VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Group Ten Metals Inc. (TSX.V:PGE) (FSE:5D32) (the “Company” or “Group Ten”) is pleased to announce results from the first phase of drilling conducted on its Black Lake-Drayton gold project in the Rainy River district of northwestern Ontario, and to provide an update on the Company’s 2017 exploration plans.
Group Ten commenced the initial phase of its planned Black Lake-Drayton exploration activities with a modest, 527-meter diamond drilling program conducted on one 40m long outcropping section on the north-east end of the Moretti Deformation Zone in September and October 2016. This preliminary program, which consisted of seven shallow holes, was designed to test the area directly underneath the Moretti Main Trench where historic bulk samples returned 8,062kg at 14.01 g/t Au and 4,087kg at 18.65 g/t Au, in addition to grab samples up to 1,212 g/t Au and drill intercepts of 0.24m at 190.7g/t and 0.65m at 19.78g/t Au (historic results not independently verified by the Company). These select surface samples are not necessarily representative of the mineralization on the entire target area.
All seven holes intersected the targeted zone, with the best intercept being 0.5m at 15.62 g/t Au from 19.2m to 19.7m depth in hole BL_16_01. The remaining six holes intersected quartz veining with anomalous gold values including intercepts of +1m at +1g/t Au in holes BL_16_05 and BL_16_06. The core is now being re-assayed using metallic sieve techniques following the observation of visible gold in hole BL_16_01.
The Company is currently planning follow-up activities utilizing exploration strategies developed at neighbouring First Mining Finance’s Goldlund project and Treasury Metals’ Goliath project, which share similar geology with Black Lake-Drayton. The 2017 program is anticipated to include additional, wider-spaced drilling to test the remainder of the Moretti Deformation Zone, which is the most advanced of numerous historic targets on the project with work to date defining a 1,500m long by 10 to 30m wide zone of quartz-carbonate vein-hosted gold mineralization.
President and CEO Michael Rowley commented, “We are pleased to have confirmed the presence of significantly high gold grades previously identified by historic bulk sampling and the effectiveness of our modelling in identifying quality targets. The team is currently finalizing the first technical report encompassing the entire Black Lake-Drayton property, which is expected to generate and prioritize multiple additional exploration targets that will form the basis of our next phase field program. First Mining’s recent drill results on their adjacent Goldlund property are very encouraging for the area, as is the start of production at Rainy River which New Gold anticipates later this year.”
In addition to the progress on its Ontario gold project, the Company anticipates announcing further advances with respect to the Catalyst, Spy and Ultra nickel-platinum group metals-copper projects adjacent to Wellgreen Platinum in the Yukon Territory. Results from a sampling program conducted in fall 2016 are expected to be released in May and the 2017 field exploration program, consisting of sampling, geophysics and drilling, are in the final stages of design with commencement anticipated in June.
Michael Rowley further notes, “The Company has been working diligently on a number of project and corporate initiatives, including prioritizing our field exploration campaign efforts and assessing a number of compelling potential acquisitions in keeping with our business model. We look forward to providing frequent updates over the coming weeks.”
Black Lake – Drayton Project Overview
The 8,900 hectare (89 square kilometer or 35 square mile) project includes 30 kilometers of largely untested strike length contiguous with and along strike from First Mining Finance’s (TSX.V:FF) Goldlund project. Group Ten has consolidated this highly prospective land package via property deals and direct staking from 2012 through present (see April 6, 2017 news release for most recent acquisition).
The project includes an archive database with 20 historic occurrences, multiple high-grade bulk samples and over 127 drill holes, in addition to geological, geochemical and geophysical data. Although 43% of past drill holes intercepted gold or copper mineralization, they did not adequately test the mineralized zones which are now better understood in the area.
On a regional scale, the project is located in the Abrams‐Minnitaki Lake greenstone belt which is south of and parallel to the Birch-Uchi belt, another archean greenstone belt that is home to a number of high-grade gold producers including Goldcorp’s Red Lake mines. Despite its proximity to the Red Lake area and the Birch-Uchi belt, the Abrams-Minnitaki greenstone belt remained underexplored into the 1990s due to persistent ground cover and limited road access. In the past two decades, new roads and improved exploration techniques have led to the delineation of multiple multi-million-ounce high-grade gold reserves on numerous projects in the belt, including Rainy River (New Gold), Goliath (Treasury Metals) and Goldlund (First Mining Finance), among others.
Yukon Project Overview
Group Ten’s Yukon assets - the Catalyst/CKR, Spy and Ultra properties – represent the premier land position in the Kluane Ultramafic Belt; an emerging world-class region that is highly-prospective for large-scale nickel, platinum group metals and copper mineralization. The projects are located in the southwest Yukon Territory adjoining, and on strike with, the Wellgreen PGM-Ni-Cu deposit, and feature excellent access infrastructure via all-weather roads and the Alaska Highway.
About Group Ten Metals Inc.
Group Ten Metals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of high-quality mineral exploration assets in North America. The Company’s core holdings include a large land position adjacent to, and along trend with, Wellgreen Platinum’s Ni-Cu-PGM project in the southwest Yukon Territory and the Black Lake-Drayton gold project in the Rainy River district of northwest Ontario.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
GROUP TEN METALS INC.
“Michael Rowley”
Michael Rowley
President, CEO & Director
info@grouptenmetals.com
Tel: (604) 357 4790
TF: (888) 432 0075
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
The quality assurance/quality control program for the 2016 drilling program consisted of the submission of duplicate samples and the insertion of certified reference materials and blanks at a rate of approximately one blank or standard for every 10 samples. All gold results were determined using fire assay fusion and an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish by ALS Laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Dr. E. Max Baker, Ph.D., P.Geo, Project Manager of the Drayton-Black Lake project, is the qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.
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