Valterra to Focus on Swift Katie Gold/Copper BC Project; Cancels Option for Bobcaygeon Graphite
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan 12, 2016) - Valterra Resource Corp. ("Valterra" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:VQA) reports that it has elected not to exercise its Property Option Agreement dated June 1, 2012 wherein the Company had been granted an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Bobcaygeon Graphite Property in Southern Ontario. The Company feels that under the current difficult market conditions further property and option expenditures are not warranted on the property and intends to focus on its 100% owned porphyry/shear-hosted copper-gold-silver Swift Katie Project in southeastern British Columbia near Salmo.
The Swift Katie property is underlain by rocks of the prolific Quesnel Terrane, and lies within this geologically favorable and highly metallogenic area of BC that historically has hosted several important mining camps. Examples of past and present producing Cu-Au-Mo mines include Copper Mountain, Afton/Ajax, Mt. Milligan and Rossland Camp as well as a number of advanced exploration/development deposits such as Kena, Woodjam and Lorraine.
The Swift Katie project consists of 17 contiguous MTO mineral claims, covering over 80 square kilometres within an 11km by 3km airborne magnetic trend. The property area, outside of the "Katie Zone", remains vastly underexplored for copper-porphyry targets and represents significant exploration upside and potential for new polymetallic discoveries.
Drilling to date on the Katie zone has identified three accumulations of significant Cu-Au mineralization, defined in 72 drill holes, which when computer modeled form a semi-continuous zone of Au-Cu mineralization over an 1,800m cumulative strike length. Internal work by Valterra has identified eight infill holes totaling 2,600m which, when completed, would significantly enhance both the size and continuity of the mineralized zone. Widespread Cu-in-soil anomalies suggest several additional untested targets.
The 2014 drilling on the property focused on the southern and more gold-enriched "Swift" portion of the claims. Drillholes SK14-001 and SK14-003 returned extremely encouraging assay results and intersected significant hydrothermal alteration in the form of chorite, epidote, pyrite and magnetite. Moreover, drillholes SK14-002, SK14-004 and SK14-005 intersected thick zones of potassic alteration.
Highlighting the 2014 drill program were several zones of precious metal mineralization including a 3.5m interval of 13.3g/t gold, 201g/t silver and 0.33% copper and 23.4 g/t gold over 1.5 metres, within hole SK14-002.
The high-grade gold-silver vein intercepts at the Swift target warrant further exploration and follow-up, as previous work on the zone focused primarily on the large-scale copper-gold porphyry potential. Gold mineralization at Swift is associated with pyrite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite veins at the contact between an andesite volcanic unit and a diorite intrusive, and sit within a much broader zone containing elevated copper and lead. The package may reflect a transitional environment from a porphyry to an epithermal system and shows some similarity to styles of mineralization identified in the historic Rossland Mining Camp (Past Production: 2.4 M oz/Au; 3.4M oz/Ag and 120Mlbs Cu) located just 25km to the west of the property.
The results support the Company's belief of a widespread gold-enriched, transitional-epithermal system at the Swift target and a large alkali porphyry system at the Katie target. Further work may continue to expand the known mineral systems and over a half dozen targets which remain to be tested on the property. These results are being evaluated along with other property-scale targets to determine the next phase of work.
About Valterra Resource Corporation
Valterra is a Manex Resource Group Company. The group provides expertise in exploration, administration, and corporate development services for Valterra's mineral property located in British Columbia. Valterra is focused on early stage properties with the potential to host large deposits, in regions with excellent infrastructure.
Robert Macdonald, MSc., P.Geo., is the non-independent Qualified Person for Valterra Resource Corp. responsible for reviewing and approving the technical content presented in this release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Lawrence Page Q.C., President, Valterra Resource Corp.
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.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general economic conditions, interest rates, commodity markets, regulatory and governmental approvals for Valterra Resource Corp.'s projects, and the availability of financing for Valterra Resource Corp.'s development projects on reasonable terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Valterra Resource Corp. does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
