ATAC Summarizes its Highly Successful 2012 Exploration Program - News Release
posted on
Nov 22, 2012 01:14AM
100% owned >1,600sq/km YUKON property
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Nov. 21, 2012) - ATAC Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:ATC) is pleased to provide a summary of its highly successful 2012 exploration program throughout its 100% owned 1,700 sq/km Rackla Gold Project in central Yukon and to report significant additional results from the 2012 Conrad Zone diamond drill program.
2012 exploration summary and highlights:
Confirmation of the excellent grade, continuity and open-ended potential at the Conrad and Isis East Zones and new discoveries at the Anubis, Pharaoh and Sunrise Zones were key milestones for ATAC in 2012. All clearly demonstrate the potential of the only true Carlin-type gold occurrences in Canada. The high 2012 discovery rate, achieved through comprehensive property-wide geochemical sampling and prospecting, confirms the district scale potential of the Rackla Gold Project.
After only two seasons at the Nadaleen Trend, ATAC has greatly exceeded its exploration expectations. The discovery of the Anubis and Pharaoh Zones and the numerous untested anomalies and showings outside the core Osiris/Conrad area represent additional untested discovery potential for the 2013 exploration season.
Conrad Zone
The Conrad Zone is one of five significant drill-tested zones of Carlin-type gold mineralization located within a 3 by 4 km area at the eastern end of the 40 km long Nadaleen Trend. The other zones within the cluster include the Osiris, Isis, Isis East Zones and the newly discovered Sunrise Zone. The objectives of the 2012 drill program included, as a priority, better definition of the Conrad Zone beyond what was afforded by results of wide-spaced drilling in 2011. 2012 diamond drilling has extended the mineralized strike length beneath cover rock at either end of the 475 m long zone of near-surface mineralization in the core of the deposit, which occurs in the crest of an anticline fold.
Drilling has outlined at or near-surface mineralization along this 200 m wide corridor with consistently greater thickness and higher gold grades than encountered in previous widely spaced holes that had largely tested the anticline limbs.
Wide spaced drilling at either end of the core zone has increased the total strike length of gold mineralization to 800 m with intersections from Section C100E to C900E. The drill holes targeting the strike extensions are too widely spaced and did not reach the core zone at depth. However, the tenor of gold mineralization from drill intersections in the overlying pyritic siltstone cap rock is very encouraging. For example, hole OS-12-187 intersected 45.72 m of 2.54 g/t gold on section line C800E.
Updated Conrad Zone figures and project maps can be viewed on the Company's website at www.atacresources.com. Significant results from the remaining 2012 Conrad Zone drill holes are tabulated below.
Drill Hole | Cross Section | From (m) | To (m) | Interval (m) | Gold (g/t) | ||
OS-12-155 | C500E | 264.00 | 275.38 | 11.38 | 1.79 | ||
and | 437.32 | 444.69 | 7.37 | 4.35 | |||
OS-12-159 | C700E | 96.01 | 121.92 | 25.91 | 3.76 | ||
incl. | 96.01 | 105.16 | 9.15 | 7.83 | |||
and | 179.83 | 182.88 | 3.05 | 17.25 | |||
OS-12-178 | C450E | 41.28 | 68.23 | 26.95 | 8.79 | ||
incl. | 53.19 | 68.23 | 15.04 | 14.90 | |||
and | 81.30 | 105.00 | 23.70 | 3.62 | |||
OS-12-180 | C700E | 20.42 | 26.52 | 6.10 | 4.12 | ||
OS-12-182 | C450E | 279.81 | 301.14 | 21.33 | 6.02 | ||
incl. | 282.85 | 295.05 | 12.20 | 8.66 | |||
and | 328.57 | 343.81 | 15.24 | 4.45 | |||
and | 352.96 | 366.00 | 13.04 | 1.87 | |||
and | 423.48 | 425.96 | 2.48 | 13.90 | |||
OS-12-184 | C750E | 146.91 | 198.73 | 51.82 | 4.05 | ||
incl. | 169.10 | 177.39 | 8.29 | 14.12 | |||
OS-12-187 | C800E | 145.39 | 154.00 | 8.61 | 3.45 | ||
and | 160.63 | 206.35 | 45.72 | 2.54 | |||
and | 309.98 | 319.93 | 9.95 | 17.09 | |||
OS-12-190 | C200E | 326.14 | 332.23 | 6.09 | 4.79 | ||
and | 344.42 | 365.76 | 21.34 | 1.50 | |||
OS-12-193 | C850E | 125.72 | 137.46 | 11.74 | 1.01 | ||
OS-12-195 | C100E | 143.06 | 161.54 | 18.48 | 1.19 | ||
and | 271.27 | 280.42 | 9.15 | 2.00 | |||
OS-12-196 | C900E | 129.54 | 153.92 | 24.38 | 1.20 |
* Holes OS-12-185, 186, 188, 191, 192, 194 and 197 were step out holes drilled beyond the mineralized envelope and did not intersect significant mineralization. |
** Hole OS-12-181 was abandoned due to technical problems. |
*** The reported intersections are drilled thicknesses and are believed to represent approximately 50 to 100% true widths. |
2012 Key Discoveries
Anubis
The Anubis Zone is a Carlin-type gold discovery that was made in late 2012. Two of the three holes drilled at this zone returned 8.51 m of 19.85 g/t gold and 9.08 m of 16.76 g/t gold (see news releases dated September 17 and October 24, 2012). The Anubis Zone is situated 10 km west of Osiris and at the eastern end of a 600 m long arsenic/gold geochemical anomaly and on one of a number open-ended regional lineaments. The drilled zone of mineralization at Anubis remains open along strike and down-dip and the accompanying 600 m long arsenic/gold geochemical anomaly has received very limited exploration. The Anubis Zone and numerous surrounding anomalies will be a major focus of exploration and drilling in 2013.
Sunrise
The 2012 Sunrise Zone Carlin-type Discovery is located 300 m east of the main Osiris anticline zone. Mineralization at the Sunrise Zone occurs as two apparently sub-parallel structural and stratabound zones. OS-12-173 was collared in mineralization and intersected intensely decalcified limestone, returning 14.86 m of 10.54 g/t gold (see news release dated October 17, 2012). The Sunrise Zone remains open along strike and down-dip and will be a major focus of drilling in 2013.
Pharaoh
The Pharaoh target was discovered in late 2012 and it is located 13 km northeast of Osiris. It is defined by anomalous clusters of anomalous antimony, arsenic and gold responses along a 6 km long trend. Prospecting identified both northwest trending quartz veins and north trending breccia/vein zones. Grab samples from the quartz vein material graded up to 79.40 g/t gold from below detection. Additional significant results from vein grab samples include 76.40, 49.60, 21.50, 11.30 g/t gold (see news release dated October 3, 2012). Advancing the Pharaoh target to drill stage will be a priority in 2013.
QA/QC
Samples were forwarded to ALS Minerals in Whitehorse, Y.T. or North Vancouver, B.C. where they were fine crushed before a 250 gram split was pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns. The pulverizing circuit was cleaned with quartz sand twice between samples. Pulps were then analyzed at ALS Minerals in North Vancouver where gold determinations were carried out. Splits of the pulverized fraction were routinely dissolved in aqua regia and analyzed for 49 elements using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) together with mass spectrometry (MS) or atomic emission spectroscopy (AES). Gold analyses were by the Au-AA26 procedure that involves fire assay preparation using a 50 gram charge with an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. Mercury analyses are performed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).
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 technical information in this news release has been approved by Robert C. Carne, M.Sc., P.Geo., the President of ATAC Resources Ltd., and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About ATAC
ATAC is a well-funded, Yukon-based exploration company focused on developing Canada's only Carlin-type gold discoveries at its 100% owned, Rackla Gold Project. For additional information concerning ATAC Resources Ltd., please visit our website at www.atacresources.com.
On behalf of Management and the Board of Directors of ATAC Resources Ltd.
Graham Downs, CEO
This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors.
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