Silver Hope property update and 2018 plans

VANCOUVER, March 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Finlay Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: FYL) (the "Company") wishes to provide an exploration outlook for 2018 for the Silver Hope Property. The Company has 100% ownership of three mineral properties, namely the PIL and ATTY in the Toodoggone region of northern BC and the Silver Hope property near Houston, BC. All properties are situated within prospective geology and contiguous to former producing mines or feasibility studied deposits. 

Initially, the Company plans to spend $200,000 on the Silver Hope property in 2018. A  core drilling program will focus on following up on significant mineralization in drill-hole SH14-02 which intersected 61.25m of 0.05g/t Au, 55.29g/t Ag, and 0.29% Cu including 10.25m of 0.19g/t Au, 318.77g/t Ag, and 0.88% Cu. (Finlay NR 01-15 dated February 26, 2015). This hole was drilled in the Gaul Zone following up on the previous year's 3-Dimensional (3-D) deep penetrating induced polarization (Deep IP) survey. The Gaul Zone is the southern of three mineral occurrences found along the Main Horizon. (Click HERE for a map of the Silver Hope, the Main Horizon and the Gaul Zone.)

SILVER HOPE PROPERTY

Silver Hope is a mid-stage exploration property located southeast of Houston in central BC. It is situated directly south of the former Equity Silver Mine, historically BC's largest silver producer. Since 2007, the Company has explored the property for meso-thermal volcanic-hosted copper-silver-gold (Cu-Ag-Au) deposits similar to that found at the nearby Equity Silver Mine.

IP surveys have proven to be a powerful exploration tool at the Silver Hope. Past Finlay drilling that targeted IP chargeability anomalies has a nearly 80% success rate in locating significant mineralization. To date, the Main Horizon has been traced for over 1.7 kilometers. Mineralization intersected beneath two of the property's mineral occurrences has identified the potential for deep, polymetallic, replacement?type mineralization possibly related to magmatic (intrusive) source(s) along a 5.0 kilometer "mine structure" that encompasses the Equity Silver Mine and the Silver Hope Property.

The 2018 work program will include:

1. Renewing the Silver Hope work permit (application completed and filed) with the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources;
   
   
2. Completing a 3-D data compilation and review of the Company's surveys including: IP magnetics, gravity, and airborne ZTEM geophysical data, along with drilling results, and geology. The objective is to develop a comprehensive geological model for the existing mineralization and as a guide for potential deeper drilling to investigate the source of mineralization along the Main Horizon, and
   
   
3. Follow-up drilling on the Gaul Zone Ag-Cu mineralization in drill-hole SH14-02.

A key consideration for the 2018 work program will be the interplay between the ENE trending Main Zone (IP and airborne ZTEM), and the shallow southwest dipping geological sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. This combination of structure and stratigraphy contributed to the stratabound, open pit mined deposits at Equity Silver (north along the Main Horizon). Drill hole SH14-02 mineralization was at a shallow depth, may be similar stratabound mineralization, and will be a target for drill testing in the summer/fall of 2018. A second geological consideration is the source of the Main "Deep" Horizon mineralization first encountered in 2011 and which may entail further 3-D IP surveying and drilling.

One of the first IP successes was in 2010 when drilling of an IP anomaly west of the Main Horizon discovered a previously unknown Cu-Mo bearing quartz monzonite porphyry (West Horizon).

Vertical drill hole SH10-03, starting at 39 meters, intersected 220 meters grading 0.30% Cu, 3.37g/t Ag and 0.019% Mo. In 2011, vertical hole, SH11-05, 135 meters north of SH10-03, cut Cu?Mo mineralized porphyry over 90% of its 603-meter length and ended in mineralization. One of several intersections included 134 meters at 0.18% Cu, 0.088% Mo, 0.10g/t Au and 5.47g/t Ag.

The 2010 and 2011 drill programs resulted in seven holes with 100 to 200+ meter lengths of Cu-Mo porphyry mineralization. To date the West Horizon porphyry has been traced south from the Silver Hope-Equity property border for nearly 1.0 kilometer and is open along strike and depth. 

The West Horizon porphyry and a quartz monzonite intrusion mapped west of the Equity mine are Tertiary age bodies classified as the "Nanika Intrusions", many of which are copper and molybdenum-bearing porphyries. A regional example is the Berg deposit situated 87 km west southwest from the Silver Hope (measured plus indicated resources 557.8 million tonnes averaging 0.3% Cu, 0.037% Mo and 3.12g/t Ag - Exploration and Mining in BC, 2011).

A highlight of the 2011 exploration program was drill hole SH11?12 which targeted a deep IP chargeability anomaly near the Superstition Zone, the central of three mineral occurrences. Between 200 and 289 meters, volcanic rocks contain sulphide?rich breccia zones with locally abundant pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and lesser galena and molybdenite. From a downhole depth of 204 meters the mineralized zone yielded a 76-meter interval grading 0.43g/t Au, 29.37g/t Ag and 0.19% Cu. Contained within this interval are samples grading up to 9.4g/t Au and 747g/t Ag respectively. 

This discovery represents a new and significant style of Au-Ag-Cu mineralization termed the "Main Deep Horizon" that remains untested at depth and along strike.

About Finlay Minerals Ltd.

Finlay is a TSX Venture Exchange company focused on exploration for base and precious metal deposits in northern British Columbia. The Company's properties include:

• the Silver Hope which includes porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization discovered in 2010, along with three silver-copper mineralized zones, in a contiguous trend with the mined-out deposits of the former Equity Silver Mines (71 million oz. silver, 185 million lbs. copper and 508,000 oz. gold),
  
  
• the ATTY which is contiguous to the north side of the Kemess East deposit of Centerra Gold Inc. and which was recently optioned to Serengeti Resources (Finlay NR 01-18 dated March 5, 2018) and
  
  
• the PIL Property which is adjacent to Sable Resource's Baker Mine.

Finlay Minerals Ltd. trades under the symbol "FYL" on the TSX Venture Exchange. For further information and details please visit the Company's website at www.finlayminerals.com.  

Warner Gruenwald, P. Geo. and Vice President, Exploration for Finlay and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the information that forms the basis for the scientific and technical information contained in this new release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Robert F. Brown,
President & CEO

Neither the 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.

Forward-Looking Information: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding, among others, the exploration plans for the Silver Hope and the recently announced option of the ATTY Property. Although Finlay believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals, the ability of Finlay and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Finlay's proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Finlay does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Finlay Minerals Ltd.