Adamera Minerals planning follow-up work at South Hedley Project, British Columbia
Adamera Minerals Corp. [TSXV: ADZ; OTC: DDNFF] has advanced targeting on its 18,714-hectare South Hedley gold property, southwestern British Columbia. Detailed soil sampling over the Max prospect area has identified a zone with consistently anomalous gold values. Results from 46 soil samples collected last week extended the gold anomaly farther southeast and confirms a cut-off to the northwest. The anomaly remains open to the southeast, where it becomes covered by an extensive cover of talus. Based on the data at this time, the exploration target may have a potential strike length of 500 metres.
Soil samples collected much farther to the southeast also contain anomalous gold. One sample, located approximately 500 metres southwest of the Max prospect, contains 142 parts per billion gold (determined by fire assay at Activation Lab). Inversion of ground magnetic data over the immediate area shows a magnetic feature within a fault bound wedge that is coincident with the anomalous soils (20 to 1,300 ppb gold). The magnetic feature trends northwest-southeast for approximately 500 metres from the Max prospect to the sample with 142 ppb gold. This magnetic feature supports the northwest cut-off of gold in soil samples at the Max prospect.
Volcanic tuff is a dominant lithology capping the area. These tuffs are thought to be younger than the rocks that typically host gold mineralization in the area an, as such, are considered not to be prospective for gold. This is substantiated by the fact that prospecting has found no old mines/prospects in this rock type. Soil samples with gold, evidence of quartz veining, presence of sulphides and rock alteration are restricted to areas that are topographically below the tuff. Therefore, it is the underlying masked rocks that have potential. The magnetic inversion data corroborate a possible primary gold source at depth.
“We are making significant advances at the South Hedley project as we push to expand the Max prospect to the southeast. In fact, our data is suggestive of a target with potential strike length of 500 metres. The discovery of previously unknown gold apparently leaking from beneath an overlying tuff explains why the area has newly identified potential yet no evidence of previous exploration and/or mining. If we were not so close to a major gold camp, we perhaps would have shrugged off the initial evidence we obtained. Follow-up work will be immediate,” said Mark Kolebaba, president and CEO of Adamera Minerals.
A total of 96 follow-up soil samples were collected over the area in mid- to late July and early August. The samples were analyzed using the DetectORE method. Several of these samples yielded highly anomalous gold results ranging from an approximate 100 to 1,300 ppb gold. Sites with soil samples of 100 ppb to greater than 1,000 ppb gold are targeted for prospecting. Quartz veining and sulphide (arsenopyrite)-bearing rocks have been identified and sampled at these localities. Results for several rock samples are pending.
A crew is scheduled to arrive on site at the end of the week. An exploration priority will be to collect additional soil samples over the area where a previous soil sample yielded 142 ppb gold. This area is located near the southeast end of the Max prospect magnetic target, which is approximately 500 metres from the Max prospect. In addition, several other reconnaissance soil samples with anomalous gold that are located in topographic low areas on the property will be reviewed and followed up with respect to the conceptual exploration model mentioned above.
The Max prospect is located in the northwestern portion of the 100%-owned property, between Whistle and Smith Creeks. The site is unexplored, having been identified from reconnaissance soil sampling carried out by the company. One soil sample yielded 1,340 ppb or 1.34 g/t gold. The prospect is coincident with newly discovered quartz-rhodonite veining in contact metamorphosed volcanic rocks. It also coincides with a prominent magnetic anomaly and a structural/topographic lineament that extends for several hundred metres.
Approximately 2.5 million ounces of gold was reportedly produced in the Hedley gold camp. The Max prospect is located fewer than 10 km from Barrick Gold Corp.’s past producing Nickel Plate mine.