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VANCOUVER, Jan. 24 /CNW/ - KENRICH-ESKAY MINING CORPORATION (the "Company") has now received geochemical and assay results from an additional 21 diamond drill holes and from prospecting samples from its 2006 exploration program on the Corey Project, near Stewart, BC.
The 2006 Corey exploration program focused on exploring a large volcanic-sedimentary rift basin of the same age and setting as the Eskay Creek mine that is an exceptionally gold- and silver-rich massive sulphide deposit, located 10 km north of the Corey. This drilling program focused on testing the C10 Zone hydrothermal system and numerous geophysical anomalies revealed by the 2006 AeroTEM II airborne survey. Previous news releases have reported on results from drillholes CR06-29 to CR06-61.
C 10 Zone drilling: New results further confirm Eskay-type feeder system
Three additional drillholes, CR06-62 to CR06-64, totaling 1361.5 metres continued to test the exciting hydrothermal alteration system at the C10 Zone in an effort to test its dimensions and grade and to vector towards potential massive sulphide hosting horizons at higher levels in the stratigraphy. Hole 62 was drilled as a 'deep test' under holes 33 and 34 (previously reported). This hole intersected a 40 metre wide altered zone and a 5 metre wide mudstone interval, which represent the targeted "Eskay-style" host rocks. In the 2007 program, the search for these types of units will likely shift to the upper and east flanks of Mount Madge.
Hole CR06-63 was designed to test the possible downdip extension of the "VMS-like" fragmental units intersected in holes 33 and 34. Typical C10 Zone alteration was intersected along with enriched zones of copper, zinc and gold. For example, a 4.0 metre interval from 303.4 to 307.4 metres depth returned 1439.6 ppm Cu, 71 ppm Zn and 258.8 ppb Au while another 2.0 metre wide interval from 321.4 to 323.4 metres depth returned 141.6 ppm Cu, 3993.5 ppm Zn and 2203.8 ppb Au (equivalent to 2.2 g/t Au).
Hole CR06-64 was drilled from a high elevation on the eastern flank of Mount Madge and was designed to start 'upsection' in potentially younger rocks above the C10 altered feeder zone and to drill down into, and possibly through the alteration zone. Due to deteriorating weather conditions at this elevation relatively late in the season, the drilling of this hole was suspended before its target depth; the hole will be recovered in 2007 and drilled to its planned depth.
The 2006 drilling at the C10 has successfully confirmed the conclusions from the 2005 program that this zone represents a broad, base and precious metal enriched hydrothermally-altered zone of the type that might be a feeder to an Eskay Creek-type massive sulphide deposit. In future, the goal will be to test geological horizons close to the C10 that could host these deposits.
Battlement Area: Eskay-equivalent stratigraphy targeted
Geological mapping and sampling in 2005 & 2006 of the rugged and overburden-covered Battlement zone has established the presence of mudstone and sub-aqueous rhyolite and basalt that are part of the Eskay rift sequence. The rhyolites at Battlement have a lithogeochemical signature very similar to those hosting the Eskay Creek massive sulphides. This area is also the location of numerous polymetallic geochemical anomalies identified during the 2004-05 stream sediment sampling program. The 2006 drilling targeted portions of this sequence. Drillholes CR06-65 to CR06-74 totaling 1814.6 metres was completed from five drillsites at Battlement.
Holes CR06-65, -66, -70 and CR06-72 to -74 targeted a belt of "Eskay-equivalent" rhyolite, mudstone and basalt in the southern part of the Battlement. As predicted from surface mapping, these holes intersected a mixture of rhyolite, mudstone and basalt. Significant enrichments in copper, lead, zinc and silver as well as "Eskay pathfinders" such as antimony were intersected in some of the mudstones. Most significantly, hole CR06-65 returned a 1.3 metre interval from 143.7 to 145.0 metres that graded 0.12% Cu, 0.12% Pb, 1.1% Zn and 78.9 g/t Ag as well as 576.2 ppm Sb (antimony). This mineralization is hosted by a silicified mudstone close to the contact with the tholeiitic, rift-related rhyolites. Hole 66 intersected a similar altered mudstone with pyrite stringers at the same stratigraphic position but it showed more subtle enrichments of base metals.
Unfortunately difficult ground conditions were encountered and holes CR06-68, -70, -72 and -74 were not drilled to their planned depths and did not adequately test their targets.
Holes CR06-67 to -69 targeted the subsurface extensions of a mudstone in the north end of the Battlement area that contains clasts of massive pyrite as revealed by prospecting and geological mapping in 2005-06. This area was also considered a high priority due to the presence of nearby polymetallic stream geochemical anomalies. All of these holes intersected units, either felsic breccias or muddy mafic conglomerates that contained varying amounts of massive sulphide clasts up to several percent. While these intervals did not reveal significant enrichments of base or precious metals, they are highly significant and encouraging because the presence of massive sulphide clasts implies that there was likely a coherent massive sulphide lens that slumped or was eroded to yield these transported clasts or fragments. The key to future work in this area will be attempting to determine the source of these sulphide clasts.
Hole CR06-71 targeted the subsurface extension of a body of quartz-sericite-pyrite altered rhyolite interbedded with extensive mudstones identified by geological mapping. The hole did not intersect this rhyolite due to a 6-metre wide fault zone intersected in the core that likely offset the unit. No follow-up hole was planned.
The Battlement remains a highly prospective area. It comprises about 4 kilometres north to south of Eskay-equivalent mudstones, rhyolite and basalt with coincident geochemical anomalies. The Company geologists will be further assessing these results in the upcoming months and integrating them with all other available datasets as they plan for the 2007 exploration program.
Spearhead Zone: A new massive sulphide discovery
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In 2006, prospectors investigating an AeroTEM electromagnetic conductor in the eastern part of the property discovered the Spearhead showing within a northwest trending, two hundred by one hundred metre outcrop of silicified rhyolite. The blanket of ice and snow that has covered the Spearhead showing in previous years melted away in the late summer of 2006. Geological mapping and sampling in 2006 has demonstrated that the host rhyolite-mudstone sequence at Spearhead belongs to the Eskay-equivalent Salmon River Formation, with a style of mineralization and geological relationships very similar to those at the HSOV Zone located 2 km to the west. However, mineralization and alteration at Spearhead are much more extensive than at HSOV. It should be noted that the rhyolite package that hosts the HSOV has been dated at the University of British Columbia and is of the same age as the Eskay Creek rhyolites.
In 2006, the Spearhead Zone was tested by drillholes SH-1 and SH-2 for a total of 251.3 metres. Hole SH-1 intersected a thick interval of silicified rhyolite that was overlain by volcanic conglomerate and black mudstone, again indicating a very favorable, Eskay-style environment. Notably, the mudstones contain a 1.2 metre-wide interval of fine grained massive pyrite laminations as well as pyrite-sphalerite-quartz veinlets. Zinc enrichments are present in this interval; for example, hole SH-1 returned 0.5 metres grading 2048 ppm Zn (equivalent to 0.2% Zn) from 107.6 to 108.1 metres and a 2.0 metre interval grading 1335 ppm Zn from 108.1 to 110.1 metres depth. Due to drilling difficulties and very poor weather at the end of the program, hole SH-2 was terminated while still within the rhyolite unit and it did not reach the mudstone horizon.
The discovery of the Spearhead Zone has effectively upgraded the eastern portion of the property and provided an exciting new target for intensive work in the 2007 program that will include further geological mapping and diamond drilling. The extensive alteration, rusty gossan zones and stockwork to massive, laminated sulphide mineralization all indicate that a VMS-style hydrothermal system was active in this area.
Golfcourse area drilling: Testing altered, Eskay-equivalent units
The previous news release commented on drilling (holes CR06-49 to -57) in the Golfcourse area (so named for the high elevation meadows) in the northeast of the property. An additional 3 holes, GC-1 to GC-3, totaling 304.5 metres of drilling are reported herein. These 3 drillholes targeted an area of quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) alteration associated with a belt of "Eskay-equivalent" rhyolite, andesite and mudstone that was identified by surface geological mapping in the 2005 program. All three holes intersected a 20 to 30 metre wide interval of QSP altered andesite and rhyolite, the same as observed at surface. However, only pyrite stringers were encountered in this interval and there were no significant enrichments of base or precious metals.
Angela Creek area: drilling tests sulphide mineralization in rhyolite and
mudstone
The Angela Creek semi-massive sulphide occurrence was discovered in 2004 during geological mapping. It comprises a five metre-by-two metre sized outcrop of five to twenty percent pyrite that cements a quartz-sericite altered & flow-associated rhyolite breccia. The breccia sits within black mudstone. This association of sulphide mineralization with rhyolite and black mudstone is most favorable as it is very similar to the geological relationships of the Eskay Creek mineralization.
This zone was tested in 2006 by three drillholes, AC-1 to AC-3, for a total of 257 metres. Holes Ac-1 and -2 intersected a strongly hydrothermally altered rhyolite breccia that contained up to 20% massive pyrite in its matrix. The sulphide textures suggest that the mineralization is VMS-style i.e. it formed in close association with the volcanic activity that deposited the host rocks. These wide pyritic zones showed anomalous enrichments in zinc and gold. For example, hole AC-1 returned a 12.1 metre interval from 26.2 to 38.2 metres depth that graded 0.1% Zn and 0.5 g/t Au. Hole AC-2 returned a similar 13.4 metre interval from 30.8 to 44.2 metres depth that graded 0.1% Zn and 0.23 g/t Au. Hole AC-3 did not intersect this pyrite-cemented breccia, likely due to faulting.
GFJ and "Eastern" Showings: High-grade surface samples recovered
As reported in the news release of November 2006, prospecting around a series of strong gossan zones in the eastern part of the property returned some samples of very high gold, silver and copper grades. Some more assay results from this surface sampling program are reported herein. Numerous samples were taken from a roughly 500 metre by 500 metre area in the vicinity of the GFJ Showing. A strong AeroTEM conductor in this area attracted the geologists' attention in 2006. This is an area of altered mafic volcanic rocks cut by quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins with high precious metal grades. Sample 429791 returned grades of 94.5 g/t Au, 175 g/t Ag and 2.48% Cu. The results in the table below show the highlights of grab samples from the GFJ area. Sampling was also carried out further east still, in the area immediately west of the Ted Morris Glacier in an area called, for now, the "Eastern Showings" due to the large number of rusty gossans along the eastern flanks of the property south of the Spearhead Zone. Sample 12805 from this area graded 36.8 g/t Au, 110 g/t Ag and 1.59% Cu. All of these surface samples were taken somewhat late in the season and as such the areas were not examined in great detail by the geologists. These high grade zones will be examined in more detail by Company geologists in the 2007 field program to determine the true nature of this exciting mineralization and to put it in a proper geological context.
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Gold Silver Copper
Sample Zone (g/t) (g/t) (%)
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313076 GFJ 13.1 78.9 3.24
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313083 west of GFJ 22.7 112 1.14
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313086 GFJ 42.5 87.5 1.94
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313087 GFJ 20.07 15.1 0.06
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429791 GFJ 94.5 175 2.48
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429800 GFJ 14.2 19.5 0.06
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12805 "Eastern" 36.8 110 1.59
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The information contained in this document has been reviewed by Paul McGuigan, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of The Board of Directors of Kenrich-Eskay Mining Corporation.
"Wally E. Boguski"
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Wally E Boguski,
President, CEO, Director
This document contains certain forward looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, and uncertainties not under the corporation's control which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the corporation to be materially different from the results, performance or expectation implied by these forward looking statements.
"TSX Venture Exchange" does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.
%SEDAR: 00005759E