TORONTO, July 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V:BMK) ("MacDonald Mines" or the "Company") announces it has completed a mobile magneto tellurics (“MobileMT”) survey, the most advanced generation of airborne audio frequency magnetics (“AFMAG”) technologies, over the Wawa-Holdsworth Project.
Quentin Yarie, President and Chief Executive Officer of MacDonald Mines stated, “We are excited to be one of the first companies to have the opportunity to utilize this leading-edge technology. Our winter 2018 drilling program at the Wawa-Holdworth Project showed that the deformed iron formation, located below the Oxide Sands, is mineralized with precious metals and that a large-scale gold-bearing structure crosses the property. Because MobileMT utilizes a wide range of frequencies, it will assist us in modelling and mapping the mineralized structures within the known structural corridor.”
Overview of the Wawa-Holdsworth Project
The Wawa-Holdsworth Project, located 20 km northeast of Wawa, Ontario, has all the attributes to host a gold system with several gold showings occurring in a 500 metres-wide deformation corridor. MacDonald Mines has identified three gold targets on the property:
- Gold-bearing Oxide Sands developed from the weathering of the auriferous pyrite zones;
- Gold-bearing pyrite zones in an Algoma-type iron formation; and
- Greenstone-hosted quartz-carbonate vein deposits.
To date, the Company’s exploration program has confirmed the following:
- The Oxide Sands extend at least 1.5 km and remain open to the west;
- The Oxide Sands contain high-grade precious metals zones with assays up to 7.46 g/t gold equivalent (“AuEq”) over 3.23 m (Dec. 5, 2017 news release);
- A new oxide sand zone was discovered 250 metres west of the currently defined trend with grades of 5.71 g/t AuEq over 3.05 m including 9.31 g/t AuEq over 1.83 m (Jan 31, 2018 news release); and
- The deformed iron formation, below the Oxide Sands, has the potential for precious metal mineralization over its 1.3 km strike length.
MacDonald Mines has focused its near-term exploration program on the Oxide Sands and is working with Northern Sun Mining Corp., and its plant in Timmins, Ontario, to develop a process that will maximize precious metals recoveries from the Oxide Sands in preparation for their potential extraction.
In parallel, mechanized stripping and surface mapping are currently underway on the property to locate potential centers of higher-grade gold mineralization in the multiple gold-bearing structures present on the Wawa-Holdsworth Project.
About MobileMt Technology
Expert Geophysics Limited’s patent pending MobileMT technology is a passive system that utilizes naturally occurring electromagnetic (“EM”) fields, with frequencies between 25 Hz and 30,000 Hz that are produced by lightning discharges. Thunderstorms release energy, some of which is converted into EM fields that propagate through the ionosphere-Earth interspace. The EM fields and currents induced by these fields are used in MobileMT to identify variations in subsurface electrical resistivity.
In comparison to other EM airborne systems and approaches, MobileMT technology has many advantages that make it an effective instrument for gold exploration:
- the technology, having a magneto-telluric basis, is not limited in resistivity variations recovery in highly resistive geological environment;
- total field measurements provide the ability to define contrasting boundaries in any direction, from horizontal to vertical; and
- the very wide frequency bandwidth ensures systematic surveying from surface to 1 km depth and allows for 3D mapping of shear zones.
Qualified Person
Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.
About MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.
MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario focused on gold exploration in Canada. The Company has built a portfolio of safe-jurisdiction, infrastructure-rich projects that demonstrate the greatest market potential for return. The Company is aggressively advancing its highly prospective Wawa-Holdsworth Gold Project.
The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "BMK".
To learn more about MacDonald Mines, please visit www.macdonaldmines.com
For more information, please contact:
Quentin Yarie, President & CEO, (416) 364-4986, qyarie@macdonaldmines.com
Or Mia Boiridy, Investor Relations, (416) 364-4986, mboiridy@macdonaldmines.com
Cautionary Statement:
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 release.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The foregoing information may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the Company’s plans and expectations. These plans, expectations, risks and uncertainties are detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with the TSX Venture Exchange and securities regulators. MacDonald Mines does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/172f71eb-0035-48e5-8eae-3a504cb63e91