North Bay Resources Inc. (NBRI) Reports on 2013 Field Work at Tulameen Platinum Project; Potential Large Deposit of Commercial-Grade Olivine Identified in the PGM Mineralized Area
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SKIPPACK, PA--(Marketwired - Jul 16, 2013) - North Bay Resources Inc. (
Property Overview
The Tulameen Platinum Project is located below Grasshopper Mountain along a 4.5 km stretch of the Tulameen River and Britton Creek, near the village of Tulameen and approximately 22 km west-northwest on a straight line from Princeton, BC. Including a large block of claims 10 km to the south of the river along Newton Creek, the property covers a total of 1,258 hectares (3,110 acres). During the late 1800's, the Tulameen District was the most important producer of platinum in North America.
The Tulameen Platinum Project covers a sizeable part of the dunite core of the ultramafic unit (Alaskan-type) that hosts platinum, iridium, rhodium and osmium mineralization, and which is often accompanied by chromite and magnetite. It is this part of the dunite core that has been eroded by the Tulameen River over time and resulted in the release of most of the 20,000 ounces platinum that had been historically mined by placer operations along the Tulameen River and its tributaries. It is thus our belief that the Company's Tulameen Platinum Project property hosts the source of most of the historical placer platinum production in the Tulameen District.
Northern Claim Group - Tulameen River
Previous drilling and assays of drill core and chip samples in the area of the Company's "D" claims are documented to have returned consistently significant platinum values. BC Assessment Report 27009 filed with British Columbia in 2002 describes a channel sample that returned an assay of 7.78 grams per tonne platinum over 3.5 metres, including 10.17 grams per tonne platinum across 2.0 metres in chromitiferous dunite. Assay results for chromium were reported to be very high, ranging from 8.67% to 24.97% chromium. In two other zones, the best samples ran 15 grams per tonne platinum in one zone, while results from diamond drill core analysis in the second zone returned platinum values of 30.89 grams per tonne over 3.05 metres. In addition, sampling of two historic quarries obtained values ranging from 8 to 64 grams (2.06 ounces) per tonne platinum (BC Assessment Report 27009, pages 19-25).
The northern portion of the property features several other known platinum-bearing zones. The Ridge Zone (MINFILE 092HNE207) is a platinum-chromite showing that outcrops along a northwest-trending ridge on the southern slopes of Grasshopper Mountain.
According to BC Assessment Report 17170, samples from the Ridge Zone has assayed up to 1.45 grams per tonne platinum. This zone has a strike length of 150 metres and a width of 50 metres, with an average assay of 0.55 grams per tonne platinum. The Ridge Zone connects with two adjacent platinum-chromite occurrences known as the Creek Zone and the South Zone. Samples collected from the South Zone, which has a strike length of approximately one kilometer, assayed up to 1.4 grams per tonne platinum. In between the Ridge Zone and the South Zone, the Creek Zone assayed up to 4.4 grams per tonne platinum (Newmont Exploration). The Creek Zone has a strike length measuring 600 metres (0.37 miles) long and a width of 60 metres.
In 2009, an assessment on an adjacent claim near Olivine Mountain yielded assays as high as 26.94 and 15.97 grams per tonne platinum from samples taken within 100 metres of the Company's claim boundary (AR 28750). The samples had been collected from an extension of the platiniferous dunite rocks that extend south from Olivine Mountain.
The H&H showing on Hines Creek lies approximately 3 kilometres due east of the main zones. According to MINFILE 092HNE205, a grab sample from the H&H analyzed 3.6% copper, 0.066 grams per tonne gold, 17.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.247 grams per tonne platinum, and 0.730 grams per tonne palladium (Assessment Report 17280, page 9, sample W461). A quartz vein up to 10 centimetres wide outcrops 50 metres to the south. A grab sample of this vein assayed 0.810 grams per tonne gold and 0.025 grams per tonne platinum (BC Assessment Report 17280, page 9, sample W637).
Southern Claim Group - Newton Creek
Eleven kilometres southeast of the Tulameen River, the Company's Newton Creek Platinum claim group (MINFILE 092HSE159) features a greenstone dyke, approximately 18 metres wide, and mineralized with copper sulphide veins over 0.3 metres. A sample of the sulphide assayed 8.6 grams of platinum per tonne (Geological Survey of Canada Economic Geology Report No. 13, page 93). This claim group also includes a 50 acre placer claim covering the Newton Creek Gold-Platinum Placer (MINFILE 092HSE232)
Newton Creek is a western tributary of the more important Granite Creek which was placer mined for gold and platinum in the late 1800s. The gold to platinum ratio ranged from 4:1 to 1:1 gradually increasing toward Newton Creek. Historical data and present day geological knowledge indicate that the source of the Granite Creek placer platinum is on the upper reaches of the Newton Creek, most likely on the Company's hardrock claims. These mineral claims host a peridotitic rock body very similar to the platiniferous dunites that outcrop farther north on the Tulameen River.
Samples from the recently concluded fieldwork in both the Northern and Southern claim groups have been sent to ALS Chemex in Vancouver for analysis. The Company will issue a follow up report once the results have been received and compiled.
Olivine Resource & Opportunity
In addition to the well-established evidence of extensive Platinum Group Metals (PGM) mineralization on the property, the Company notes that the ground covered by the Tulameen Platinum Project is believed to also host a 15 million tonne drill-delineated historical resource of olivine. An industrial mineral, olivine is a magnesium iron silicate that is also known as peridot and chrysolite. As documented in MINFILE 092HNE189 and the aforementioned BC Assessment Report 27009, the resource estimate for the Olivine deposit was initially compiled in 1989 by Dia Met Minerals Ltd., the company led by Charles Fipke that discovered the first diamond mine in North America. The reports states, "The industrial mineral potential for olivine was evaluated by diamond drilling in an area located immediately northeast of the confluence of the Tulameen River and Britton Creek by Dia Met Minerals during the period from 1986 to 1989. Dia Met re-sampled an area recognized as having potential for olivine from the CANMET study, and on the basis of these results, thirty-one (31) percussion drill holes totaling 4,626 feet were completed. The drill core was submitted for LOI (loss on ignition) tests. Dia Met outlined a zone containing 15 million tonnes in the category of geologically indicated reserve, including marginal grade, to a depth of 170 meters, with a surface dimension of 105 meters by 270 meters along the north side of the Tulameen River within the dunite core of the Tulameen complex". The Company notes that the Dia Met drilling has not yet been verified since the Company acquired the property. It is therefore considered a historical estimate and it should not be relied upon. The Company also reiterates that the Tulameen Platinum Project property covers a sizeable part of the dunite core of the Tulameen Ultramafic complex, and to date only a small portion of it has been assessed for its olivine content. As such, it is expected that additional deposits of commercial grade olivine are yet to be defined upon further exploration and evaluation.
Olivine is used in foundries, refractories, sand blasting, soil conditioning and heat storage units, and sells for $50 to $100 per ton, depending on the grade. More importantly, and of great interest to the Company, the olivine mineralization derived from the dunites is known to a have potential application as raw feed for mineral CO2 sequestration to help moderate global warming by slowing the growth of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. In the global carbon market, each ton of carbon sequestered is called a carbon credit. Using sequestration, companies can buy or generate these credits, which are then sold or traded by companies to offset their own carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Company continues to research this potential new opportunity to take advantage of the carbon credit market, and will report further findings and developments as we proceed forward.
Mr. Dan Oancea, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed this news release for technical accuracy.
About North Bay Resources Inc..
North Bay Resources Inc. (
In the US, the Company's 100% owned and royalty-free Ruby Mine is a fully-permitted underground placer and lode mine located in the northern extension of the historic Mother Lode system in Sierra County, California. The Ruby is known to have produced over 350,000 ounces of gold since the 1850's, including some of the most spectacular gold nuggets on record. The Ruby Property covers approximately 1,755 acres, only a small portion of which has been explored to date. The Company is presently rehabilitating the Ruby Tunnel, and expects to begin mining operations upon its completion.
In British Columbia, the Company holds 100% ownership of a multitude of significant mining properties. These include two gold-platinum placers, the Fraser River Project and the Monte Cristo, and lode projects such as the advanced-stage Mt. Washington/Connie Hill project on Vancouver Island, the Brett West/Bouleau Creek Gold project near Vernon BC, the Coronation Gold project in the historic Slocan Mining district, and the Tulameen Platinum Project near Princeton, BC. In addition to its many precious metal projects, the Company also owns additional prospective projects that host strategic mineral resources such as Vanadium, Crystalline Flake Graphite, Olivine, and Rare Earth Elements (REE).
The Company's mission is to build a portfolio of viable mining prospects throughout the world and developing them through subsidiaries and JV partners to their full economic potential. North Bay's business plan is based on the Generative Business Model, which is designed to leverage its properties into near-term revenue streams even during the earliest stages of exploration and development. This provides shareholders with multiple opportunities to profit from discoveries while preserving capital and minimizing the risk involved in exploration and development.
Additional information on the Company's many properties and ongoing projects is available at the Company website at http://www.northbayresources.com.
SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although North Bay Resources Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any assumption could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion should not be regarded as a representation by North Bay Resources Inc. or any other person that the objective and plans of North Bay Resources Inc. will be achieved.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors -- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms on our website (or press releases), such as "measured," "indicated," and "inferred" "resources," which the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form S-1 and Form 10-K which may be secured from us, or from our website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
Contact
Contact:
Perry Leopold
CEO
North Bay Resources Inc.
215-661-1100
http://www.northbayresources.com