Corporate Update: WestKam Gold Announces Upcoming Exploration Program
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 09/17/12 -- Following the signing of an Advanced Exploration Agreement with the Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation (announced August 8, 2012), WestKam Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: WKG) is preparing to launch an extensive exploration program on its 75%-owned Bonaparte gold property. The 2,461-hectare Bonaparte Property is located approximately 35 kilometres north of Kamloops, British Columbia and is accessible by paved and well-maintained gravel roads.
New Program to Test For Extensions to Known High-Grade Gold Vein Mineralization
The upcoming exploration program, expected to begin in October, will evaluate potential extensions to the known high-grade gold veins that comprise the Discovery Zone. A series of selected drill holes are proposed for this key target. Oriented drill core will provide important information for interpreting vein and fault structure orientation and potential controls on mineralization. The program will also evaluate other areas of the property in order to identify other targets that merit trenching and drilling.
Geochemical and Geophysical Exploration Also Planned
Detailed geochemical and geophysical components of the exploration program will evaluate an area east of the Discovery Zone that is underlain by hornfelsed sedimentary rocks, quartz diorite and quartz veins. Historical soil sampling outlined a two km trend of anomalous gold values with individual sample results reaching up to 3270 ppb Au. Prospecting along this trend has identified quartz veins within hornfelsed sedimentary rocks; grab samples from bedrock assayed up to 0.788 g/t Au (0.023 oz/ton Au) and angular quartz vein float samples assayed up to 74.74 g/t Au (2.18 oz/ton Au). The geochemical and geophysical program will better define areas for follow-up exploration leading to drilling and the potential for developing new targets on the property.
High-Grade Gold Veins Open to Expansion
The Bonaparte property, first explored in the early 1980s, hosts a series of well-developed shear/fracture zones in which gold-bearing quartz veins occur. At least nine veins have been identified to date. Trenching, drilling and sampling of underground workings have produced high-grade gold assays. Gold-bearing veins average two-to-three meters wide and appear to be located 12-to-15 meters apart within a larger regional structure. Exploration to date suggests that the veins are open to expansion in all directions.
In 1994, two small open pits were developed on the Grey Jay - Crow Vein yielding a 3700 tonne bulk sample averaging approximately 26.5 g/t Au. Several high-grade intersections were encountered in diamond drilling beneath the present bottom of the pits, including: 113.79 g/t Au over 0.59 m in DDH86-12, 84.21 g/t Au over 1.44 m in DDH 86-16, 321.22 g/t Au over 0.56 m in DDH 89-6, and 115.41 g/t Au over 1.07 m in DDH 86-13. These intersections represent drilled core widths and thus are not true widths.
In 2010 a 364 ton test sample averaging 0.475 oz/ton Au was collected from the Crow Vein and shipped to the Kinross Mill in Republic, Washington for processing.
Developing a Regional Exploration Approach
The new Bonaparte Exploration programs are designed to bring together in one campaign a regional approach to the evaluation of the property which was lacking in the past. The program will not only evaluate the potential to extend the previously identified gold-bearing quartz veins of the Discovery Zone both along strike and at depth, but will also increase the likelihood of further discoveries elsewhere on the property.
Bob Lane, PGeo., is the qualified person for the Bonaparte Gold Project and has reviewed the contents of this release
About WestKam Gold Corp.
WestKam Gold Corp. is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on developing the Bonaparte Gold Project near Kamloops, British Columbia. Additional information can be found on the company's website at www.westkamgold.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Matt Wayrynen, President
Forward looking statements: This release contains statements that are forward looking statements and are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward looking statements.
Neither 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.
Contacts:
WestKam Gold Corp.
John Ulmer
Investor Relations
778.994.6453
WestKam Gold Corp.
Suite 900, 570 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3P1
www.westkamgold.com
