent 3 Aces Property. Geologic evidence and observations at Lost Ace point toward the existence of a multi-phase hydrothermal system with the potential for overprinting mineralizing systems with the POW Zone

Justin Gold Project, Yukon location map:
https://www.abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4303/abn_justin_project_-_property_location_2017_small.jpg

Concurrent with the RAB drilling at Lost Ace, Aben will conduct diamond drilling at the POW Zone where drilling in 2011 and 2012 successfully discovered intrusion-related gold mineralization with intercepts reported ranging from trace values to highs of 1.19 g/t Au over 60.0 m (including 2.47 g/t Au over 21.0 m) and 1.49 g/t Au over 46.4 m. The POW Zone will be further evaluated as a potential host to bulk-tonnage gold mineralization and to test for the continuity of higher-grade skarn mineralization along strike. In addition to drill testing both of these exciting targets, several other high-priority exploration targets that have seen limited work but have yielded encouraging results will receive field evaluation and surface sampling.

Mike Burke, P. Geo., and former Chief Geologist with Golden Predator Mining Corp. states, “The orogenic style mineralization discovered at Lost Ace shares many characteristics with the orogenic veins discovered at the 3 Aces project. Exploration at 3 Aces has shown the regionally extensive stratigraphic contact in the middle Yusezyu Formation contains consistently highly anomalous gold values. The discovery of gold mineralization in the upper Yusezyu Formation at Lost Ace suggests newly discovered orogenic gold mineralization could occur over a significant stratigraphic extent between the upper and middle Yusezyu Formation on the Justin Property. In addition, the previously discovered intrusive related gold mineralization at the POW Zone would have intruded through the prospective stratigraphy which hosts the older orogenic mineralization in the district potentially enhancing grades in the intrusion related gold system.”

Additional Info on the Justin Project can be found on Aben’s web site:
https://www.abenresources.com/projects/gold-projects/justin-gold-project-yk/

FOREST KERR PROJECT

Highlights for 2019

• Early drilling will test the potential for a northward extension of the high-grade mineralized core at the North Boundary Zone;
• Early drilling will also test for the potential connectivity of the North Boundary Zone with the1991 high-grade Noranda hole approx. 200 meters to the south;
• Drilling will also further test the polymetalic occurance at the South Boundary Zone where broad intercepts of gold-silver-copper-zinc were incountered in 2018;
• Airborne mag survey to be conducted over entire Boundary Zone before drilling starts this year;
• New pad locations will allow Aben to further test with greater certainty and confidence locations that may have been drilled last year but were constrainded by the limited angles and pad locations and will be able to test many new targets based off the new geophysical survey as well as the existing geochemical survey with greater confidence.

2019 exploration at the Forrest Kerr Gold Project will comprise drilling, surface sampling and prospecting across the 23,000-hectare land package. Drill activities will begin at the Boundary Zone in late June, where over 12,000 meters of drilling were completed in 2017 & 2018. North Boundary has previously returned high-grade results such as 38.7 grams/tonne (g/t) (1.12 oz/t) gold over 10.0 m (from 114.0-124.0 m) including 331.0 g/t (9.65 oz/t) gold over 1.0 m in hole FK18-10. Drilling to date has shown that mineralization extends several meters outboard of the high-grade area within subordinate shear structures and vein arrays. Due to the availability of new pad locations specific areas of interest will be revisited. Initially drill testing will focus on the potential for a northward extension of the high-grade mineralized core at North Boundary originally defined by holes FK17-4, 5 and 6 and confirmed with holes FK18-10 & 11. Drill holes are also planned in an area immediately south of North Boundary to test for potential connectivity with historic high-grade gold discoveries such as 326.0 g/t Au reported in 1991 by Noranda in drill hole RG91-16 (located 200 m to the south of the North Boundary mineralized core).

Forrest Kerr Project, Golden Triangle, B.C., location map:
https://www.abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4287/fk-003.jpg

Drill activities will also target polymetallic mineralization at the South Boundary Zone where broad intercepts of gold-silver-copper-zinc values in quartz veins were discovered in holes FK18-19, 20 & 21. An airborne magnetic survey will be conducted in late May across the entire Boundary Zone, over an area that measures in excess of 2.0 km x 4.0 km. The magnetic geophysical data will help delineate important geologic structures that influence mineralization and thereby allow the technical team to focus on areas with greater discovery potential.

In addition to the exploration activities at the Boundary Zone, Aben anticipates that a high priority target identified in the Forrest Zone (located 13 km south of Boundary) will also be drill tested this summer. The area of interest at Forrest is defined by highly anomalous gold-in-soil and gold-in-rock values coincident with a strong geophysical conductive anomaly originally reported in 2013. With a new 5-year Multi-Year Area Based (MYAB) exploration permit in hand, which allows for 55 drill sites and helicopter pads, Aben Resources is excited for another productive season of mineral exploration at the Forrest Kerr Property.

Forrest Kerr Project Exploration Target map:
https://www.abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4299/abn_forrest_kerr_future_targets.png
Soil Sampling Map at Forrest Zone:
https://www.abenresources.com/site/assets/files/4299/abn-forrest-kerr-soil-2017_1024x0.jpg

Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., V.P. of Exploration for Aben Resources, has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Aben Resources:

Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing gold-focused projects in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Aben is a well-funded junior exploration company with approximately 111.7 million shares issued and outstanding.

For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ABN), visit our Company’s web site at www.abenresources.com.

ABEN RESOURCES LTD.

“Jim Pettit”
______________________
JAMES G. PETTIT
President & CEO

For further information contact myself or:
Don Myers
Aben Resources Ltd.
Director, Corporate Communications
Telephone: 604-639-3851
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: info@abenresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.