(TheNewswire)
Vancouver, Canada - TheNewswire - November 23, 2020 - HeliostarMetals Limited (TSXV:HSTR ) , (OTC :RGCTF ) , (F RA:RGG) ( "Heliostar" or the "Company" ) is pleased to announcethe first results from its 2020 exploration program at the Ungaproject in Alaska. The Aquila target is a located six kilometressouthwest of the SH-1 resource, and surface mapping and sampling hasdefined an 800-metre-long trend of gold mineralization associated witha network of epithermal veins. This release contains results from thefirst of five holes completed at Aquila, four of which intersected theAquila vein.
Drilling Highlights
AQ20-01
-
-4.46 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 6.8 g/t silverover 3.6 metres (m) from 37.55 m downhole including;
-
-9.12 g/t gold and 11.85 g/t silver over 1.16 m from37.55 m downhole
-
Note: All numbers are rounded and widths representdownhole lengths. True thickness is estimated at 86% of downholelengths
Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented "Having success in our first hole atthe Aquila target is a great start to the Unga drilling program. Drilling has intersected the vein in four of five holes and it remainsopen along strike and at depth. These Aquila results are the firstreceived from the ongoing drilling program, which includes drilling atthe SH-1 resource, the Apollo Mine and other targets. Heliostar's aimin 2020 is to demonstrate the potential for Unga to host asignificantly larger resource and the company intends to continue anaggressive exploration and resource drilling program in2021."
Aquila Target
The Aquila target is a series of outcropping epithermalveins located along the Shumigan vein trend. Heliostar targeted thearea because historic work showed multiple areas of outcroppingmineralization but limited, widely spaced, drilling had not matchedsurface results.
In the early 1980s, a UNC Teton Exploration DrillingInc. operated program discovered the area and defined multiple veinsover a 1,000 metre by 500 metre area within what was interpreted to bea zone of structural dilation. Trenching along the main vein zonereturned a best result of 11.48 g/t gold and 53.47 g/t silver over3.66m in the discovery trench (The qualified person has not been ableto independently verify the historical assay results presented aboveand Heliostar's drilling is to establish the grades and widths of veintargets at Aquila).
Historic drilling was completed at nine locationsthroughout the Aquila target area, with the program handicapped bypoor core recovery. No significant additional exploration has beenundertaken from the early 1980s until this year.
Heliostar commenced drilling at the approximatelocation of a historic hole that had poor core recovery in the targetvein zone, with hole AQ20-01 and follow-up holes AQ20-02 to AQ20-05testing the vein both along strike and at depth. This drilling hadsignificantly improved core recovery from the main vein, and hasdefined a vein orientation different to the expected, a favourabledevelopment that allows considerable room for expansion along strikeand at depth.
The Aquila vein consists of quartz, calcite andamethyst, and frequently contains brecciated clasts of vein and wallrock. Quartz commonly exhibits cockscomb and colloform epithermaltextures, and the vein has experienced multiple pulses of brecciationand vein formation. Mineralisation is associated with minor amountsof finely disseminated sphalerite and galena in the vein andoccasional pyrite along the vein margins.
Assays from the main vein interval in hole AQ20-01 wererushed for analysis due to the longer laboratory processing timescurrently being experienced by the industry. Any further results fromAQ20-01 will be reported separately once received.
Figure 1: TheUnga project with 2020 primary drill targets identified.
Figure 2: Aquila plan map with veins, gold in rock chip samples anddrill hole locations shown
Figure 3: Aquila cross section looking to southwest
Drillhole | From | To | Interval (m) | Gold | Silver | Comment |
AQ20-01 | 37.55 | 41.15 | 3.6 | 4.46 | 6.8 | Further assays pending outside of main vein |
Incl. | 37.55 | 38.71 | 1.16 | 9.12 | 11.8 | |
AQ20-02 | Assays Pending | |||||
AQ20-03 | Assays Pending | |||||
AQ20-04 | Assays Pending | |||||
AQ20-05 | Assays Pending |
Table 1: Tableof intersections from the Aquila Prospect. True thickness isestimated at 86% of downhole lengths.
Prospect | Drillhole | Easting | Northing | Elevation | Inclination | Azimuth | Total Depth |
Aquila | AQ20-01 | 394775 | 6117085 | 217 | 120 | -45 | 78.6 |
AQ20-02 | 394774 | 6117088 | 216 | 75 | -45 | 117.7 | |
AQ20-03 | 394772 | 6117083 | 217 | 165 | -45 | 60.4 | |
AQ20-04 | 394767 | 6117106 | 217 | 165 | -45 | 118.0 | |
AQ20-05 | 394768 | 6117107 | 216 | 140 | -53 | 133.8 |
Table 2: Aquila drill hole details. NAD83, Zone 4 Coordinate system.
Exploration Update
The 2020 Unga project drill program is continuing witha total of 3,063 metres completed to-date. Under-utilization of thedrill rigs due to lack of contract staff has impacted the plannedprogram and the company expects to complete approximately 3,500m ofdrilling in the current program.
Nine holes have been completed at SH-1, five at Aquila,three at Apollo, and four at Sitka. Empire Ridge and Sitka have beenadded as new drilling targets and drilling is in progress at theEmpire Ridge target.
About Heliostar Metals Ltd.
Heliostar is a well-financed junior exploration anddevelopment company with a portfolio of high-grade gold projects inAlaska and Mexico. The company's flagship asset is the 100%controlled Unga Gold Project on Unga and Popof Islands in Alaska. Theproject hosts an intermediate sulphidation epithermal gold depositwithin the district-scale property that encompasses 240km 2 across the twoislands. Additional targets on the property include intermediatesulphidation epithermal veins, and porphyry and high sulphidationtargets. On Unga Island, priority targets include: SH-1 and Aquila,both on the Shumagin Trend, the former Apollo-Sitka mine, which wasAlaska's first underground gold mine, and the Zachary Bay porphyrygold-copper prospect. Gold mineralization at the Centennial Zone islocated on neighbouring Popof Island within four kilometres ofinfrastructure and services at Sand Point.
In Mexico, the company owns 100% of three early stageepithermal projects in Sonora that are highly prospective for gold andsilver. Cumaro forms part of the El Picacho district, while the OsoNegro and La Lola projects are large, properties with multipleoutcropping veins that have never been drilled.
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
Drill core samples were shipped to ALS Limited inFairbanks, Alaska for sample preparation and for analysis at the ALSlaboratory in North Vancouver. The ALS Fairbanks and North Vancouverfacilities are ISO/IEC 17025 certified. Silver and base metals wereanalyzed using a four-acid digestion with an ICP finish and gold wasassayed by 30-gram fire assay with atomic absorption ("AA")spectroscopy finish.
Control samples comprising certified reference samples,duplicates and blank samples were systematically inserted into thesample stream and analyzed as part of the Company's quality assurance/ quality control protocol.
Qualified Person
The Company's disclosure of technical or scientificinformation in this press release has been reviewed and approved byStewart Harris, P.Geo., Exploration Manager for the Company. Mr.Harris is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of NationalInstrument 43-101.
For additional information pleasecontact:
Charles Funk
Chief Executive Officer
Heliostar Metals Limited?
Email: info@heliostarmetals.com
Phone: +1 236-429-9306
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its RegulationServices Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXVenture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracyof this release.
Forward-Looking Information. Thisrelease includes certain statements that may be deemed"forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statementsare statements that are not historical facts and are generally, butnot always, identified by the words "expects","plans", "anticipates", "believes","intends", "estimates", "projects","potential" and similar expressions, or that events orconditions "would", "may", "could" or"should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this pressrelease include Heliostar's expectations that the transactionscontemplated in the Agreement will be approved by the TSX VentureExchange and completed. Although the Company believes theexpectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based onreasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of futureperformance and actual results may differ materially from those in theforward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actualresults to differ materially from those in forward-looking statementsinclude market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, andcontinued availability of capital and financing, and general economic,market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any suchstatements are not guarantees of future performance and actual resultsor developments may differ materially from those projected in theforward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based onthe beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on thedate the statements are made. Except as required by applicablesecurities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update theseforward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs,estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
Copyright (c) 2020 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.