VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2014) - ATAC Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:ATC) ("ATAC" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an overview of its multiphase 2014 exploration and drilling program at its 100% owned Rackla Gold Project in east-central Yukon.
ATAC's Rackla Gold Project covers an area of 1,700 sq/km and hosts Canada's first Carlin-type gold discoveries. The project area is divided into two distinct trends: (i) the 50 km long Nadaleen Trend which hosts drill-confirmed Carlin-type mineralization at the Conrad, Osiris, Isis East, Sunrise and Anubis Zones: and (ii) the 20 km long Rau Trend which hosts the Tiger Gold Deposit and the Ocelot silver-lead-zinc-tin discovery. The majority of the 2014 exploration program will focus on the Carlin-type gold discoveries within the Nadaleen Trend.
2014 Phase One Exploration Objectives:
- To continue expanding the western end of the Sunrise Zone toward the high-grade Osiris anticline. Step out drilling will resume westward from the final 2013 holes that returned 19.81 m of 5.54 g/t gold (OS-13-214) and 16.76 m of 6.76 g/t gold (OS-13-217); and,
- To further prepare the Anubis area targets for a second phase drill program with extensive excavator trenching and pitting. Exploration work will be carried out at the Anubis discovery where hole AN-12-001 intersected 8.51 m of 19.85 g/t gold, on eight nearby 2012-2013 surface showings and on eight priority Carlin-type gold and/or pathfinder element soil anomalies over a 12 sq/km area. Diamond drilling will be conducted at the Anubis Zone in 2014.
"Exploration in 2013 was very successful in identifying a new region of Carlin-type gold targets within a geochemical anomaly comparable in size to the Osiris cluster. We are very excited to return to these virtually untested priority targets. The planned Sunrise Zone expansion drilling and Anubis area trenching programs will continue to prove the resource and district potential of the Rackla Gold Project," states Graham Downs, CEO of ATAC. "With the first phase Nadaleen Trend exploration program budgeted at approximately $5 million, ATAC will be in a very strong financial position with approximately $20 million remaining to conduct an aggressive second phase program based on initial results."
The Sunrise Zone is centered within the 3 x 4 km Osiris cluster of five distinct Carlin-type gold occurrences that also includes the Conrad, Osiris, Isis East and Isis Zones. Mineralization at Sunrise was first discovered in 2012 in hole OS-12-173 which collared in mineralization and returned 14.86 m of 10.54 g/t gold. Subsequent drilling in 2013 west of hole OS-12-173 intersected high-grade gold mineralization hosted in intensely decalcified limestone adjacent to a steeply dipping fault. The mineralization is open to depth and along strike to the west toward the higher grade core of the Osiris Zone. Initial drilling at Sunrise will step out westward from holes OS-13-214 and OS-13-217. A drill hole plan map of the proposed 2014 Sunrise Zone expansion drilling area can be viewed on ATAC's website.
The Anubis area was discovered in 2012, 10 km to the west of the Osiris cluster. It is characterized by a northwest trending 12 sq/km gold and pathfinder element geochemical anomaly comparable in size and intensity to the Osiris area anomaly. Initial drilling beneath the Anubis discovery outcrop intersected 8.51 m of 19.85 g/t gold in discovery hole AN-12-001. Follow-up soil geochemistry, prospecting and excavator pitting surrounding the Anubis Zone in 2013 added six new gold/silver occurrences (Corona, Columba, Dorado, Draco, Zodiac and Lyra), to the 2012 discoveries at Anubis, Ana and Hydra. These nine priority showings and eight untested geochemical anomalies will all receive extensive excavator trenching in 2014. Phase two diamond drilling will be guided by the results of phase one trenching and prospecting.
Highlights of the Anubis area include:
- At the Anubis Zone, hole AN-12-003 returned 16.76 m of 9.08 g/t gold (69.19 m to 85.95 m) which bottomed in mineralization that graded 4.54 g/t gold over 1.52 m (153.01 m to 154.53 m). The Anubis Zone remains untested along strike and at depth;
- 2013 sampling at the Dorado gold target, located 2 km northwest of the Anubis 2012 drill discovery, returned assays of 4.64, 3.98, 3.54, 2.63 and 2.62 g/t gold from hand pit grab samples;
- Hand pit grab samples from the Ana target returned 5.59, 3.54, 2.45 and 2.01 g/t gold;
- Silver values from the Zodiac and Corona showings include 900 g/t (26.25 oz/ton) silver and 2,910 g/t (84.88 oz/ton) silver, respectively;
- Grab samples taken from test pits at the Zodiac, Corona and Draco gold targets returned assay results greater than 1 g/t gold; and,
- Eight untested gold and/or pathfinder element soil anomalies were identified along the same structures as the nine previously discovered gold/silver showings.
An Anubis area map highlighting the 2012-2013 results is available on ATAC's website.
True widths for all highlighted drill-holes within the Osiris and Anubis discovery areas are estimated to be 60 - 100% of intersected widths.
Tiger Deposit
The oxide gold resource within the Tiger Deposit remains a significant asset to the Company because it is high grade, at surface and only 12 km from the fully permitted Wind River Winter Trail. The Company continues to undertake internal evaluations that may lead to further scoping level studies to examine options for advancing the oxide-only indicated resource of 337,500 ounces of gold (2,470,000 tonnes with an average grade of 4.25 g/t gold) and oxide-only inferred resource of 17,400 ounces of gold (180,000 tonnes with an average grade of 3.00 g/t gold), both calculated using a 1.60 g/t gold cut-off grade.
The Tiger Gold Deposit mineral resource estimation was completed by Gary Giroux, P.Eng., M.A. Sc. (Giroux Consultants Ltd.) who is a qualified person and independent of ATAC, based on the criteria defined by National Instrument 43-101. Quality control data generated during the various drill programs conducted at the Tiger Gold Deposit were independently reviewed by Giroux Consultants Ltd. as part of the resource study. Please see ATAC's news release dated October 20, 2011 for details on the Initial Resource Estimate for the Tiger Gold Deposit. The full Tiger Gold Deposit NI 43-101 technical report is available on SEDAR (http://www.sedar.com/).
About ATAC
ATAC Resources Ltd. is a Yukon-based exploration company focused on developing Canada's only Carlin-type gold district at its 100% owned Rackla Gold Project. Recent exploration on the 1,700 sq/km project has resulted in the delineation of the Tiger Gold Deposit, drilling of multiple high-grade Carlin-type gold zones and the identification of over 40 early-stage gold exploration targets. The Rackla Gold Project has no underlying royalties or third-party interests. ATAC is well-positioned with over $25 million in its treasury.
On behalf of Management and the Board of Directors of ATAC Resources Ltd.
Graham Downs, CEO
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This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors.