Tectonic Metals Drills 19.3 g/t Au Over 3.05 Metres Within Broader Interval of 6.71 g/t Au Over 9.14 Metres at Tibbs Gold Project
Additional Drill Assays Anticipated in the Coming Weeks from Tibbs and Seventymile Gold Projects in Alaska
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 15, 2020 /CNW/ - Tectonic Metals Inc. (TECT: TSX-V; OTCQB: TETOF) ("Tectonic" or the "Company") today announced the first set of assay results from the completion of its 3,202 metre ("m"), 27 hole Rotary Air Blast ("RAB") drilling campaign at the Tibbs Gold Project ("Tibbs"). Drilling at the Michigan Zone ("Michigan") focused on systematically stepping out to the northeast and southwest along a prominent northeast trending lineament in the centre of Michigan, where 2019 RAB drilling intersected 6.03 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") over 28.95m, and 2020 RAB drilling intersected a highlight intercept of 6.71 g/t Au over 9.14m, including 19.3 g/t Au over 3.05m. In addition, Tectonic collected 1,453 soil and 109 rock samples at Tibbs over prospective ground with the goal of generating new drill targets for follow up. Tectonic is also excited to announce the completion of its Summer 2020 drill campaign at the Company's Seventymile Gold Project ("Seventymile"), with 2,582m of drilling completed over 26 holes, and looks forward to sharing assay results as soon as they are available.
Michigan Drilling Highlights and Key Takeaways
- Step out drilling identifies additional high-grade gold at Michigan – highlights include:
- 6.71 g/t Au over 9.14m including 19.3 g/t Au over 3.05m (TBRB20-029)
- 2.61 g/t Au over 12.19m including 5.56 g/t Au over 3.05m (TBRB20-026)
- 3.73 g/t Au over 7.62m including 12.8 g/t Au over 1.52m (TBRB20-025)
- Expansion Potential
- Michigan remains open along strike and at depth
- Drilling delineated over 275m of strike with all 2020 drill holes intersecting gold mineralization along a northeast-trending corridor open to the northeast, southwest, and at depth
- Pogo Geological Model Relevant
- Mineralized low-angle structural features observed at Michigan
- Similar to structural controls at the Pogo gold deposits, both low and high-angle mineralized structures are now interpreted at Tibbs
- Recognition of mineralized low-angle features at Michigan within the damage zone suggests an interplay between high-angle faulting and low-angle regional extension and shearing
- High-Grade Gold and Intersecting Structures
- Structures containing high-grade quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite-stibnite veining (e.g. 19.3 g/t Au over 3.05m, TBRB20-029) are found within broad, lower-tenor mineralized envelopes comprised of disseminated pyrite, arsenopyrite, and stibnite within sericite-altered granodiorite
- Intersection zones between low and high-angle mineralized structures appear to result in increased tenor and width of gold mineralization
- Identifying these intersections will be key to unlocking the full potential of the Michigan Zone
- Next Steps
- Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey to commence at Michigan in the coming weeks with the goal of testing the strike and depth extent of mineralization in the Michigan structural corridor
- Drill assays from Lower Trench, Wolverine Zones at Tibbs expected in near future
- Tibbs soil and rock sampling campaigns completed, assays pending; 1,453 soils and 109 rocks collected
- Prospecting and mapping campaigns completed at the Maple Leaf and Mt. Harper Projects, assays and interpretations pending
- Seventymile drilling – 6 zones tested by 2,582m of RAB drilling. Assays pending
Eric Buitenhuis, VP Exploration, commented, "Tectonic is pleased to have completed our Summer 2020 drill programs at Tibbs and Seventymile and to release the first, highly encouraging assay results from our Tibbs campaign. The presence of high-grade gold mineralization within broad, lower-tenor mineralized envelopes at Michigan is indicative of a productive hydrothermal system within the corridor, and the intersection of low and high-angle structures appears to result in an increase in both tenor and width of mineralization. These newly recognized low-angle mineralized features may be related to low-angle regional shearing, a critical structural control on mineralization in the Goodpaster District, including at the Pogo mine. Interestingly, several low-angle faults have been mapped within Paleozoic gneisses in the western region of the Tibbs project – an ideal Pogo analogue. We look forward to announcing the remaining results from the Lower Trench and Wolverine Zones, the soil sampling and prospecting programs, and the Seventymile drill campaign as soon as they are available."
Drill Highlights – Michigan Zone
Drill Hole |
From (m) |
To (m) |
Weighted |
Length (m)* |
TBRB20-021 |
86.87 |
89.92 |
0.68 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-022 |
99.06 |
102.11 |
0.50 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-023 |
10.67 |
13.72 |
1.89 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-024 |
38.10 |
39.62 |
6.83 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-024 |
64.01 |
67.06 |
1.14 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-024 |
118.87 |
124.97 |
0.59 |
6.10 |
TBRB20-025 |
62.48 |
65.53 |
5.99 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-025 |
109.73 |
117.35 |
3.73 |
7.62 |
including |
109.73 |
111.25 |
12.80 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-026 |
12.19 |
15.24 |
0.55 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-026 |
21.34 |
22.86 |
12.80 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-026 |
39.62 |
41.15 |
0.93 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-026 |
53.34 |
65.53 |
2.61 |
12.19 |
including |
60.96 |
64.01 |
5.56 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-027 |
19.81 |
24.38 |
0.90 |
4.57 |
TBRB20-027 |
48.77 |
50.29 |
2.31 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-027 |
67.06 |
68.58 |
2.08 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-027 |
99.06 |
102.11 |
0.85 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-028 |
100.58 |
111.25 |
1.18 |
10.67 |
including |
100.58 |
103.63 |
3.45 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-028 |
150.88 |
152.40 |
1.40 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-029 |
50.29 |
56.39 |
0.55 |
6.10 |
TBRB20-029 |
86.87 |
88.39 |
2.17 |
1.52 |
TBRB20-029 |
102.11 |
111.25 |
6.71 |
9.14 |
including |
106.68 |
109.73 |
19.30 |
3.05 |
TBRB20-029 |
121.92 |
129.54 |
1.02 |
7.62 |
TBRB20-030 |
115.82 |
121.92 |
0.58 |
6.10 |
TBRB20-031 |
No Significant Intersections |
|||
*True widths are not known at this time. All widths reported are drilled widths. "TBRB20" drill hole prefixes equate to 2020 RAB drill holes. RAB drill holes are sampled on 5-foot drill rod lengths and converted to metric for input into the drill database and assay table. |
A table of drill results from Tectonic's 2020 drill holes at the Michigan Zone as well as maps, cross sections, and drill assay sheets associated with this news release can be viewed by clicking here.
Additional information about the Tibbs Gold Project, including historical information, can be found in the Amended and Restated NI 43-101 Technical Report, Tibbs Property , Alaska, United States of America with an effective date of October 31, 2019, prepared by Carl Schulze, P.Geo., of Aurora Geosciences Ltd. in accordance with NI 43-101, which is filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR.
Tibbs Gold Project – 2020 Drill Strategy, Objectives, and Goals
Building upon 2019's exploration success with Ground Truth America's RAB drill, Tectonic chose to utilize this cost-effective and rapid drill method to step out on 2019's highlight drill intersection at the Michigan Zone of 6.03 g/t Au over 28.95m. Drilling in 2020 focused on stepping out from this highlight drill intercept, while also testing for additional Michigan-style structures along a 3km long prospective corridor at the Lower Trench and Wolverine Zones.
Drilling was conducted as fences of angled holes designed to cross interpreted high-angle mineralized structures. Drill holes were dominantly oriented to the east or southeast, depending on the zone being drill tested, with dips of 55 degrees to cut the dominantly northwest dipping structures.
A goal metreage of 2,500m drilled was outlined prior to the commencement of the drill season. Tectonic significantly exceeded this goal at Tibbs, drilling 3,202m in total, with 1,637m drilled at Michigan alone over 275m of drilled strike.
Geology and Mineralization
Drilling at Michigan in 2020 has identified an approximately 100m wide northeast trending structural corridor which hosts both interpreted low-angle and high-angle, northwest-dipping mineralized structures. Tectonic's drilling has delineated 275m of strike within the central corridor, which is open to the northeast, southwest, and at depth.
High-grade mineralization is characterized by quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite-stibnite veining, with the best drilled intervals consisting nearly entirely of quartz-sulphide vein material. Low-tenor mineralization at Michigan consists of strongly sericite-altered granodiorite with disseminated sulphides (pyrite, arsenopyrite and stibnite). Alteration and sulphide mineralization are controlled by a northeast trending structural corridor interpreted as a damage zone. Within the damage zone, stacked, low-angle, tabular bodies of northwest-dipping mineralization appear to be cut by higher-angle structures. The relationship between low and high-angle structures and quartz-sulphide vein density is currently unclear, though it is likely that increased alteration and higher-tenor mineralization observed in 2020 drill hole TBRB20-029 and 2019 drill hole TBRB19-003 is the result of structural intersections. These structural intersections are critical to finding high-tenor gold mineralization.
Additional drilling was conducted at the Lower Trench and Wolverine Zones, both >1km long, northeast trending structural corridors with associated gold, arsenic, and antimony anomalism defined by soil and rock geochemistry and air photo lineaments. Assays are pending for both targets.
For additional information on the Lower Trench and Wolverine Zones, please see here.
Exploration Upside and Next Steps
In order to rapidly test the scale potential of the Michigan Zone, Tectonic is planning to conduct a follow-up induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey over the >1km long structural corridor in late September. The goal of the survey is to determine the geophysical signature of drilled, near-surface mineralization at Michigan within the centre of the target and test for a similar signature both at depth and along strike within the corridor. The survey will provide valuable information on the extent of mineralization along the deformation zone where RAB drilling was unable to be completed due to terrain constraints, as well as beneath talus cover and valley fill.
In addition to the 2020 RAB program, Tectonic collected 1,453 soil samples at the Tibbs property. The goal of the soil sampling program was to expand the historic soil grid to the west over a package of paragneiss and orthogneiss of Paleozoic age, where previous workers mapped several low-angle thrust faults. The interplay of low-angle regional shears and high-angle fault structures is clearly observed at the Pogo gold deposits, where both styles of structure acted as hydrothermal fluid conduits. Low-angle structural features observed within the Michigan damage zone suggest that similar relationships may be present within the western gneissic rocks at Tibbs, illuminating a new exploration targeting concept for the Tibbs property. Assays are pending for the 2020 soil campaign.
Qualified Person & QA/QC
Tectonic's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this press release has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Eric Buitenhuis, M.Sc., P.Geo., Tectonic's Vice President Exploration, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101. Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks and standards into the drill sample string at a rate of approximately 1/10 (10%). In addition, field duplicate samples are systematically collected at a rate of 3 duplicates per 100 samples. Samples are placed in sealed bags and shipped directly to the Bureau Veritas Laboratories ("BV") preparation facility in Fairbanks, Alaska.
The analytical work for the 2020 Tibbs RAB drilling program was performed by Bureau Veritas Laboratories ("BV"), an internationally recognized and accredited analytical services provider, which is independent of Tectonic. All RAB drill samples were prepared using procedure PRP70-250 (crush, split, and pulverize 250g to 200 mesh) at BV's Fairbanks, Alaska facility. Samples were then sent to Vancouver, Canada, where they underwent analysis for gold by method FA430 (30-gram Fire Assay fusion with an atomic absorption finish (AAS). Samples returning >10 g/t Au were re-analyzed using method FA530-Au (30g Fire Assay with gravimetric finish). Following this, a 0.25g pulp was sent to the Vancouver, British Columbia lab for four-acid Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometer (ICP-ES) analysis for 35 elements using method MA300.
About Tectonic
Tectonic Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company created and operated by an experienced and well-respected technical and financial team with a track record of wealth creation for shareholders. Key members of the Tectonic team were involved with Kaminak Gold Corporation, the company that raised C$165 million to fund the acquisition, discovery and advancement of the Coffee Gold Project in the Yukon Territory through to the completion of a bankable feasibility study before selling the multi-million ounce gold project to Goldcorp Inc. (now Newmont Goldcorp) for C$520 million in 2016.
Tectonic is focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery and development of mineral resources from district-scale projects in politically stable jurisdictions that have the potential to host world-class orebodies.
Tectonic believes that responsible mineral exploration and development can positively impact the communities in which the company lives and operates and is committed to early and ongoing community engagement, best practices in environmental stewardship and the development of a strong safety culture. Whether at home or at work, the Tectonic team is grounded on the following core values: passion, integrity, patience, focus, perseverance, honesty, fairness, accountability, respect, and a play big mindset. The company works for its shareholders and is committed to creating value for them.
On behalf of Tectonic Metals Inc.,
Tony Reda
President and Chief Executive Officer
For further information about Tectonic Metals Inc. or this news release, please visit our website at www.tectonicmetals.com or contact Bill Stormont, Investor Relations, at toll-free 1.888.858.9887 or by email at [email protected].
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Historical Information
Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking information and statements under applicable securities law. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the potential for mineralization at Tectonic's projects and any future exploration activities. The Company makes no representation or warranty regarding the accuracy or completeness of any historical data from prior exploration undertaken by others other than the company and has not taken any steps to verify, the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of the information provided herein and, under no circumstances, will be liable for any inaccuracies or omissions in any such information or data, any delays or errors in the transmission thereof, or any loss or direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages caused by reliance on this information or the risks arising from the stock market.
Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including, among others, assumptions about future prices of gold and other metal prices, currency exchange rates and interest rates, favourable operating conditions, political stability, obtaining governmental and other approvals and financing on time, obtaining required licenses and permits, labour stability, stability in market conditions, availability of equipment, accuracy of any mineral resources, successful resolution of disputes and anticipated costs and expenditures. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Tectonic, and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.
Although Tectonic considers these beliefs and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation: the Company's ability to implement its business strategies; risks associated with mineral exploration and production; risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing and transportation costs; loss of markets; volatility of commodity prices; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; industry and government regulation; changes in legislation, income tax and regulatory matters; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations; and other risks.
Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Although Tectonic has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such 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. Tectonic does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
[Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.]
SOURCE Tectonic Metals Inc.
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