Novo Updates Progress at Beatons Creek and Provides Exploration Overview
VANCOUVER, BC / TheNewswire / May 10, 2016 - Novo Resources Corp. ("Novo" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NVO; OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to provide an update on permitting of its Beatons Creek trial mine and to present an overview of exploration in the Mosquito Creek Basin.
Beatons Creek Trial Mine
In a meeting with the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum ("DMP") last week, Novo received detailed guidance regarding additional data DMP requires for Novo's planned bulk sampling exercise at its Beatons Creek gold project. Novo's proposal encompasses processing of mined material and disposing of crushed rock tailings in an existing tailings storage pond that was once used to hold tailings from alluvial mining operations conducted on site in the 1980's. The DMP has asked Novo to provide an independent engineering report on the existing tailings dam to verify its integrity.
Novo currently has an independent engineer on site, and a report is expected to be generated within two weeks at which time it be submitted to the DMP. Novo hopes that this report as well as other information it has provided to the DMP will allow completion of the permitting process.
Given the recent success of crushing tests (please see the Company's news release dated April 13, 2016), and considering that some of the equipment used for bulk sampling may also be used for a future commercial-scale mine if one is established, Novo has decided to incorporate data from bulk sampling into its ongoing economic studies and its anticipated preliminary economic assessment. Therefore, Novo plans to complete its economic studies following completion and evaluation of its bulk sampling exercise.
Consolidation of Land Holdings in the Mosquito Creek Basin
In the Company's news release dated April 14, 2016, Novo announced signing of two option agreements, Two Creeks and Mt. Hays, covering 327 square km in the eastern part of the Mosquito Creek Basin (please see Figure 1 below). Combined with Novo's 100% owned Blue Spec Au-Sb project and the Mosquito Creek project optioned from Talga Resources (please refer to the Company's news release dated August 12, 2015), Novo now controls approximately 450 square km of this important gold field.
The Mosquito Creek Basin, measuring approximately 65 km east-west and 30 km north-south, is comprised of a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks that were deposited approximately 2.92 billion years ago before those of the Fortesque Group at Beatons Creek which were deposited approximately 2.74 billions years ago. While the Fortesque Group correlates in time with the Upper Central Rand and Ventersdorp Groups of the Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa, the Mosquito Creek Formation correlates in time with the Lower Central Rand Group. This is important because it is within this window of time, around 3.0-2.7 billion years ago, that photosynthetic life evolved and the first whiffs of oxygen it produced triggered precipitation of gold resulting in the formation of the vast accumulation of gold in the Witwatersrand Basin.
Although the sedimentary rocks of the Mosquito Creek Formation were deposited in a deeper water environment than those of the Lower Central Rand Group, they display strong regional gold anomalism. The Mosquito Creek Basin is one of the most prolific gold nugget sites in Australia with dozens of prospectors returning to the area every winter finding gold nuggets across the entire basin. Hundreds of historic prospects and mine shafts explore innumerable veins scattered throughout the area. Novo considers the gold in these veins to have been directly remobilized from gold-enriched sedimentary rocks of the Mosquito Creek Basin during a period of low rank metamorphism and deformation following their deposition.
Two parallel east-west trending structural zones, the Blue Spec line in the north and the Middle Creek line in the south, cross the Mosquito Creek Basin and host numerous gold deposits, mainly orogenic lodes and veins. Veins found along the Blue Spec line commonly display abundant antimony in addition to high gold grades. Stibnite is the main antimony mineral (please see Figure 2 below).
Novo's Blue Spec and Gold Spec veins, host indicated resources of 151,000 tonnes at 21.7 gpt Au (105,300 oz) and 1.7% Sb and inferred resources of 264,000 tonnes at 13.3 gpt Au (112,600 oz) and 1.0% Sb. This historical estimate, disclosed in a news release dated September 30, 2013 issued by Northwest Resources Ltd. ("Northwest") and in the mineral resource statement issued by Northwest on the same date (the "Northwest Disclosure Documents"), are stated to have been reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (2012 JORC Code), which are consistent with sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101. For the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare these historical estimates, please refer to the Northwest Disclosure Documents which are available on Northwest's website (www.nw-resources.com.au). These are the most updated historical estimates and data available regarding the Blue Spec and Gold Spec deposits (except for the data contained in this news release and Novo's news release of January 21, 2016) and, as such, no work needs to be done at this point in time to upgrade or verify the historical estimates. Novo is unaware of the existence of any technical report prepared in connection with the technical information contained in the Northwest Disclosure Documents. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Novo is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
Both the Blue Spec and Gold Spec deposits are open along strike and down dip and associated splay zones have never been fully tested. At Blue Spec, for example, historic drill holes including BSI-011 (1.72 m @ 36.78 gpt Au), BSD0027 (1.15 m @ 62.67 gpt Au), BSD0036-W1 (2.5 m @ 157.45 gpt Au) and BSD0018-W2 (1.76 m @ 12.57 gpt Au) fall along the periphery of the current resource model and suggest immediate potential to expand this deposit through offset drilling. At Gold Spec, historic drill holes including BSD0013 (0.67 m @ 42.9 gpt Au), GSI-003 (2.1 m @ 17.09 gpt Au) and GSI-007 (2.1 m @ 20.09 gpt Au) fall along the periphery of the resource model and similarly suggest immediate potential to expand this deposit through offset drilling. True widths are approximately 80% of the reported lengths.
The Blue Spec style of gold mineralization is strikingly similar to that at the Costerfield mine in Victoria State owned and operated by Madalay Resources Ltd. Mandalay employs narrow vein mining techniques and a combination of gravity and flotation to produce gold in dore and high grade gold-antimony concentrate.
Exploration Strategy
Novo considers the Blue Spec line highly prospective for further high-grade gold-antimony discoveries. As an example, in the Company's news release dated January 21, 2016, Novo announced high grade gold assays from surface rock chip samples taken from five new prospects on the Blue Spec tenements including 1) West Gold Spec where rock chip samples returned grades of 22.5-143.8 gpt Au and 0.1-2.5% Sb, 2) Middle Creek where a lone rock chip sample returned a grade of 47.7 gpt Au and 2.4% Sb, 3) Orange Spec where outcropping vein samples returned grades of 4.2-15.7 gpt Au, 4) Green Spec where outcropping vein samples returned grades of 2.5-38.6 gpt Au and 0.03-1.4% Sb, and 5) 20 Mile (Branchis) where vein samples returned grades of 3.0-15.8 gpt Au.
Since optioning the Two Creeks and Mt. Hays projects in mid-April 2016, Novo has had two teams of geologists undertaking reconnaissance mapping and prospecting for Blue Spec style mineralization at both these new areas as well as at Blue Spec. Sampling has been aided by the use of hand held X-ray fluorescence units that allow for real time geochemical analysis of rock samples.
Prospecting has already discovered multiple new antimony-anomalous veins along the Blue Spec structural corridor. Stibnite and yellow antimony oxides are present in many samples. While gold values are not necessarily directly correlated with antimony grades, the discovery of these new occurrences is considered encouraging. Approximately 300 surface samples have been collected and submitted for assay. Results are expected over the next few weeks.
Upon receipt of assays, Novo plans to assess newly discovered gold-antimony veins for drill testing this year. Consideration is also being given to drill test targets in the vicinity of the Blue Spec and Gold Spec deposits where Novo considers high-grade shoots may be close to surface.
Quinton Hennigh (Ph.D., P.Geo.) is the Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is President, CEO and Director of Novo Resources Corp..
About Novo Resources Corp.
Novo's focus is to evaluate, acquire and explore gold properties. Indirect subsidiaries of Novo hold a 100% interest in the core of the Beatons Creek project and a 70% interest in approximately 1,800 square kilometers surrounding Beatons Creek and at nearby Marble Bar in the Pilbara region, Western Australia. For more information, please contact Leo Karabelas at (416) 543-3120 or e-mail leo@novoresources.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Quinton Hennigh"
Quinton Hennigh
CEO and President
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 news release.
Forward-looking information
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including, without limitation, statements as to the expected receipt of results from various exploration and testing activities, and the anticipated timing of the receipt of permits and the commencement of the Company's bulk sampling program. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the mineral resource exploration industry, the speed of processing of Novo's permitting applications by the relevant government agency, and Novo having sufficient cash to fund the planned drilling and other exploration activities.
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(Figure 1: Map of all of Novo-controlled Pilbara holdings totaling approximately 2,400 square km.)
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(Figure 2: Cut slab of gold-antimony ore from the Blue Spec mine. A vein of native gold, yellow and stibnite, silver cuts graphitic shale, black. The coin is approximately 3 cm across.)
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