Golden Sky Minerals Corp.
(AUEN.V) (the “Company” or “Golden Sky”) is
pleased to announce the results of the 2021 soil program conducted
on its 100% owned Rayfield Property (“the Property”) in British
Columbia. The program consisted of 1,337 B-horizon soil samples
that encompassed an area of 26 km2 (~4km x 6.5km). This program was
designed to create a comprehensive database for surficial
geochemistry and to outline any soil anomalies on a regional scale.
In addition to the soil samples, a total of 27 rock samples were
collected and submitted for both geochemical and lithogeochemical
analysis.
This first-pass soil program successfully
delineated a large copper-in-soil anomaly (>100 ppm Cu) that
extends >3.0 kilometres (north to south) and up to ~1.0
kilometre wide (east to west). Within this anomaly are several soil
samples that assayed up to ~4,000 ppm Cu (0.400% Cu) (Figure
1).
“We are very pleased with the early success of
this extensive soil program on the Rayfield Property,” stated
Cameron Dorsey, VP Exploration of Golden Sky. “A broad
copper-in-soil anomaly has now been defined with similar
geological, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics that are
commonly associated with other alkalic porphyries in the Quesnel
Terrane. We are very excited to get boots back on the ground for
exploration in 2022.”
The Rayfield Project is located in the Quesnel
Trough, British Columbia’s primary copper-producing belt, which
hosts Teck Resources’ Highland Valley Mine, Imperial Metals’ Mount
Polley Mine, Centerra Gold’s Mount Milligan Mine, and Kodiak
Copper’s MPD Project (see Figure 2). The Rayfield Copper-Gold
Project is located approximately 20 kilometers east of the Town of
70 Mile House, British Columbia, and is accessible year-round by
well-maintained service and logging roads extending from BC Highway
97.
Figure 1: Assay values for copper in the 2021
soil program overlaying airborne geophysical magnetic survey (TMI)
results. Copper assays become elevated above and adjacent to two
magnetic anomalies. Surficial geology, occurring as thicker blanket
till on the plateau and colluvium along the margins of the canyon,
is likely affecting the copper values. Intermittent copper assays
may be indicating an extension of copper mineralization to the
northwest and southeast within thick till
cover.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eb8f2d08-236c-448d-b81f-04c75fe77fe7
Figure 2: Rayfield Copper-Gold Project in
relation to major projects in the Quesnel
Trough.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6101907c-05df-4882-ba50-5e3b4364af25
Rayfield Property 2021 Fieldwork
Highlights:
- Elevated copper-in-soil anomalies
were identified adjacent to, and overlying, several geophysical
magnetic and radiometric anomalies (Figure 1). These geophysical
characteristics are similar to those signifying other alkalic
copper-gold porphyry systems in the Quesnel Terrane. The elevated
copper grades from the 2021 soil program may indicate a mineralized
porphyry system at depth.
- Surficial geology varies across the
property, with a thick till blanket on the plateau and colluvium
along the canyon margins. As the till is typically quite thick,
slight increases in pathfinder mineral abundances are therefore
crucial in vectoring towards a target zone. Several elements,
including copper (Cu), silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi), arsenic (As) and
zinc (Zn) are closely correlated here, and are commonly associated
with porphyry deposits. The overlap of these pathfinder
elements defines a Cu-Ag-Bi-Zn-Pb anomaly that extends
approximately 1.8 kilometres (north-south) by 1.5 kilometres
(east-west), centered on a magnetic anomaly (Figure
3).
- Geological and alteration mapping
delineated several zones of intense sheeted and stockwork quartz
veining (up to 20% of rock volume) and localized brecciation
(Figure 4). Potassic alteration occurs commonly as halos bounding
quartz veinlets. The most abundant sulphide minerals observed were
bornite and chalcopyrite, associated with malachite and azurite.
Native copper was also present. A total of 27
rock grab samples were collected in 2021, with assays up to
0.45% Cu. Copper mineralization was mainly constrained to quartz
vein margins but were also present as disseminations within
intrusions of intermediate composition. The highest-grade
samples were collected near the northern limits of the 2021 soil
program in a zone that was never tested by historic drilling.
- Sheeted quartz vein orientations
strike northwest and dip moderately-steeply northeast. In zones of
stockwork quartz veining, however, veins strike east-west and dip
shallowly-moderately to the north (Figure 4). Both sets of quartz
veins are mineralized, commonly with trace amounts of bornite
and/or chalcopyrite.
- The soil sampling program also
revealed that low-moderate gold values are commonly associated with
copper-in-soil anomalies. Although the threshold for anomalous
gold-in-soil is established as >10 ppb Au, three samples assayed
from ~250-500 ppb Au (0.25-0.50 g/t Au) (Figure 5). These
higher-grade results are in close proximity to the Rayfield River
canyon, which may be the surface expression of a fault zone that
may have acted as a conduit for hydrothermal fluids enriched in
gold. The Vidette Mine area, located about 20 km to the southeast,
is marked by high-grade gold-bearing epithermal quartz veins. These
quartz veins were mined in the 1930s, with an average grade of
30-45 g/t Au. A similar system of epithermal quartz veins
enriched in gold may explain the gold-in-soil anomalies outlined in
the 2021 program.
John Newell, President and CEO of Golden Sky Minerals, states,
“We are very pleased with this initial soil work at our Rayfield
project, as we prepare the property for further exploration in
2022. Golden Sky is well funded and will continue to explore and
build upon its geological database for our district-sized,
~11,000-hectare Rayfield property. We are encouraged that this work
is just the beginning to help us reveal the property’s potential to
host a copper gold porphyry system.”
Rayfield Property 2021 Fieldwork
Highlights:
- In 1989, a 34 line-kilometer
Induced Polarization (IP) survey on the Rayfield Property outlined
several chargeability “high” zones, which were subsequently tested
by drilling programs in 1989, 1990, and 2008. Interestingly, many
of the chargeability “high” zones trend east-west within an overall
northwest-southeast trend, very similar to the orientation of the
magnetic highs and the observed quartz vein orientations (Figure
5). Importantly, due to the shallow response of the survey
(limited to ~125m depth), these anomalies are interpreted to remain
open to depth. Golden Sky believes that, with
modern exploration methods, there is significant potential to
discover additional mineralized zones at depth.
- Exploration drilling on the
property from the 1970s to the early 2000s comprised just 60 holes
(7,774.2 metres), with the majority of the holes being shallow
percussion holes typically <60 m in depth. Historic
drilling outlined a broad footprint (~450m x 2,100m) of low-grade
copper mineralization and hydrothermal alteration indicating
potential for a copper-gold porphyry
system. Further drilling is warranted to determine if
historic drilling on the Rayfield Property intersected the
higher-grade core of the porphyry system.
- 1970 Exploration Program: 31 percussion holes totalling 1,748 m
- Drillhole highlights include: 0.42% Cu over 6.1m
- 1989 Exploration Program: 8 diamond drillholes totalling 1,141
m
- Drillhole highlights include: 0.18% Cu and 71 ppb Au over 33.9
m; 0.14% Cu and 30 ppb Au over 66.7 m
- 1990 Exploration Program: 14 diamond drillholes totalling 3,337
m
- Drillhole highlights include: 0.13% Cu and 35 ppb Au over 164
m
- 2008 Exploration Program: 7 diamond drillholes totalling
1,548.2 m
- Drillhole highlights include: 0.13% Cu and <10 ppb Au over
67 m
- The Rayfield Property is
located within the Quesnel Trough, a major mineralogic belt hosting
major alkalic porphyry deposits.
Figure 3: Pathfinder element plots for copper
mineralization encompassing the defined copper-in-soil anomaly and
also extending potential mineralization up to 1km to the south.
There is a thick till blanket covering most of the plateau, masking
underlying bedrock element
distribution.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b28aeb8c-560e-40c7-b8a3-ee990d9286e1
Figure 4: Rock grab samples with radiometric and
magnetic geophysical surveys. Outcrop is rare due to till cover but
was well exposed near the Rayfield River canyon margin. Potassic
halo alteration commonly occurs with radiometric potassium
anomalies that also coincide with magnetic high
features.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b7d625d9-a5aa-41cc-9a52-4ef7c7f7d130
Figure 5: Gold-in-soil results from 2021 program
overlying Cu soil contours, and magnetic survey (1VD). Lower-grade
gold associated with copper is typical of Cu-Au porphyry systems.
Higher-grade gold along linear trends may be related to epithermal
quartz vein systems similar to the Vidette gold mine, ~20km to the
southeast.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0134e943-9be0-472c-a649-b51c0ad98e07
Figure 6: Historical induced polarization survey
(IP) from 1989 with several selected 1970 and 1989 drillhole
assays. Most holes were drilled with a vertical dip except for
those drilled in 2008. The chargeability IP anomalies correlate
well with the copper anomalies of the 2021 soil sampling program,
extending from the canyon onto the plateau, indicating the thick
till may be obscuring mineralized bedrock. Importantly, the IP
survey was limited to ~125m of depth and the chargeability
anomalies remain open to
depth.https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e33bd97c-4973-4ed3-9a41-d4925bc1e99f
About Golden Sky Minerals
Corp.
Golden Sky Minerals Corp. is a well-funded
junior grassroots explorer engaged in the acquisition, assessment,
exploration, and development of mineral properties located in
highly prospective areas and mining-friendly districts. Golden
Sky’s mandate is to develop its portfolio of projects to the
mineral resource stage through systematic exploration.
The drill-ready projects include Hotspot,
Bullseye, and Lucky Strike, all in Yukon, Canada. In addition, the
recent purchases of the Rayfield Copper-Gold Project in southern
British Columbia, and the staking of the Eagle Mountain Gold
Project in the Cassiar Gold District in northern British Columbia,
add to the company’s substantial early-stage Canadian project
pipeline.
The company was incorporated in 2018 and is
headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
More information can be found at the Company’s website at
www.goldenskyminerals.com.
ON BEHALF OF
THE BOARD
John Newell, President and Chief Executive
Officer
Carl Schulze, P. Geo., Consulting Geologist with
Aurora Geosciences Ltd, is a qualified person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101 for Golden Sky’s British Columbia
exploration projects, and has reviewed and approved the technical
information in this release.
For new information from the Company's programs,
please visit Golden Sky's website at www.GoldenSkyMinerals.com or
contact John Newell by telephone (604) 568-8807 or by email at
info@goldenskyminerals.com or
john.newell@goldenskyminerals.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.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that
are not historical facts are “forward-looking information” or
“forward-looking statements” (collectively, “Forward-Looking
Information”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be
identified by the use of words and phrases such as “anticipates”,
“expects”, “understanding”, “has agreed to” or variations of such
words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or
results “would”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Although Golden Sky has
attempted to identify important factors and risks that could affect
Golden Sky and may cause actual actions, events or results to
differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking
Information, there may be other factors and risks that cause
actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended, including, without limitation: inherent risks involved in
the exploration and development of mineral properties; the
uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other
exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or
development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of
mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration,
development or mining results will not be consistent with Golden
Sky’s expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title and
permitting matters; labour disputes or other unanticipated
difficulties with or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal
prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to
the availability and costs of financing needed in the future,
including to fund any exploration programs on its projects; that
Golden Sky may not be able to confirm historical exploration
results and other risks set forth in Golden Sky's public filings at
www.sedar.com. In making the forward-looking statements in this
news release, Golden Sky has applied several material assumptions,
including the assumption that general business and economic
conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. There
can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to
be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking
Information. Except as required by law, Golden Sky does not assume
any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking
Information contained in this news release to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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