Goldstrike and Newmont finalize planned drill program at Plateau property in Yukon
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goldstrike Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:GSR) (Frankfurt:KCG1) (OTC PINK:APRAF) is pleased to provide details of the 2018 exploration plans for its 662 km2 Plateau Property in Canada’s Yukon territory.
The 2018 program will be fully funded by Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) through its Canadian mining division. The program, agreed at the April 24, 2018 JV meeting between Goldstrike and Newmont, will include up to 10,000 meters of diamond drilling focused on multiple high quality targets identified in 2017 utilizing Newmont’s proprietary technologies. Based on the 2017 data, follow-up exploration is also planned for areas that indicate significant exploration potential on both newly staked claims and extensive areas of the original property that remain under-explored. The 2018 diamond drill program is anticipated to be the largest to date, and is expected to exceed all historical drilling meters combined. Details of the strategic alliance between Goldstrike and Newmont can be found in the Company’s March 6, 2017 news release.
Diamond drilling will take place on up to nine target zones along the 70 km long, district-scale property. Primary targets include Goldstack, Gold Dome, Gold Rush, Big Bang and Devils Gate. See new Plateau Showings map under “WHAT’S NEW” on Goldstrike’s website.
Goldstack:
Previous drill results at Goldstack include 13.25 g/t Au over 17.5 metres (September 9, 2015 news release). Over 3,600 metres have been drilled in the zone since 2012. Drilling in 2018 will focus on extending the mineralization that remains open along strike to the west and down dip.
Gold Dome:
Previous drill results at Gold Dome include 7.60 g/t Au over 9.03m (September 9, 2013 news release). Over 1,200 metres have been drilled at the zone since 2013. Drilling in 2018 will have two objectives:
- extending known mineralization discovered in previous drill programs that remains open; and
- exploring a previously untested area approximately 500 metres to the south, characterized by anomalous gold and arsenic soil geochemistry.
Gold Rush (Plateau North):
The Gold Rush area was the primary focus of exploration in 2012. Since then, discoveries made on Plateau South shifted the company’s focus away from this area. The 2017 program marked the first time since 2012 the Plateau North was drilled. Extensive soil sampling was completed in the area, extending previously known anomalies and defining new ones. Of the approximately 1,400 soil samples collected in and around the Goldrush area, 22 samples contained greater than one gram of gold per tonne. One highly anomalous soil sample contained 26 grams of gold per tonne. A two kilometre long trend has been tightly defined by soil samples with anomalous gold, arsenic and antimony. Reconnaissance soil sampling in the area indicated other, loosely defined trends. Rock grab samples have assayed up to nine grams of gold per tonne. The 2017 airborne EM and LiDAR surveys also defined multiple structures along the Gold Rush trend. Diamond drilling in 2018 will focus on drilling these geochemical and geophysical anomalies within the Gold Rush trend.
Other potential 2018 drill targets include:
- Big Bang East
- Goldbank area
- Devil’s Gate area (Plateau North)
- Gold Rush West
- Bonanza North
- Goldback (south of Goldstack)
- Goldstrike will continue with update news releases as the Plateau program commences.
White Gold Properties
Thanks to the strategic partnership with Newmont, Goldstrike now has the ability to proceed to unlock value from its 100 percent owned properties located in the White Gold District. Exploration plans in 2018 for those properties include drilling the Lucky Strike Property, which is located in the heart of the White Gold District. Highlights from the discovery hole on Lucky Strike include 5.36 g/t Au over 22.0m (see November 20, 2017 news release). More details on the 100 percent owned White Gold assets and the upcoming, fully funded 2018 advanced exploration and drill programs are planned to be released in the near future. Please refer the accompanying Yukon map for the locations of Goldstrike’s five White Gold properties.
Stefan Kruse, Ph.D., P. Geo., Chief Geologist, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, for Goldstrike's Yukon exploration projects and had supervised the preparation of, and has reviewed and approved, the technical information in this release.
OTHER
Sample analysis and assaying for all of Goldstrike's projects has been conducted by Bureau Veritas in Vancouver, BC, which is ISO 9001 accredited. Soil samples are dried at 60C and 100 grams are sieved to -80 mesh. A 15 gram sample split is then leached in aqua regia at 95 degrees C and analyzed by a 36-element ICP package that includes semi-quantitative gold. Rock and drill core samples are crushed to 80% - 10 mesh and a 500 gram sample split is pulverized to 85% -200 mesh. 50 gram charges are then assayed for gold using fire assay fusion and ICP-ES finish with a lower detection limit of 2 ppb and an upper detection limit of 10 ppm Au. In addition, 0.5 mg charges are digested by modified 1:1:1 aqua regia (HCl-HNO3-H20) and analyzed by 36-element ICP-MS that also includes semi-quantitative gold with a lower detection limit of 0.5 ppb Au and an upper detection limit of 100 ppm Au. Selected samples are subjected to 500 gram metallic fire assays, for which the plus fraction is finished gravimetrically and the minus fraction is finished with AA. Rigorous procedures are in place regarding sample collection, chain of custody, and data entry. Certified assay standards, duplicate samples and blanks are routinely inserted into the sample stream to ensure integrity of the assay process. The reader is cautioned that grab samples are spot samples which are typically, but not exclusively, constrained to mineralization. Grab samples are selective in nature and collected to determine the presence or absence of mineralization and are not intended to be representative of the material sampled.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Terrence E. King
President and Chief Executive Officer
For new maps and information from the Company’s programs, please visit Goldstrike’s website at GoldstrikeResources.com. For further information follow the Goldstrike’s tweets at Twitter.com/GoldstrikeRes or contact Jeff Stuart of King James Capital Corporation, handling Investor Relations for the Goldstrike, by telephone at (604) 210-2150 or by email at jstuart@kingjamescapital.com.
Neither the 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.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or financial performance that is based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action; expectations regarding future exploration and drilling programs and receipt of related permitting; and the plans for completion of the contemplated transactions with Newmont as set out above. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipates", "expects", "understanding", "has agreed to" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "would", "occur" or "be achieved". Although Goldstrike has attempted to identify important factors that could affect Goldstrike and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, if any, Goldstrike has applied several material assumptions, including the assumption that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required by law, Goldstrike does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.