Aton Reports Updated Results of Surface Channel Sampling at Rodruin, Including Mineralised Intersections of 62.6m @ 2.34 g/t Gold, and 64.9m @ 2.29 g/t Gold

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX-V) (“Aton” or the “Company") is very pleased to provide investors with an update on the ongoing drilling and channel sampling programmes at the Rodruin prospect at the Company’s 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (“Abu Marawat” or the “Concession”), located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Schematic geological plan of the Aladdin’s Hill area, showing the location of drill access roads, drill pads and channel sample profiles Outcrop of the South Ridge Thrust fault in channel profile ROC-003, terminating the mineralisation located in the footwall block (note: sample 19712 is the final mineralised sample in ROC-003, grading 8.70 g/t Au) Abu Marawat regional geology, showing the location of the Rodruin prospect

Highlights:

• Channel sampling of drill access road cuttings is continuing, including sampling of extensions to sample profiles ROC-002, ROC-003, ROC-005, and ROC-008 in the Aladdin’s Hill area (see news release dated August 7, 2018);
   
• Sampling of the profile extensions has returned updated mineralised intersections including 62.6m @ 2.34 g/t Au and 1.49% Zn (profile ROC-003), and 64.9m @ 2.29 g/t Au (profile ROC-005);
   
• Other mineralised intersections include 48.6m @ 2.12 g/t Au and 0.91% Zn (profile ROC-002), and 36.0m @ 2.09 g/t Au (profile ROC-008);
   
• Reverse circulation percussion (“RC”) drilling is underway at Rodruin, with the first 7 holes (ROP-001 to ROP-007) having all intersected mineralisation associated with gossanous carbonates and/or slates, and ancient underground mine workings. Three batches of samples have been dispatched from site for analysis at ALS Minerals in Romania, with the first results expected before the end of September 2018.             

“These latest results from our current surface prospecting and mapping programme at Rodruin will assist us in understanding the complexity of the mineralised zones and will increase our knowledge of potentially new mineralised structures. These results are very encouraging and demonstrate the potential of our Rodruin prospect, while these long mineralised intersections provide validation and support for this potential. They will also assist in shaping our initial 4,000 to 6,000 metre drilling program at Rodruin.” said Mark Campbell, President and CEO. “But to me, one of the most important discoveries we have already made in the drilling programme is the extent of the maze of ancient workings at Aladdin’s Hill, some of which go down 40 or 50 metres. The hill appears to be honeycombed by them, which indicates that the ancient miners, working by hand, would have been chasing something pretty special to go to all the toil and trouble to mine it.”

Channel sampling at Rodruin
The surface channel sampling programme is still ongoing at Rodruin, testing mineralisation exposed in drill access road cuttings, but has been largely suspended now that the RC drilling has started. To date 17 channel profiles have been sampled (ROC-002 to ROC-018), including 2 profiles close to the Spiral Pit underground workings (ROC-017 and ROC-018). The first 8 profiles ROC-002 to ROC-009 (see Figure 1) in the Aladdin’s Hill area were all mineralised with gold and zinc (see news releases dated August 7, 2018 and August 23, 2018), returning significant intersections including 25.5m @ 4.74 g/t Au (profile ROC-004), and 39m @ 3.62 g/t Au and 5.44% Zn (profile ROC-009). Good mineralisation has also been returned from channel sample profile ROC-011 in the Central Valley, 400m to the east of Aladdin’s Hill (see news release dated September 4, 2018). Aton will continue to release further results when they become available.

Figure 1: Schematic geological plan of the Aladdin’s Hill area, showing the location of drill access roads, drill pads and channel sample profiles is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a567512e-bf39-4fff-a8a5-a91eb52ce3e2 

Samples from the channel sampling programme were crushed to -4mm at the Company’s onsite sample preparation facility at Hamama, with c. 500g splits shipped to ALS Minerals at Rosia Montana, Romania for analysis. Samples were analysed for gold by fire assay using analytical code Au-AA23; and silver, copper, lead and zinc with an aqua regia digest followed by an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish (analytical code AA45). High grade gold samples (>10 g/t Au) were re-analysed using analytical code Au-AA25; and high grade Ag and base metal samples (Ag >100 g/t, and Cu, Pb, and Zn >10,000ppm or >1%) were routinely re-analysed using the ore grade technique AA46. For full details of sampling procedures please refer to the news release dated August 7, 2018.

Assays from channel sample profiles ROC-014 to ROC-016 are now available, as well as from the extended profiles ROC-002, ROC-003, ROC-005 and ROC-008. Sampling of the latter 4 profiles was extended following more detailed inspection, due to the expectation of them intersecting additional previously unsampled mineralisation. Details of the mineralised intersections from these profiles are provided below in Table 1.

The extended profiles ROC-002, ROC-003, ROC-005 and ROC-008 in the Aladdin’s Hill area all returned very significantly expanded Au-Zn mineralised intersections, with the mineralised lengths being doubled in each profile, and the gold grades also being increased (see Table 1). Intersections included 62.6m @ 2.34 g/t Au and 1.49% Zn (profile ROC-003), and 64.9m @ 2.29 g/t Au (profile ROC-005). Mineralisation was predominantly sampled in altered, weathered and sometimes gossanous slates, and less frequently in gossanous carbonate rock types. These results, along with the 5m x 5m grid of rock chip samples over the main area of ancient workings (see news release dated September 4, 2018) confirm the presence of extensive Au-Zn mineralisation outcropping at surface in the immediate Aladdin’s Hill area (see Figure 1).

Channel sample profile ROC-014 (see Figure 1) sampled white carbonates in the hangingwall block of the South Ridge Thrust (see below for further discussion), and apparently unmineralised green slates in the footwall, returning a short mineralised intersection of 3.8m @ 1.12 g/t Au, over the actual thrust fault itself. Channel sample profile ROC-015 sampled cemented scree and talus on the northern flank of the South Ridge, and returned sub-grade values, and ROC-016 tested a sheared contact between carbonates and slates on the North Ridge, but was barren and unmineralised. 

Table 1: Mineralised intersections from channel sample profiles ROC-002, ROC-003, ROC-005, ROC-008, and ROC-014 to ROC-016

Discussion
Profile ROC-003 was sampled over the outcrop of the South Ridge Thrust (see Figure 2), a significant shallowly north-dipping and undulating structure, which has been mapped as dipping roughly parallel to the northern flank of the South Ridge. The mineralisation at Aladdin’s Hill is located in the footwall block of this thrust, and the mineralisation intersected in profile ROC-003 terminates against the outcrop of the thrust, and does not penetrate into the hangingwall block. This is quite significant in that it is possible that the mineralisation intersected in profile ROC-003 continues further to the northwest, but becomes blind and obscured under the outcropping hangingwall block above the South Ridge Thrust. By implication the Aladdin’s Hill mineralisation, located in the footwall block of the thrust, could therefore persist further north, subcropping under the outcrop of the hangingwall block (see Figure 1).

The short profiles ROC-014 to ROC-016 were all largely sub-grade or barren, although there was a narrow intersection associated with the immediate outcrop of the South Ridge Thrust in profile ROC-014. Profile ROC-015 did not test outcrop or subcrop, and there was no mineralisation in the sheared, but barren contact between carbonates and slates tested by ROC-016 on the North Ridge.

The results from the extended profiles ROC-002, ROC-003, ROC-005 and ROC-008 are very encouraging in that they have confirmed a wider areal extent of the mineralisation at Aladdin’s Hill, much of which is located within fairly nondescript weathered slates, which do not display obvious signs of mineralisation. The Company is continuing to develop drill access roads in the area, and is confident of further expanding the footprint of the surface mineralisation in the immediate Aladdin’s Hill area. Aton is also encouraged by the fact that outcropping mineralisation terminates against cemented talus and scree cover in profile ROC-009 (see news release dated August 23, 2018), and also under the South Ridge Thrust in profile ROC-003, which continues to suggest that the subcropping extent of the near-surface mineralisation around Aladdin’s Hill is potentially significantly larger than that identified from the earlier surface sampling (see Figure 3 in news release dated April 16, 2018).

Figure 2: Outcrop of the South Ridge Thrust fault in channel profile ROC-003, terminating the mineralisation located in the footwall block (note: sample 19712 is the final mineralised sample in ROC-003, grading 8.70 g/t Au) is available at  http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a088a36-4c54-449c-b165-cdb7d4153f44 

RC drilling programme
The Phase 1 RC drilling programme is now underway at Rodruin, and to date 7 drill holes, ROP-007 to ROP-007, have been completed. All holes have intersected mineralisation, associated with gossanous carbonate rocks, and altered slates. Significantly all holes completed to date have also intersected ancient underground workings at depths of up to 40m below ground level. Aton consider this to be very important and strong evidence that the ancient miners were mining high grade mineralisation to considerable depths, over a wider area than has up to now been appreciated.  The ostensibly quite small workings and scratchings seen at surface, albeit distributed over a wide area away from the main zone of workings at Aladdin’s Hill, did not suggest the amount of underground workings intersected to date in the RC drilling. Deep weathering is also suggestive of preferential weathering down mineralised and sulphide-rich zones. Samples from the first 3 holes ROP-001 to ROP-003 have been dispatched from site, and the first results are expected by the end of September.

Rodruin
The Rodruin prospect was discovered in December 2017 by Aton geologists (see news release dated December 14, 2017), and is located approximately 18km east of the Company’s Hamama West mineral deposit (see Figure 3). Field mapping and sampling has indicated the presence of ancient mine workings and extensive gold mineralisation over an area of at least 700m x 400m at surface. Abundant visible gold has been and continues to be identified in hand specimens from surface outcrops, and ancient dumps and underground workings, with individual selective grab samples assaying up to 321 g/t Au. The main series of extensive ancient underground workings in the Aladdin’s Hill area has also been sampled to a depth of approximately 40m below ground level, indicating continuation of the surface mineralisation at depth (see news releases dated February 6, 2018, March 5, 2018 and April 16, 2018).

Construction of drill access roads and pads is continuing at Aladdin’s Hill to support the current Phase 1 RC drilling programme, as well as construction of further drill access roads to access other mineralised zones at Rodruin. The Phase 1 RC programme is planned to consist of approximately 4,000 to 6,000 metres of RC drilling, and will initially test the main zone of ancient workings and mapped mineralisation in the Aladdin’s Hill area, and is expected to take about 6 weeks to complete. Samples from the first 3 drill holes, ROP-001 to ROP-003 have already been dispatched from site, and the first assay results are expected before the end of September 2018.

Figure 3: Abu Marawat regional geology, showing the location of the Rodruin prospect is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3a728025-9a01-4374-9790-b981b62a5eee 

About Aton Resources Inc.
Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX-V) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (“Abu Marawat”), located in Egypt’s Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200km north of Centamin’s Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified a 40km long gold mineralised trend at Abu Marawat, anchored by the Hamama deposit in the west and the Abu Marawat deposit in the east, containing numerous gold exploration targets, including three historic British mines. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of RIRG and orogenic gold mineralisation, VMS precious and base metal mineralisation, and epithermal-IOCG precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is over 738km² in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity.

Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduña BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), FGS, Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduña is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

Mark Campbell
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +202-27356548
Email:mcampbell@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

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