VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Tower Energy (the "Company") is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement to acquire the JD gold - silver property located in the Omineca mining division of British Columbia. Under the terms of the agreement, Tower may acquire a 100% interest (subject to a 2% NSR) in the property.
The JD property comprises 5575 hectares located in the historically significant Toodoggone gold district of north-central BC. The property is underlain by a thick succession of interlayered volcaniclastic and intermediate volcanic rocks that are locally cut by high level porphyritic intrusions. These rocks appear to host a large epithermal gold-silver system with many significant high-grade gold and silver showings exposed over an area of 3km2.
The majority of the historic drilling on the JD property was focused on the Finn Zone where in excess of 200 resource style diamond drill holes were completed between 1995 and 1998 by Antares Mining and Exploration Corporation and ACG Americas Gold Corp. Highlights from historic drilling in the Finn Zone include:
- 26m of 6.4g/t Au and 8.4g/t Ag (DDH 94-15)
- 34m of 3.7g/t Au and 17.7g/t Ag including 16m of 7.4g/t Au and 27.6g/t Ag (DDH 95-41)
- 20m of 12.2g/t Au and 161.5g/t Ag including 1m of 216g/t Au and 308.9g/t Ag (DDH 95-47)
- 37m of 4.1g/t Au and 15.2g/t Ag including 13.5m of 8.5g/t Au and 33.2g/t Ag (DDH 95-68)
- 19m of 9.4g/t Au and 64.3g/t Ag including 4m of 17.2g/t Au and 183.8g/t Ag (DDH 95-97)
The Finn Zone is a shallowly dipping silicified and brecciated zone in the hanging wall of a property scale low angle fault. Mineralization typically begins at surface and many holes with significant intersections apparently ended in mineralization and were not completely sampled along the entire length of the hole. The Finn Zone also remains open in multiple directions.
The Finn Zone is one of many gold and silver showings on the JD property associated with a property scale northeast striking low angle fault. Mineralization throughout the property is associated with silica and clay altered volcanic rocks and quartz cemented breccias cut by quartz and carbonate veins and vein stockwork. Lower grade material is widespread and is associated with the mineralized footwall and hanging wall to this large low angle fault. Several styles of structurally controlled gold and silver mineralization exist on the property including quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins, brecciated and silicified sulphide bearing volcaniclastic rocks, and thick, pervasive, poly-phase silicified and clay altered zones.
Additional zones of immediate interest identified from historic work include:
- Gumbo Zone: Located 450m west of the Finn Zone, the Gumbo Zone consists of a structurally controlled corridor of intense silica and clay alteration over an 800m strike length. Limited drilling of this zone has returned significant high grade intervals highlighted by 37.66g/t Au over 5.65m.
- Gasp Zone: Located 480m west of Finn zone, this zone consists of silicified and brecciated andesite cut by quartz and carbonate stringers and represents part of the footwall to the Finn zone. High grade grab samples containing up to 217g/t Au with 62.5g/t Ag and trenching highlights such as 14.3 g/t Au over 12m have been reported from this area.
- EOS Zone: Located 670m north of Finn zone, the EOS Zone consists of a 20 to 30 meter mineralized area exposed over a 300m strike length. The zone comprises quartz and carbonate stringers cutting altered andesite. High grade gold and silver assays up to 179g/t Au with 470g/t Ag from grab samples have been reported from this area.
- Ag Carbonate Zone: The Ag Carbonate zone is related to the same structure that hosts the Finn Zone, located 1km to the west. Highlights from historic trenching across the structure such as 4.04g/t Au and 198.2g/t Ag over 8m have been reported.
- Schmitt Zone: Located 1.4km northwest of the Finn zone, the Schmitt Zone consists of a boulder train of siliceous breccias and banded quartz veins that yield assays up to 326g/t Au and 6,151g/t Ag.
- Woof Zone: Located 1.5km northwest of the Finn Zone, the Woof Zone consists of mineralized quartz and carbonate veins with associated hematite and clay altered and brecciated andesite. Grab samples from this zone assay up to 79.2g/t Au and up to 36,500g/t Ag. Trenching highlights such as 18.3g/t Au over 9.5m have been reported from the area.
- Creek Zone: Located 3km west of Finn zone. Drill highlights from this zone include 4m of 103.3g/t Au, 92.2 g/t Ag, 1.34% Cu and 11.7% Zn from quartz carbonate stockwork cutting brecciated and chlorite + silica altered volcaniclastic rock. Previous workers interpreted this zone to represent the distal expression of a mineralized Cu-Au porphyry system.
Historic work on the JD property includes soil and rock geochemistry, geophysics (airborne and ground), trenching and diamond drilling. Previous workers on the property focused on advancing a low tonnage, high grade epithermal Au-Ag deposit. Tower believes there is potential on the JD property to discover a lower grade, bulk-tonnage gold and silver deposit. Furthermore, the potential exists on the JD property for the discovery of related Cu-Au porphyry mineralization similar to the Kemess Mine (Northgate Minerals) located 30km to the south.
Tower plans to immediately undertake a multi-phase exploration program on the property comprising a property visit and compilation of data from historical exploration. Exploration in 2012 will consist of a ground IP geophysical survey, mapping, and drilling. Tower plans on updating shareholders regularly as exploration proceeds.
President & CEO Mark Vanry states, "The JD property has the potential to host a significant Au-Ag deposit, and we are extremely excited to be able to acquire it during this period of robust precious metal prices. The project has the unique combination of size, successful historical gold exploration, and proximity to existing production and infrastructure."
Under the terms of the option agreement dated September 7, 2011, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, Tower can earn a 100% interest in the property by making cash payments of $200,000, and issuing 1.2 million common shares over a 5-year period, to the vendors, in addition to funding aggregate exploration expenditures of $5,000,000 over a total 63-month period. The agreement is subject to a 2% NSR, 1% of which can be purchased by Tower for $3,000,000.
Technical information contained in this release is historical in nature and has been compiled from sources believed to be accurate. The technical information has not been verified by Tower and may in some instances be unverifiable dependent on the existence of historical drill core, trench and grab samples.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ken Thorsen, BSc, P.Eng a consultant of the company and qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
Tower Energy Ltd.
Mark Vanry - Director, CEO & President
(604) 558-2565
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statement Caution
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements", as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change, except as required by law. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and Tower Energy's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's public disclosure which is available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.