VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nevada Exploration Inc. (“NGE” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:NGE) (OTCQB:NVDEF) is pleased to report that the results of the Company’s Scorpion drill program have confirmed that the hydrothermal system that was active at Kelly Creek is gold-bearing over larger areas than previously known, with discrete zones of enriched gold in groundwater anchored to at least two clusters of >0.1 g/t gold in bedrock covering areas consistent in size with the geochemical footprints of the nearest major gold deposits, Lone Tree (5 Moz) and Marigold (8 Mozs). When combined with the results of earlier drilling, NGE’s updated geologic model suggests that the gold-bearing hydrothermal system at Kelly Creek is likely the extension of the system responsible for Lone Tree and Marigold, and is of a size to support major additional mineralization.
A comprehensive technical presentation accompanying this news release is available at: http://www.nevadaexploration.com/_resources/presentations/Kelly_Creek_Technical_Presentation_January_2018.pdf
Summarizing the results, Wade Hodges, CEO: “We have specifically built an exploration program to look for large gold deposits. Being the first to open-up Nevada’s covered basins to systematic gold exploration, we are not looking for one to two million ounce deposits, we are on the hunt for five to ten million ounce deposits, and bigger. Big deposits are the product of big mineralized systems, which create big footprints, and so that is what we are exploring for. With our Scorpion drilling results at Kelly Creek, along with an improved geologic model supported by historic drilling and a comprehensive package of geophysics, we have successfully established that the mineral system we’ve identified at Kelly Creek was pregnant (gold-bearing) over a significant area, and that the system had active fluid pathways that both intersected and affected large volumes of favourable host rock at a scale consistent with what you see at Nevada’s largest gold deposits.
“We have found exactly what we are looking for: a big mineralized gold system with a big footprint. Our results at Kelly Creek combine all the critical components necessary to source a world-class gold deposit. Just as importantly, the 3D groundwater results have defined discrete, parallel zones of gold enrichment that cut through this otherwise large system, giving us clear and focused targets to test for the final variable: are there places where the pregnant fluids and the suitable host rock units and deposition conditions came together to result in higher-grade mineralization? Answering this question will be the specific goal of our next round of deeper drilling at the Project.
“This is what systematic exploration looks like, and this is how big deposits are found. We are sticking to our plan, and we are excited by the results – especially as Kelly Creek is just the first of three projects we’re advancing using the same workflow.”
Scorpion Drilling Results
The favourable geologic setting (host units and structural controls) associated with the adjacent Lone Tree and Marigold deposits project northwards to the Kelly Creek Project area, beneath relatively shallow cover. Earlier drilling and groundwater sampling had confirmed that this relatively shallow, prospective structural and bedrock setting was also associated with enriched gold in groundwater, alluvium, and bedrock. The Scorpion drilling program was designed to collect 3D groundwater, alluvium, and top of bedrock samples across this prospective covered bedrock area, with the objective of constraining the target by vectoring into areas of gold mineralization in bedrock that are large enough to be associated with the footprint of a world-class gold deposit.
The Scorpion program consisted of 61 holes totalling 5,864 m of drilling, with an average hole depth of 95 m. Of the 61 holes, 41 holes encountered bedrock, at an average depth of 84 m, which allowed for widespread bedrock mapping and sampling. From the 61 holes, 552 water samples were collected, on average every 10 m downhole, providing important 3D geochemistry across the project, especially in areas of deeper bedrock where the Scorpion could not sample bedrock directly.
The results have established that the lateral extent of the gold-in-groundwater footprint at Kelly Creek is of a comparable size, and perhaps larger, than that seen at Lone Tree, consistent with the presence of a large, robust, mineralized system. Zones of enriched gold in groundwater form focused, parallel NNW-trending lineaments (also reflected more broadly in arsenic and antimony in groundwater) bounded by the primary N-S structural fabric that runs parallel to Lone Tree and north from Marigold. These linear zones of enrichment that cut through this large favourable system are consistent with the geometry of mineralization hosted within secondary zones of structural extension (Riedel-style shears), marking potential conduits of enhanced vertical hydrothermal fluid flow that are known to provide important ore-controls at many large deposits in Nevada (including Lone Tree).
The results of the Scorpion bedrock sampling combined with the bedrock samples from earlier drilling together define two clusters of >0.1 g/t gold in bedrock, covering areas at least 700 m x 300 m and 1,000 m x 600 m respectively, associated with the discrete lineaments of increased gold-in-groundwater enrichment, which provide new strong evidence that the hydrothermal system at Kelly Creek is mineralized over a larger area than previously known.
Establishing the Critical Components for a Major Gold Deposit
By combining the latest Scorpion drill results with the results of earlier deeper core drilling and the geophysical structural interpretation (based on the combined gravity, air magnetic, seismic, and CSAMT datasets), NGE has updated the geologic model at Kelly Creek to test for the critical components known to support gold mineralization at a scale of 5 to 10 million ounces in this part of Nevada (i.e. Carlin-type gold deposits). Based on the combined exploration datasets, NGE is pleased to report that:
- The primary and secondary structural fabric seen in the geophysics, core drilling, and hydrogeochemistry, plus the thick sections of alteration and geochemistry seen in the drilling, support the presence of major reactivated high-angle structural conduits associated with a hydrothermal system of a size necessary to support the formation of a major mineralized system;
- Veining and structural damage seen in the core drilling confirm that the permeability of the units proximal to the favorable structural conduits has been improved over large areas and is well-suited to support gold deposition;
- Thick and wide-spread intervals of hydrothermal alteration, oxidation, decalcification, and carbon remobilization confirm a large hydrothermal system was active at Kelly Creek, and mark the style of alteration and mineralization associated with Carlin-type gold deposits, which together are indicative of a favorable mineralizing environment;
- The geochemical footprint seen across the project, which includes large areas of gold mineralization in bedrock, is consistent in terms of the size and geochemical package with the footprints associated with many of Nevada’s large mineral systems, which confirms: (i) that the system’s hydrothermal fluids were pregnant; (ii) that the pregnant fluids were present across large areas of the system; and (iii) that the pregnant fluids could potentially source economic gold mineralization where provided with favourable depositional conditions, namely suitably-permeable iron-rich host rocks; and
- Thick sections of bedrock units known to support mineralization nearby at Lone Tree and Marigold were encountered by all of the widespread and deeper core drill holes, which confirm that favourable, iron-rich, and suitably permeable host rocks are present across the entire project area and at depth.
NGE believes that these results confirm that all the critical components needed to host a world-class 5 - 10 Moz deposit are present at the Kelly Creek Project, and that the combined dataset suggest the gold-bearing hydrothermal system at Kelly Creek is likely the extension of the system responsible for the adjacent Lone Tree (5 Moz) and Marigold (8 Mozs) deposits, with the potential to support significant additional mineralization.
Next Phase of Work
The next phase of work at Kelly Creek will consist of deeper drilling to test for areas where gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids were able to exploit favourable structural and permeability conditions to impregnate favourable iron-rich host rocks (all of which are now known to exist) at the scale required to source a major deposit. This deeper drilling will target the discrete lineaments of enriched gold in groundwater defined by the 3D Scorpion program suggestive of possible Riedel shear structures that could provide the confluence of critical components needed to host higher-grade mineralization. By integrating 3D geochemistry with conventional project-scale geology, the results highlight how NGE is using a combination of low-cost drilling and hydrogeochemistry (groundwater chemistry) to provide an otherwise missing crosshair to focus and advance this large, blind, gold-bearing system with clear next-stage drill targets.
Breakfast with Wade Hodges and Other Upcoming Vancouver Events
NGE is pleased to invite its stakeholders to visit with its management at several upcoming events in Vancouver to discuss the results of our ongoing programs and exciting results at Kelly Creek and South Grass Valley:
Metals Investor Forum - Friday, January 19th and Saturday, January 20th
Rosewood Georgia Hotel
Presentation Time: 14:20-14:30 on Saturday, January 20, 2018
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://www.metalsinvestorforum.com/
Breakfast with Wade Hodges: The ABC’s of Finding Big Gold Deposits - Sunday, January 21st
2018 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Vancouver Convention Centre West
BREAKFAST: 7:30 to 8:30
RSVP for Breakfast to: info@nevadaexploration.com
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR EVENT: https://cambridgehouse.com/e/vancouver-resource-investment-conference-2018-69/register
2018 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference - Sunday, January 21st and Monday, January 22nd
Vancouver Convention Centre West
BOOTH: 719
REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR EVENT: https://cambridgehouse.com/e/vancouver-resource-investment-conference-2018-69/register
FULL AGENDA: https://cambridgehouse.com/e/vancouver-resource-investment-conference-2018-69/agenda
About Nevada Exploration Inc.
NGE is an exploration company focused on gold in Nevada. NGE is led by an experienced management team that has been involved with the discovery of more than 30 million ounces of gold in Nevada. NGE’s team has spent the last decade integrating the use of hydrogeochemistry with conventional exploration tools to develop a Nevada-specific regional-scale geochemistry exploration program. With innovative technology, NGE has completed the world’s largest groundwater sampling program for gold exploration, collecting more than 5,500 samples to evaluate Nevada’s covered basins for new gold exploration targets. To advance follow-up targets, NGE has overcome the high drilling costs that have previously prohibited the wide-spread use of drilling as a prospecting tool by developing its Scorpion drill rig, a small-footprint, truck-mounted small-diameter RC drill rig specifically tailored to the drilling conditions in Nevada’s basins (analogous to RAB drilling in other parts of the world).
By integrating hydrogeochemistry and early-stage low-cost drilling with conventional exploration methods, NGE is generating and advancing a portfolio of gold exploration projects in Nevada. NGE and its exploration partners have now drilled more than 18,000 metres on targets defined by its exploration program, and at several projects have discovered new large hydrothermal systems, with spatial extents covering several square kilometres, defined by system-appropriate alteration in bedrock over significant drill intervals (>300 m) containing widespread low-level gold (>0.1 g/t) and supporting trace-element lithogeochemistry consistent with the geologic and geochemical footprints of Nevada’s large gold deposits. These are the types of footprints that are associated with multi-million-ounce gold deposits in Nevada, and with these results NGE believes that it has demonstrated the validity of its integrated exploration program to discover and advance new high-quality gold targets in otherwise blind settings. By overcoming the challenges and radically reducing the costs of exploring in Nevada’s covered basins, NGE is taking meaningful steps to open this important new search space up for district-scale exploration.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Nevada Exploration Inc.
Email: info@nevadaexploration.com
Tel: +1 (604) 601 2006
Website: www.nevadaexploration.com
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.
Wade A. Hodges, CEO & Director, Nevada Exploration Inc., is the Qualified Person, as defined in National Instrument 43-101, and has prepared the technical and scientific information contained in this News Release.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, expectations, beliefs, plans, and objectives regarding projects, potential transactions, and ventures discussed in this release.
In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions, regarding, among other things, the assumption the Company will continue as a going concern and will continue to be able to access the capital required to advance its projects and continue operations. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies.
In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are the risks inherent in mineral exploration, the need to obtain additional financing, environmental permits, the availability of needed personnel and equipment for exploration and development, fluctuations in the price of minerals, and general economic conditions.
A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company is disclosed in the Company’s continuous disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.