TORONTO, Aug. 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Excellon Resources
Inc. (TSX: EXN) (TSX: EXN.WT) (OTC: EXLLF) (FRA: E4X1) ("Excellon"
or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Oakley
Project, Idaho ("Oakley"), on
which the Company has granted Centerra (U.S.) Inc. ("Centerra") an
option to earn up a 70% by, among other things, spending up to
US$7 million in exploration expenditures on the project prior
to May 2026.
Highlights
- Increased land holdings by approximately 2,500 acres (1,012
hectares) to approximately 7,000 acres (2,833 hectares) through
staking of an additional 125 Federal Lode Mining claims on land
managed by the BLM at the Cold Creek, Blue Hill Creek and Matrix
Creek Prospects
- Continued application process for 960 acres (388 hectares)
of State of Idaho-managed land as
"mineral leases," adding to the current 320 acres (129.5 hectares)
of mineral leases for a total of 1,280 acres (518
hectares)
- Completed soil sampling across the newly staked ground with
1,347 samples sent for gold and multi-element analysis
- Completed 1,330 line-kilometer, airborne magnetic survey
across the entire Oakley Project area including expanded
footprint
- Completed detailed geologic mapping program over the Cold
Creek Prospect
Claim Staking
Continuing on from exploration work completed in 2018, and in
collaboration with Centerra, Excellon staked an additional 125
federal lode mining claims on the Cold Creek (78 claims), Blue Hill
Creek (23 claims) and Matrix Creek (24 claims) Prospects (Figure
1). The additional claims were staked as follow-up to the gold and
silver anomalies identified in soils and rocks in 2018 and the
mineral trends identified to the north-west and south-east. The new
staking adds 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares) to the existing 225
federal lode mining claims, or 4,500 acres (1,821 hectares), on
public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a
total of 350 claims or 7,000 acres (2,833 hectares).
Mineral Leases
Excellon continues with the application process for State of Idaho mineral leases covering 960
acres (389 hectares). The proposed leases lie to the north of the
Blue Hill Creek claims up to the Emery Claims, and to the west of
the Matrix Creek claims; these areas are considered prospective and
follow-up on the 2018 exploration program results that indicated
north and northwest anomalous trends from soil and rock samples.
(Figure 1)
Geochemistry
Excellon conducted soil geochemistry programs over the newly
staked claims to further investigate the gold and silver
anomalous trends identified as a result of the 2018 exploration
program; results indicated the potential for mineralization to
extend to the northwest and southeast of the existing land package
into previously untested areas. A total of 1,347 soil samples were
submitted, 522 from the Cold Creek prospect and 825 from the
contiguous Blue Hill and Matrix Creek prospects, to Bureau Veritas
in Sparks, Nevada for gold and
multielement analysis. Results are expected in early August,
2020.
Geophysics
Excellon contracted Edcon-PRJ of Denver, Colorado to conduct a low level,
airborne magnetic survey using a Reeder's 206-L3 helicopter with a
towed sensor array incorporating a Geometrics G823A magnetometer
and dual frequency Hemisphere R-220 GPS antenna. The survey flew
for a total of 1,330 line-kilometers in early July 2020. The results from this program will be
integrated with all currently available exploration data to
generate targets for follow-up with ground-based geophysics in
early- to mid-fall 2020. (Figure 2)
Geology
Excellon has completed a detailed geologic mapping program over
the existing and extended claim package at Cold Creek. The findings
from mapping will be incorporated into the developing geologic
model to guide ground geophysics and drill targets for the
remainder of 2020. The mapping program has confirmed and extended
the existence of surface outcrops of tertiary volcaniclastic and
clastic sediments hosting low sulfidation hot spring-style
epithermal mineralization containing anomalous gold (up to 1.9 g/t
Au) and silver (up to 8.4 g/t Ag). The program also confirmed the
existence of hydrothermally altered Palaeozoic clastic marine
sediments including black jasperoidal rocks interpreted as altered
limestones along with intensely stockwork veined, hydrothermally
brecciated and faulted quartzite. The presence of altered
Palaeozoic sediments underlying silicified and veined tertiary
volcaniclastic rocks confirms the potential of the Cold Creek
Prospect to host economic mineralization at depth.
Lidar & Orthophotography
Excellon has contracted Geoterra of Eugene, Oregon to conduct a Lidar and
Orthophoto survey over the Oakley Project in early August 2020. Both the Lidar and Orthophoto data
will provide high quality images that will be used to enhance the
structural geology in the geologic model. The goal of the program
is to interpret large- to medium-scale faulting by determining
trends and orientations providing for a more comprehensive
structural framework in the geologic model. This data along with
all other exploration data will be incorporated into the current
leapfrog model resulting in targets for drill testing in late
2020.
About the Oakley Project
The Oakley Project is a gold-silver exploration prospect located
21 km south of Oakley, Idaho. The
exploration targets include hot-spring style low sulfidation
epithermal mineralization hosted by tertiary rocks as well as the
potential for low-sulfidation Carlin-style epithermal
mineralization hosted within Basin-and-Range Palaeozoic sediments.
The property lies along the western flank of the Albion Mountains,
part of the Albion-Raft River-Grouse Creek Metamorphic Core
Complex. Oakley
contains multiple targets, including Cold Creek, Blue Hill Creek
and Matrix Creek.
Qualified Person
Mr. Alan Roberts, Msc, CPG, Vice
President Exploration (US), has acted as the Qualified Person, as
defined in NI 43-101, with respect to the disclosure of the
scientific and technical information relating to exploration
results contained in this press release.
About Excellon
Excellon's vision is to create wealth by realizing strategic
opportunities through discipline and innovation for the benefit of
our employees, communities and shareholders. The Company is
advancing a precious metals growth pipeline that includes: Platosa,
Mexico's highest-grade silver mine
since production commenced in 2005; Kilgore, a high quality gold development
project in Idaho with strong
economics and significant growth and discovery potential; and an
option on Silver City, a
high-grade epithermal silver district in Saxony, Germany with 750 years of mining history and
no modern exploration. The Company also aims to continue
capitalizing on current market conditions by acquiring undervalued
projects.
Additional details on Excellon's properties are available at
www.excellonresources.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content
of this Press Release, which has been prepared by management. This
press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 27E of the
Exchange Act. Such statements include, without limitation,
statements regarding the future results of operations, performance
and achievements of the Company, including potential property
acquisitions, the timing, content, cost and results of proposed
work programs, the discovery and delineation of mineral
deposits/resources/reserves, geological interpretations, proposed
production rates, potential mineral recovery processes and rates,
business and financing plans, business trends and future operating
revenues. Although the Company believes that such statements are
reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will
prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically
identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend,
estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which,
by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions
investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are
not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual
results may differ materially from those in forward looking
statements as a result of various factors, including, but not
limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any
mineral deposits that may be located, significant downward
variations in the market price of any minerals produced, the
Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or
authorizations required for its activities, to produce minerals
from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its
projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully
able to implement its business strategies. All of the Company's
public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and
readers are urged to review these materials, including the
technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral
properties, and particularly the September
7, 2018 NI 43-101 technical report prepared by SRK
Consulting (Canada) Inc. with
respect to the Platosa Property. This press release is not and is
not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell
securities in the United States.
SOURCE Excellon Resources Inc.