White Rock Minerals Ltd.: Awards Drilling Contract for Its High-Grade Zinc VMS Project
07.03.2018 | ABN Newswire
Ballarat, Mar 7, 2018 - White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) ("White Rock" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Frontier Exploration LLC, an Alaskan corporation, has been selected to provide drilling services at the Company's globally significant 100% owned zinc VMS project at Red Mountain in Alaska. White Rock has planned 4,500m of drilling aimed at in-fill and expansion of the high grade maiden Resource as well as drill testing the best of the more than 30 already identified exploration targets.
The drilling campaign, to commence in May, will aim to infill and extend the maiden resource which already has two identified deposits (Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats) and a Resource base of 16.7Mt at 8.9% ZnEq (see Note below) including a high-grade component of 9.1Mt @ 12.9% ZnEq (see Note below) (refer ASX announcement 26 April 2017 regarding the maiden Mineral Resource).
This drilling is aimed to follow-up on drilling last done in the 1990s, which included
68.9m @ 4% Zn, 1.8% Pb, 58g/t Ag and 0.3g/t Au (DC98-60),
36.1m @ 6.2% Zn, 2.5% Pb, 183g/t Ag and 1g/t Au (DC98-40) and
12.5m @ 12.5% Zn, 5.5% Pb, 160g/t Ag and 1.1g/t Au (DC97-04).
(refer ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2016 "White Rock Minerals proposes to acquire VMS project in Alaska".)
MD & CEO Matt Gill said "The Company is very excited about the potential for its globally significant high-grade Zinc VMS Project at Red Mountain, and the news flow that should come from a successful drilling and more regional geophysics and geochemistry program here.
Since acquiring the Red Mountain project in early 2016, we have expanded our strategic footprint 10-fold, to 143km2, and have also released a maiden Mineral Resource that immediately placed the Red Mountain Project in the top quartile of undeveloped high-grade VMS (zinc, silver, gold) deposits globally. Importantly, the two deposits identified within the Company's extensive land holding immediately placed the Red Mountain zinc project as one of the highest grade and more significant deposits of any zinc company listed on the ASX and an important VMS asset within a global context.
Our drill program for the 2018 summer field season aims to further build on our geological knowledge of the mineralisation, increase confidence in the Resource base, expand the already globally significant Resources at the existing deposits and discover new deposits. This is an exciting time for White Rock".
About Red Mountain (as more fully set out in the ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2016)
- The Red Mountain Project is located in central Alaska, 100km south of Fairbanks, in the Bonnifield Mining District. The tenement package comprises 224 mining claims over a total area of 143km2.
- The Red Mountain Project contains polymetallic VMS mineralisation rich in zinc, silver and lead, with potential for significant gold and copper.
- Mineralisation occurs from surface and is open along strike and down-dip.
- White Rock used historical drilling to determine a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate for the Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats deposit (ASX Announcement 26th April 2017). The Inferred Mineral Resource contains an impressive base metal and precious metal content with 678,000t zinc, 286,000t lead, 53.5 million ounces silver and 352,000 ounces gold.
- Good preliminary metallurgical recoveries of >90% zinc, >75% lead, >80% gold, >70% silver and >70% copper.
- Previous drilling highlights (ASX Announcement 15th February 2016) include:
Dry Creek
o 4.6m @ 23.5% Zn, 531g/t Ag, 8.5% Pb, 1.5g/t Au & 1.0% Cu from 6.1m
o 5.5m @ 25.9% Zn, 346g/t Ag, 11.7% Pb, 2.5g/t Au & 0.9% Cu from 69.5m
o 7.1m @ 15.1% Zn, 334g/t Ag, 6.8% Pb, 0.9g/t Au & 0.3% Cu from39.1m
West Tundra Flats
o 1.3m @ 21.0% Zn, 796g/t Ag,9.2% Pb, 10.2g/t Au & 0.6% Cu from 58.6m
o 3.0m @ 7.3% Zn, 796g/t Ag, 4.3% Pb, 1.1g/t Au & 0.2% Cu from160.9m
o 1.7m @ 11.4% Zn, 372g/t Ag, 6.0% Pb, 1.7g/t Au & 0.2% Cu from 104.3m
- VMS deposits typically occur in clusters ("VMS camps"). Deposit sizes within camps typically follow a log normal distribution, and deposits within camps typically occur at regular spacing. The known deposits at Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats provide valuable information with which to vector and target additional new deposits within the Red Mountain camp.
- Interpretation of the geologic setting indicates conditions that enhance the prospectivity for gold-rich mineralisation within the VMS system at Red Mountain. Gold mineralisation is usually found at the top of VMS base metal deposits or adjacent in the overlying sediments. Gold bearing host rocks are commonly not enriched in base metals and consequently often missed during early exploration sampling. This provides an exciting opportunity for potential further discoveries at Red Mountain.
- White Rock sees significant discovery potential, given the lack of modern day exploration at Red Mountain. This is further enhanced by the very nature of VMS clustering in camps, and the potentially large areas over which these can occur.
Note: ZnEq = Zinc equivalent grades are estimated using long-term broker consensus estimates compiled by RFC Ambrian as at 20 March 2017 adjusted for recoveries from historical metallurgical test work and calculated with the formula: ZnEq =100 x [(Zn% x 2,206.7 x 0.9) + (Pb% x 1,922 x 0.75) + (Cu% x 6,274 x 0.70) + (Ag g/t x (19.68/31.1035) x 0.70) + (Au g/t x (1,227/31.1035) x 0.80)] / (2,206.7 x 0.9). White Rock is of the opinion that all elements included in the metal equivalent calculation have reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.
To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/148032P9
About White Rock Minerals Ltd
White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) is an Australian listed minerals exploration and development company with projects located in northern NSW (gold and silver) and central Alaska (zinc, silver, lead and gold). The White Rock vision is to explore and develop both precious and base metal projects.
White Rock's cornerstone asset is the Mt Carrington epithermal gold-silver project in northern NSW. The Mt Carrington project has great leverage to the Australian gold and silver prices with a positive scoping study providing a path towards feasibility studies and development in the near term.
White Rock is also exploring the Red Mountain project in Alaska. Red Mountain is a globally significant advanced VMS project with high grade zinc and silver in two deposits. White Rock is exploring for additional high grade deposits that will enhance the projects leverage to an upturn in the fortunes of zinc and silver.
Contact
White Rock Minerals Ltd
Matt Gill (MD & CEO)
Phone: +61-3-5331-4644
Or Shane Turner (Company Secretary)
Phone: +61-3-5331-4644
Email: info@whiterockminerals.com.au
www.whiterockminerals.com.au
The drilling campaign, to commence in May, will aim to infill and extend the maiden resource which already has two identified deposits (Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats) and a Resource base of 16.7Mt at 8.9% ZnEq (see Note below) including a high-grade component of 9.1Mt @ 12.9% ZnEq (see Note below) (refer ASX announcement 26 April 2017 regarding the maiden Mineral Resource).
This drilling is aimed to follow-up on drilling last done in the 1990s, which included
68.9m @ 4% Zn, 1.8% Pb, 58g/t Ag and 0.3g/t Au (DC98-60),
36.1m @ 6.2% Zn, 2.5% Pb, 183g/t Ag and 1g/t Au (DC98-40) and
12.5m @ 12.5% Zn, 5.5% Pb, 160g/t Ag and 1.1g/t Au (DC97-04).
(refer ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2016 "White Rock Minerals proposes to acquire VMS project in Alaska".)
MD & CEO Matt Gill said "The Company is very excited about the potential for its globally significant high-grade Zinc VMS Project at Red Mountain, and the news flow that should come from a successful drilling and more regional geophysics and geochemistry program here.
Since acquiring the Red Mountain project in early 2016, we have expanded our strategic footprint 10-fold, to 143km2, and have also released a maiden Mineral Resource that immediately placed the Red Mountain Project in the top quartile of undeveloped high-grade VMS (zinc, silver, gold) deposits globally. Importantly, the two deposits identified within the Company's extensive land holding immediately placed the Red Mountain zinc project as one of the highest grade and more significant deposits of any zinc company listed on the ASX and an important VMS asset within a global context.
Our drill program for the 2018 summer field season aims to further build on our geological knowledge of the mineralisation, increase confidence in the Resource base, expand the already globally significant Resources at the existing deposits and discover new deposits. This is an exciting time for White Rock".
About Red Mountain (as more fully set out in the ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2016)
- The Red Mountain Project is located in central Alaska, 100km south of Fairbanks, in the Bonnifield Mining District. The tenement package comprises 224 mining claims over a total area of 143km2.
- The Red Mountain Project contains polymetallic VMS mineralisation rich in zinc, silver and lead, with potential for significant gold and copper.
- Mineralisation occurs from surface and is open along strike and down-dip.
- White Rock used historical drilling to determine a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate for the Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats deposit (ASX Announcement 26th April 2017). The Inferred Mineral Resource contains an impressive base metal and precious metal content with 678,000t zinc, 286,000t lead, 53.5 million ounces silver and 352,000 ounces gold.
- Good preliminary metallurgical recoveries of >90% zinc, >75% lead, >80% gold, >70% silver and >70% copper.
- Previous drilling highlights (ASX Announcement 15th February 2016) include:
Dry Creek
o 4.6m @ 23.5% Zn, 531g/t Ag, 8.5% Pb, 1.5g/t Au & 1.0% Cu from 6.1m
o 5.5m @ 25.9% Zn, 346g/t Ag, 11.7% Pb, 2.5g/t Au & 0.9% Cu from 69.5m
o 7.1m @ 15.1% Zn, 334g/t Ag, 6.8% Pb, 0.9g/t Au & 0.3% Cu from39.1m
West Tundra Flats
o 1.3m @ 21.0% Zn, 796g/t Ag,9.2% Pb, 10.2g/t Au & 0.6% Cu from 58.6m
o 3.0m @ 7.3% Zn, 796g/t Ag, 4.3% Pb, 1.1g/t Au & 0.2% Cu from160.9m
o 1.7m @ 11.4% Zn, 372g/t Ag, 6.0% Pb, 1.7g/t Au & 0.2% Cu from 104.3m
- VMS deposits typically occur in clusters ("VMS camps"). Deposit sizes within camps typically follow a log normal distribution, and deposits within camps typically occur at regular spacing. The known deposits at Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats provide valuable information with which to vector and target additional new deposits within the Red Mountain camp.
- Interpretation of the geologic setting indicates conditions that enhance the prospectivity for gold-rich mineralisation within the VMS system at Red Mountain. Gold mineralisation is usually found at the top of VMS base metal deposits or adjacent in the overlying sediments. Gold bearing host rocks are commonly not enriched in base metals and consequently often missed during early exploration sampling. This provides an exciting opportunity for potential further discoveries at Red Mountain.
- White Rock sees significant discovery potential, given the lack of modern day exploration at Red Mountain. This is further enhanced by the very nature of VMS clustering in camps, and the potentially large areas over which these can occur.
Note: ZnEq = Zinc equivalent grades are estimated using long-term broker consensus estimates compiled by RFC Ambrian as at 20 March 2017 adjusted for recoveries from historical metallurgical test work and calculated with the formula: ZnEq =100 x [(Zn% x 2,206.7 x 0.9) + (Pb% x 1,922 x 0.75) + (Cu% x 6,274 x 0.70) + (Ag g/t x (19.68/31.1035) x 0.70) + (Au g/t x (1,227/31.1035) x 0.80)] / (2,206.7 x 0.9). White Rock is of the opinion that all elements included in the metal equivalent calculation have reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.
To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/148032P9
About White Rock Minerals Ltd
White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) is an Australian listed minerals exploration and development company with projects located in northern NSW (gold and silver) and central Alaska (zinc, silver, lead and gold). The White Rock vision is to explore and develop both precious and base metal projects.
White Rock's cornerstone asset is the Mt Carrington epithermal gold-silver project in northern NSW. The Mt Carrington project has great leverage to the Australian gold and silver prices with a positive scoping study providing a path towards feasibility studies and development in the near term.
White Rock is also exploring the Red Mountain project in Alaska. Red Mountain is a globally significant advanced VMS project with high grade zinc and silver in two deposits. White Rock is exploring for additional high grade deposits that will enhance the projects leverage to an upturn in the fortunes of zinc and silver.
Contact
White Rock Minerals Ltd
Matt Gill (MD & CEO)
Phone: +61-3-5331-4644
Or Shane Turner (Company Secretary)
Phone: +61-3-5331-4644
Email: info@whiterockminerals.com.au
www.whiterockminerals.com.au