VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 04, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aben Resources Ltd. (ABN.V) (ABNAF) (E2L2.F) (the “Company”) is pleased to provide results for the first four drill holes of the phase-one drill program at the Forrest Kerr Gold Project located within the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia. The initial three holes were drilled at the Carcass Creek Zone and the fourth is the first of six holes drilled at the Boundary Zone located 7.7 km south of Carcass Creek. Both locations host historically reported polymetallic high-grade mineralization.
Golden Triangle, BC Claims Map:
http://www.abenresources.com/i/maps/ABN_Golden_Triangle_map.jpg
Highlights:
- Hole FK17-04 returns 6.7 g/t Au, 6.4 g/t Ag and 0.9% Cu over 10.0 metres, including 18.9 g/t Au, 16.6 g/t Ag and 2.2% Cu over 3.0 metres
- Part of a much larger mineralized horizon which returned 0.26 g/t Au over 387.0 metres
- Hole FK17-04 is large stepout located 280 metres north of historic Boundary Zone drill hole RG91-16 which returned 33.4 g/t Au over 11 metres including 326 g/t Au over 0.5 metres
- Style and degree of alteration and mineralization indicative of a robust hydrothermal system with the mineralized zones being relatively enriched in chalcopyrite, a copper mineral that has shown a strong correlation with gold mineralization both on the Forrest Kerr Property and in several other localities within the Golden Triangle including GT Gold’s Tatogga property
- Hole FK17-04 is the first of six holes that were completed in the Boundary Zone with assays pending for the remaining five holes
- The strongest and most extensive gold and copper soil anomalies have yet to be drill tested in the southern portion of the Boundary Zone
- Given these early stage results, Aben has plans to aggressively explore and drill test the high-grade Boundary Zone which is open along strike and at depth
Aben's Forrest Kerr, BC Project Map:
http://www.abenresources.com/i/maps/FK-007.jpg
Jim Pettit, CEO of Aben stated: "The assay results from Aben’s first hole drilled at the Boundary Zone on our flagship Forrest Kerr project are very exciting and illustrate the robust upside potential at the property. The discovery of high-grade, near-surface gold mineralization in hole FK17-04, and the fact that it is a 280 metre step out north of the known historic high-grade gold mineralization at the zone, is highly encouraging. Furthermore, the strongest and most extensive gold and copper soil anomalies are present in the relatively untested southern portion of the Boundary Zone. The target areas in and around the Boundary Zone are relatively shallow and continue to provide strong discovery potential as we look to value-add the project using a systematic exploration methodology. The Company is awaiting assay results from the final five drill holes, all of which were drilled at the Boundary Zone and will provide updates as results become available.”
The Boundary Zone:
The first drill hole (FK17-04) collared at the Boundary Zone, located in the central part of the Forrest Kerr property, intersected near-surface, high-grade gold-silver-copper (Au-Ag-Cu) mineralization in addition to several other mineralized zones along its entire length. Hole FK17-04 encountered a carbonate breccia unit containing semi-massive sulphide mineralization that returned 6.7 g/t (grams per tonne) Au, 6.4 g/t Ag and 0.9% Cu over 10.0 metres from 16.0 to 26.0 metres depth. Within this interval was a section which returned 18.9 g/t Au, 16.6 g/t Ag and 2.2% Cu over 3.0 metres. This high-grade intercept was part of a 53.0 metre zone between 10.0 and 63.0 metres depth that returned an average of 1.5 g/t Au, 2.0 g/t Ag and 0.23% Cu. The average gold grade over the entire length of 387.0 metres is 0.26 g/t Au from 10.0 to 397.0 metres. A summary of select drill intercepts can be viewed in the table below.
| 2017 Boundary Zone Drilling |
| Hole # | | | | From
(m) | | To
(m) | | Width
(m) | | Au
(g/t) | | Ag
(g/t) | | Cu
(%) | | Zn
(%) |
| FK17-04 | | entire hole | | 10.0 | | 397.0 | | 387.0 | | 0.26 | | | | | | |
| | | including: | | 10.0 | | 63.0 | | 53.0 | | 1.5 | | 2.0 | | 0.23 | | |
| | | | | 16.0 | | 26.0 | | 10.0 | | 6.7 | | 6.36 | | 0.9 | | |
| | | | | 18.0 | | 21.0 | | 3.0 | | 18.9 | | 16.6 | | 2.2 | | |
| | | | | 154.0 | | 170.0 | | 16.0 | | 0.07 | | 2.1 | | | | 0.32 |
| | | | | 193.0 | | 207.0 | | 14.0 | | 1.1 | | 2.8 | | 0.2 | | |
| *Drilled intercept widths, true widths unknown | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Drill core from hole FK17-04 shows strong quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) alteration with variably abundant episodic quartz-sulphide-carbonate veining. This style and degree of alteration is indicative that a robust hydrothermal system operated over time in the area. As previously reported, numerous copper-enriched mineralized zones were encountered over notable widths during drilling at the Boundary Zone in several of the drill holes. This type of geochemical and alteration signature has historically been strongly indicative of the potential for significant gold mineralization. This is particularly exciting given the mineralogic similarities between the sulphide horizons Aben has drilled and those that GT Gold is reporting from their Tatogga Property, located north of the Forrest Kerr Project.
Picture of Drilling at Boundary Zone, Forrest Kerr Project, BC:
http://www.abenresources.com/i/photos/forrest-kerr/IMG_8866.jpg
Hole FK17-04 is the first of six holes completed at the Boundary Zone during phase-one drilling and the first of three collared from the same drill pad. All three holes pierced the strongly mineralized carbonate-sulphide breccia unit, which will help to interpret the zone geometry and continuity of mineralization. Of particular note, hole FK17-04 is located 280 metres north of historic Boundary Zone drill hole RG91-16 which returned 33.4 g/t Au over 11 metres including 326 g/t Au over 0.5 metres. Drill locations and orientations for this first phase of drilling were chosen to cut perpendicularly across as many structurally-controlled mineralized zones as possible, beginning at the northern end of the Boundary Zone and progressing southward.
The strongest and most extensive gold and copper soil anomalies are present in the essentially untested southern portion of the Boundary Zone. Aben’s management and geological team are highly encouraged that this type of mineralization has been discovered at the onset of the drilling at the Boundary Zone, and plan to aggressively explore the high-grade zones with future drilling.
There are five more drill holes with assays pending that were drilled at the Boundary Zone including additional step-out holes located north and south of the historic high-grade mineralization encountered in hole RG91-16 as well as one hole drilled back at the historic high-grade zone. Sulphides within these packages are relatively enriched in chalcopyrite, a copper mineral that has shown a strong correlation with gold mineralization both on the Forrest Kerr Property and in several localities within the Golden Triangle. The drill core for the final five holes has been sent to the assay labs and final geochemical assays are pending.
The Carcass Creek Zone:
The first three drill holes of 2017 (holes FK17-01, FK17-02 and FK17-03) were collared 7.7 km north of the Boundary Zone in the Carcass Creek area, where historic drilling had returned high-grade intercepts such as 9.9 g/t Au over 29.3 metres, including 124.9 g/t Au over 0.8 metres and 91.6 g/t Au over 1.9 metres in hole RG91-21. Two of Aben’s holes encountered mineralized horizons containing Au, Ag, Cu and Zn with assay values ranging from trace amounts to those listed in the table below for the noted elements. Aben’s geological team will continue to assess the latest results from Carcass Creek and interpret them together with the historic data as the understanding of mineralizing controls continues to evolve.
| 2017 Carcass Creek Zone Drilling |
| Hole # | | From
(m) | | To
(m) | | Width
(m) | | Au
(g/t) | | Ag
(g/t) | | Cu
(%) | | Zn
(%) |
| FK17-01 | | 82.0 | | 90.0 | | 8.0 | | 0.35 | | 1.1 | | | | 0.43 |
| | | 122.0 | | 125.0 | | 3.0 | | 0.49 | | 4.3 | | 0.23 | | 0.27 |
| | | 138.0 | | 146.0 | | 8.0 | | 0.27 | | 3.28 | | 0.44 | | |
| FK17-02 | | No significant results to report | | | | | | | |
| FK17-03 | | 173.0 | | 178.0 | | 5.0 | | 0.22 | | 1.34 | | | | 0.23 |
| *Drilled intercepts, true widths unknown | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Forrest Kerr Gold Project Summary:
The Forrest Kerr Property represents a consolidation of the RDN, Forgold, Forrest and various Aben-controlled claims that comprise 23,000 hectares in the Golden Triangle area of British Columbia. Aben has agreements in place that give the Company the exclusive right to earn a 100% interest in the various properties. Historic exploration work on the property over the last three decades has produced a database that includes over 120 drill holes, 2,100 rock and 18,000 soil samples. A majority of the work was completed in the early 1990’s after the discovery of the nearby Eskay Creek mine spurred an exploration boom in the area. Very little activity has been recorded on the claim group in the past decade, a period of time that has seen vast improvements in local infrastructure with the construction of the 277 megawatt Northwest hydro-electric facility, located on the southern portion of the property. In addition, all-weather road access to both the northern and southern portions of the property is available from the paved provincial Stewart-Cassiar Highway #37.
*Note: Aben has not been able to independently verify the methodology and results from historical work programs within the property boundaries. However, management believes that the historical work programs have been conducted in a professional manner and the quality of data and information produced from them are relevant. In addition, management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the Forrest Kerr Property.
Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., V.P. of Exploration of Aben Resources, has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Analytical and QA/QC Description:
All drill core samples were delivered to ALS Global prep facility in Terrace, British Columbia where they were crushed until 70% passed a 2mm sieve, then a 250g split was pulverized until better than 85% passed a 75 micron screen. Gold was tested via fire assay method Au-ICP21 with all ore-grade samples (>10 g/t) undergoing fire assay with gravimetric finish. ALS performed multi-element ICP-AES package ME-ICP41 in their Vancouver facility to test for 35 other elements. In addition to the quality assurance and quality control program performed by ALS, Aben personnel inserted lab certified standards, field blanks and duplicates into the sample stream at the rate of one QA/QC sample in every 10 samples. All Certificates of Analysis have been thoroughly checked and no issues were discovered.
About Aben Resources:
Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing gold-focused projects in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory. Aben is a well-funded junior exploration company with approximately 53.2 million shares issued and outstanding. For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (ABN.V), visit our Company’s web site at www.abenresources.com.
ABEN RESOURCES LTD.
“Jim Pettit”
______________________
JAMES G. PETTIT
President & CEO
For further information contact myself or:
Don Myers
Aben Resources Ltd.
Director, Investor Relations
Telephone: 604-639-3851
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: info@abenresources.com
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This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.