TerraX acquires Northbelt Gold Mining Leases in Yellowknife, NWT; Historic Drill Results include 24.60 g/t Au over 4.63 m and 4.61 g/t Au over 19.71 m.

TSX-V: TXR
Frankfurt: TX0

VANCOUVER, Feb. 13, 2013 /CNW/ - TerraX Minerals Inc. (TSXV: TXR) (Frankfurt: TX0) has completed the purchase of the Northbelt leases (the "Property") in the Yellowknife area of the Northwest Territories, Canada. As previously announced on January, 2 2013 TerraX is purchasing an unencumbered 100% ownership of the Property with no private royalties or option payments, no assessment requirements and with low annual maintenance fees ($2/acre/year). Review of historic information from the Giant Mine archives and filed at the NWT Geoscience Office determined that numerous historical high grade gold intersections are situated on the Property, including 24.60 g/t Au over 4.63 metres at the Crestaurum deposit and 4.61 g/t Au over 19.71 metres on a sub-parallel shear (20 Shear).

The Property consists of 121 leases totalling 8802 acres (3562 hectares) which cover approximately 13 km of strike along the prolific Yellowknife Belt, 15 km north of the city of Yellowknife. The southern part of the Property is accessible by road and the remainder is accessible by all terrain vehicles. Northbelt is situated on the northern strike continuation of the Yellowknife gold camp, immediately west of the major break controlling gold mineralization within the camp. The Property is host to multiple shears that are the recognized hosts for gold deposits in the Yellowknife camp, including the past producing 7.6 Moz Giant and the 5.5 Moz Con mines, and it contains innumerable gold showings. Known mineralization on the Property contains free milling gold. Maps of the Property and its location are available at www.terraxminerals.com.

As previously announced on February 5, 2013 TerraX has been reviewing the historical technical data on the Property, including 300-400 historical drill holes that were completed on the Property between 1945 and 1996, mostly concentrated on the Crestaurum deposit (approximately 200 holes). The Property was explored at the beginning of the Yellowknife gold rush in the early 1940s. It was staked by multiple claimholders in 1944 with the discovery of the outcropping Crestaurum deposit. Drilling commenced in 1945 and the Property was intermittently active throughout the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1970s Giant Gold Mines had largely consolidated the Property and began serious exploration and by the end of the 1980s substantial drill programs were completed. Detailed mapping in this period confirmed that the Property hosts the extension of the Yellowknife Gold Camp's gold bearing structure and that the stratigraphy associated with the large mines occurs in the southern part of the Property. It was also realized that numerous other sub-parallel structures host gold occurrences, including the Crestaurum deposit, along the main camp 'break'. In addition a precious metal enriched base metal (Zn/Pb +/-Cu) play was identified in the northern part of the Property.

CRESTAURUM DEPOSIT

The Crestaurum deposit is contained within a shear that trends for at least 1.5 km in a northeast direction. On the order of 200 drill holes intersect the mineralized structure, with the vast majority intersecting the mineralized structure at less than 100 meters depth. The shoots best defined by drilling (North, Central, South in the No. 1 Shear) consist of narrow veins, generally less than 1 meter thick,  within a chloritic (+/- carbonate and sericite) shear that can be up to 25 meters wide. Sampling of the historical drilling was mostly confined to the veins, although some holes were more comprehensively sampled and show a wide zone of anomalous mineralization across the shear structure and into wallrocks. The Crestaurum shear bifurcates at its northern end and both horizons have high grade gold intersections. The No. 1 shear is the only one with previous resource estimates.

During the due diligence studies, TerraX reviewed a listing of 169 holes used in the resource calculation prepared by D.W. Lewis for Giant Mines Ltd. in 1985 that estimated a resource of 572,040 tonnes at 6.72 g/t (123,489 ounces). Of these holes, 133 had high grade gold intersections, and several were mineralized on two or more shears. Visible gold was common, with 44 holes reporting coarse gold. A selection of some of the higher grade and wider intersections includes:

Hole	From (m)	to (m)	Interval (m)	Au g/t
8	32.82	36.07	3.25	11.65
31	44.68	46.05	1.37	477.66
32	34.49	40.54	6.05	7.78
150	52.94	57.58	4.64	24.60
166	126.03	132.34	6.31	10.72

The Crestaurum deposit was subjected to numerous resource calculations over the years, and to preliminary mine planning by Giant Mines, but its development was largely thwarted by the fact that the free milling gold, similar to Con's Campbell Shear ore, was detrimental to the roasting process used at Giant for its refractory ore.

TerraX believes the historic resources are relevant but investors are cautioned that the estimates were prepared before the introduction of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. A Qualified Person has not completed sufficient exploration work nor conducted an examination of past work to define a resource that is currently compliant with NI 43-101. It is important to note that these calculations relied on sampling procedures that concentrated on quartz vein material and most holes were not sampled throughout the much broader lower grade shear zones hosting the veins. It is TerraX's belief, after reviewing historic drill logs, that the resource would be significantly expanded by including all intercepts greater than 1 g/t Au. In addition, the Crestaurum historical resource calculation is restricted to the No. 1 Shear, and modelled mineralized blocks had a limited strike length. Subsequent drilling has confirmed substantial strike and depth expansion of the zones.

OTHER TARGETS

The final significant work on the Property was conducted in the first half of the 1990s with work focused on other shear zones (25 gold bearing shears identified in the southern part of the Property), and on the southern and northern extensions to the Crestaurum. Significant success was achieved in deeper drilling (up to 300 meters below surface) on the northern extension of the Crestaurum, and on what is interpreted as the extension of the main Giant Mine trend.

Beyond the known historical resources at Crestaurum, several drill holes have been drilled over the years to evaluate the extensions to the shears, most importantly to the north where the Crestaurum Shear is intersected by several other shears, including the 20 Shear, the 20 West Splay and the 19 Shear (see the map on our web site).  Drilling in the area in 1995 and 1996 had considerable success in intersecting high grade and wider zones of mineralization, as well as multiple horizons of gold, with some holes reporting up to five significant intersections. Particularly wide intersections occur in some deeper holes, indicating the potential for substantial increases in the size of the Crestaurum zones.

Hole	From (m)	to (m)	Interval (m)	Au g/t
NB-95-3	109.06	110.09	1.03	102.91
NB-96-02	319.58	338.36	18.78	4.74
incl.	320.95	331.01	10.06	8.39
NB-96-16	337.26	347.01	9.75	8.76

The 20 Shear was a well recognized target early in the exploration of Northbelt and there has been considerable success in drilling gold mineralization as this shear began to intersect the Crestaurum structure, possibly creating a classic dilation along orthogonally intersecting structures. A very significant drill intersection on this structure was drilled and reported by Nebex Resources Ltd. in 1994 (NB-94-1a).

Hole	From (m)	to (m)	Interval (m)	Au g/t
NB-94-1a	285.37	305.58	19.71	4.61

In the northern part of the Property there is widespread VMS style mineralization. As with the gold targets it was initially found on surface and later explored with drilling. Trench exposures are generally very narrow (less than 1 meter). Subsequent drill holes under these showings seem to show relatively good continuity, even of the narrow lenses. The horizons are Pb-Zn rich, with minor Cu, very high silver content and locally appreciable gold.

Hole	From (m)	to (m)	Interval (m)	Au g/t	Ag g/t	Zn%	Pb%	Cu%
G2	72.24	74.68	2.44	0.69	162.14	7.64	9.95	0.25
38-2	42.06	48.16	6.10	2.54	204.31	10.82	6.03	0.55

Access and logistics for the project are excellent and there are no known substantial environmental liabilities associated with the Property that would limit TerraX's ability to begin obtaining permits for field work in 2013.  TerraX's immediate focus will be to complete data compilation of information collected during two work sessions in Yellowknife in January and February. This compilation will create a GIS project to direct 2013 field work. A digital drill database will be constructed from historical holes for creation of 3D modeling of mineralized bodies.

It is anticipated that initial work will involve permitting to carry out a detailed airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey across the entire property this spring in preparation for a comprehensive summer field program of mapping, prospecting and location of historical drill holes. Permitting will also be initiated for preliminary drill programs on known mineralized zones.  These programs will be subject to consultation with First Nations that have interests in the area.

The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Joseph Campbell, the President of TerraX, who is a Qualified Person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects."

TerraX Minerals Inc. is also one of the major landholders of prospective ground in the burgeoning Marmion Batholith gold district near Atikokan, Ontario, host to Osisko Mining Corporation's (TSX: OSK) Hammond Reef gold deposit which contains a NI 43-101-compliant global inferred resource of 530.6 million tonnes at 0.62 grams per tonne Au (10.52 million ounces gold). The Osisko Technical Report on this project is available on SEDAR. TerraX is actively exploring three wholly-owned gold exploration projects, the Sunbeam-Pettigrew, Central Canada and Blackfly properties, all of which are located within 20 km of the town of Atikokan, 180 km west of Thunder Bay, and are within 19 km of the Hammond Reef gold deposit. In addition TerraX holds the Stewart property in Newfoundland which contains targets for porphyry Au-Cu (111 m of 0.13 g/t Au and 0.05% Cu at Stewart showing) and epithermal Au mineralization (up to 59 g/t Au and 2290 g/t Ag at Forty Creek).

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"JOSEPH CAMPBELL"

Joseph Campbell, P.Geo
President

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.

This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors - including the availability of funds, the results of financing efforts and the results of exploration activities - that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

 

 

SOURCE: TerraX Minerals Inc.

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