BEDFORD, NS / ACCESSWIRE / August 26, 2024 / (TSXV:SSE) Silver Spruce Resources, Inc. ("Silver Spruce" or the "Company") announces the completion of its initial diamond drilling program at the Tote Brook target and provides an exploration update on the 602-claim Mystery Au project ("Mystery") (see Figure 1).
"Our recent exploration programs comprised rock and soil sampling, structural mapping and regional till sampling for initial drill target generation. The Company then completed a 4-hole, 750-metre program to target the shallow down-dip projection of the surface vein exposures at Tote Brook", said Greg Davison, Silver Spruce VP Exploration and Director. "Drilling intersected numerous, variably oriented, chronologically late, simple to multi-phase quartz±chalcedony and/or carbonate veins and breccias ranging from centimetre scale (<10-120cm) to several metres."
"Only one gold-bearing interval (0.973 g/t Au) was reported in Hole MT-23-001 from a 0.5-metre interval (120.65 m -121.15 m within 6.9 metres of carbonate-dominant breccia veins from 115.75 m - 122.65 m). The remaining assays for the four holes reported up to 26 ppb Au (~0.03 g/t Au). Notwithstanding the current drilling assay results from these shallow test holes, a number of multi-stage epizonal/epithermal veins were intersected, with complex internal layered, bladed, massive to vuggy silica textures, K-feldspar, hematite, weak to minor sulphides (pyrite, chalcopyrite, stibnite, sphalerite) and brecciation though with no visible gold, based on our early interpretive efforts on the Tote Brook structure. Additional work on mineralogical and textural details of the vein features, from the drilling and the surface exposures from Tote Brook and other known targets, is planned to verify the context of the veins, breccias and structures within the orogenic epizonal model and provide potential vectors for future drilling", said Mr. Davison.
"We believe that the ongoing exploration has only scratched the surface for this 148 square kilometre property and that there remain many potential targets for ground truthing and detailed sampling proximal to and down-ice from gold-in-till anomalies associated with coincident structural and geophysical features," added Mr. Davison. "In terms of priority exploration, a second drill target, identified in the southern Marilyn claim, showed elevated Au, As and Sb in exposed quartz and chalcedony veins and also more soil and till sampling peripheral to gold in till anomalies will follow at the earliest opportunity."
Four holes (two sections with 45° and 60° inclinations from each collar) were directed to the south from collars TB01 and TB02, respectively, to intersect the down-dip projection of the veins exposed on surface outcrops and abundant local float. Trust Drilling supplied a new Duralite Rig (DL1400) and all the ancillaries required for NQ core drilling (Figure 2). Core logs and photographs were completed at the Vendor's facility in Birchy Bay. Sawn core was sampled and delivered to Eastern Analytical in Springdale, NL for precious metal assays.
The drill core transected the contact of the Badger Group metasediments with marginal gabbro to diorite or "granite" of the Mount Peyton Intrusion as expected from the regional geological database. All holes exhibited similar lithological features though with varying proportions of Mount Peyton. The sediments are fine-grained, pale grey/white to dark green to locally maroon, massive to laminated, and showing minor to moderate fractures to intense crush zones. Patchy rock alteration includes chlorite, talc/clay and hematite with significant weathering and sulphide oxidation.
Complex quartz, chalcedony and calcite veinlets, generally showing sharp contacts with minimal or cryptic selvages and weak to extensive wallrock inclusions are shown in Figures 3 and 4.
Tote Brook Drill Targeting
The Tote Brook prospect is located 22km south of the intersection between Bay d'Espoir Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway. Targeting at Mystery and Marilyn was driven by the structural complexity and located, in large part, between several major crustal lineaments. Numerous major to lesser sub-parallel features merge and bifurcate along strike and are transected by NW and EW-trending faults. These deep-seated structures, which juxtapose geological terranes over hundreds of kilometres, are key to the location and formation of orogenic gold deposits.
Phase 1 drill targeting on Tote Creek was focused where structural geological mapping and desktop analysis of the geophysics identified a coincident E-W topographic and magnetic lineament at the western contact of the Mount Peyton Intrusion (MPIS) Surface exposures of steeply south-dipping, multi-stage quartz-carbonate veins and breccias with silicification, carbonatization and vuggy to drusy quartz and laminated chalcedonic textures exposed along the banks of Tote Brook. The east-northeast zone of brecciation is 8-10m wide and parallel to Tote Brook.
Along the north bank, a vein of massive, bladed calcite is exposed for approximately 50m along a similar orientation to the quartz veins. Locally-sourced angular boulders of quartz vein material have been discovered above the calcite vein. The hydrothermal system covers an estimated 55m width on surface.
Prospecting of the new Marilyn claims identified localized float and outcropping rock samples showing intense silicification with iron carbonate accompanied by multi-phase siliceous veins and breccias, and minor to trace arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and malachite.
Gold to 1035ppb, arsenic to >1000ppm and antimony to 346ppm are typical to the coincident precious metals and pathfinder elements of the regional orogenic mineralizing systems.
Project Technical Update
Early work on the Mystery Lake area reported massive to semi-massive occurrences of arsenopyrite and gold assay values to 17,678 ppb (17.7 g/t Au). Eighteen samples reported Au >0.5 g/t (max. 12.5 g/t Au). Cu values were reported up to 9.85% with minor Ag, Pb and Zn. Arsenic was highly anomalous, strongly associated with elevated Au values and displayed as minor to abundant arsenopyrite.
Multiple surface occurrences were reported of agate chalcedony to colloform and crystalline silica veining and multi-phase breccias, carbonate replacement by quartz, and open-space filling quartz and calcite, all textures indicative of the upper zones of epithermal systems and structural conduits in orogenic systems, and accompanied by gold, arsenopyrite, stibnite, chalcopyrite, bornite and Cu carbonate mineralization. Mineral textures and trace chemistry collected to date point to high-level epizonal veins though more evaluation of the spatial position within the system is clearly warranted.
The Company completed till and soil sampling in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and an airborne magnetic, VLF-EM and radiometric survey in February 2022. A total of twenty-seven (27) rock samples, one hundred and eight (108) soil samples and 195 till and soil samples were collected to date.
Within the first group on Mystery and north Marilyn, a total of the 94 till and soil samples were collected and 175 gold grains were found in the samples with individual gold grain counts of 21, though mainly were reshaped. Within the second campaign, a total of 35 till and B-horizon soil samples were collected. A total of 140 gold grains were found in the samples with only 11 barren samples. Of the 140 gold grains, 34 were pristine, 42 were modified and 64 were reshaped. Four samples contained between 10 and 22 gold grains.
The 2023 till sampling (66 sites) identified our best gold grain frequency data with a maximum of thirty-nine grains in GR-37 in the southern block and other significant results spread from north to south throughout the Marilyn claims. All but four of the samples (62) contained gold grains though only fifteen samples showed >10 grains and 3 >20 grains to a maximum of 39 grains. A total of twenty-six (26) sites contained elevated calculated ppb Visible Gold ("CPPBVG") (9) and pristine gold particle morphologies (20 samples); three exhibited both.
Modified gold grains were reported from forty-seven (47) sampling sites. Pristine gold grains, to a maximum of 13 particles in GR-190, were identified. The location maps for the compiled sampling are shown in Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the distribution of those samples by particle frequency and calculated ppb Au.
The till sampling was conducted using a very broad 500x1000m reconnaissance spacing and a tighter infill program is recommended for several areas, showing coincident geological criteria to better resolve targets for ground truthing by prospecting, mapping and stripping.
Soil sampling in parallel with till collection, and two areas of tight soil grid sampling indicated anomalous values for the known pathfinder elements, As, Sb (Figure 7) and to a lesser degree, Hg, Bi, Pb, Tl and Cu. Both As and Sb are distributed through Mystery whereas As displayed only several focused anomalous values and Sb a broader coverage throughout Marilyn. Despite surface indications of sulphide-bearing veins with locally anomalous Au, till and soil gold values were spotty and generally weak on both properties.
Detailed peripheral grid sampling is recommended around the anomalous till sampling results. In addition, further work to isolate and orient bedrock sources and define Au-bearing drill targets in the southern Marilyn claim will be a focus of the follow-up field program.
The regional geophysical compilations and our 2022 high-resolution airborne magnetic survey at Marilyn is strongly influenced by the sharp, northerly-trending boundary of the MPIS with local decreases in magnetic intensity interpreted as structurally-controlled embayments along the contact with metasediments of the Badger Group.
Compilation and interpretation of the regional geophysics and Property airborne data was completed and a preliminary report was provided in Q2/2024 for review and ArcGIS compilation. The updated results were not available until after the drill campaign and will be integrated further in due course. Maps depicting the potential structural trends for the Mystery and Marilyn properties are provided in Figures 8 and 9. As noted, the Properties comprise a large, virtually untested area with many outcrop showings, mineralized float and prospective geology. Of principal importance, regional to second order and tertiary geophysical structures occur within and adjacent to our holdings.
Marilyn exhibits a major NS trend along the Mount Peyton contact intersected by NE trends in the adjacent Botwood and Badger Groups. Discontinuities, both EW and NE, transecting the Mount Peyton contact were indicated by the MAG Inversions and with VLF contours locally parallel to those in the metasedimentary lithologies which were the focus of the initial diamond drilling (Figure 8). Mystery shows regionally extensive NW, EW and NE-trending, branching and multiple order, steep to moderately dipping trends (MAG and VLF) recognized to the 500 depth slices with a complex network of features within the lithological windows (Figure 9).
Geological and geochemical ground truthing of the numerous structural targets for potential veins and mineralization will contribute significantly to the next phase of exploration.
Project Background
The Company signed a Definitive Agreement in September 2021 to acquire 100% of three early-stage gold exploration properties, Mystery, Till and Marilyn, located near Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, 20-25 kilometres west of New Found Gold Corp.'s Queensway project and 15-35 kilometres south of Sokoman Minerals Corp.'s Moosehead gold project. Map staking of additional claims tied to both the Marilyn and Till properties effectively doubled property coverage to 148 square kilometres (14,790 ha). The new claims are subject to first rights under the 5 km Area of Interest in the Agreement and occur adjacent to several gold grain and geochemical anomalies reported from the Company's 2021 and 2022 exploration programs.
The Properties are located within the Exploits Subzone, an extensive area of recent mineral exploration activity and discoveries and are well situated in terms of exploration logistics 10-45 kilometres south by Bay d'Espoir Highway from Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland. The Properties are located <70 kilometres from the Gander International Airport and are easily accessible from major paved roads and local trails.
The drill permit was approved by the Mineral Lands Division of the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology (IET) and access for the drilling was granted by the Ministry of Transport. The Company signed a contract with Trust Drilling of Springdale, NL and their rig was mobilized to the Tote Brook target.
Geochemical Analysis, Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The NQ-sized core was logged in Birchy Bay at a secure facility and sampled based on criteria including lithology, structure, vein presence and density, sulphides and alteration. Rocks and drill core samples (1/2 sawn core) were sealed in sample bags and delivered by the Project Site Manager from the Property to the Eastern Analytical ("EA") sample preparation facility, 403 Little Bay Road, Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador. The remaining core splits were stacked at Quinlan's private storage facilities in Birchy Bay, NL.
Sample shipments of drill core comprising a total of 195 samples, including QA/QC insertions, were hand delivered to Eastern Analytical whereas rock and soil samples were shipped by courier to ALS Global. The latter groups will be reported more fully in due course as the exploration moves forward.
EA is ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited by the Standards Council of Canada in Fire Assay Au, as well as our multi-acid ore grade assays in Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Fe and Co. ALS Global ("ALS") is a North Vancouver, BC facility certified as ISO 9001:2008 and accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 from the Standards Council of Canada.
Sample preparation at EA included primary crushing to 80% passing 1.6mm (-10 mesh) and a split of up to 250 grams pulverized to 95% passing 100 micrometres (-150 mesh). The sample pulps were transferred internally to EA's analytical facility for gold and multi-element analysis (Au Fire assay @ 30g + ICP-34). Fire assay is a lead-collection/fusion, for refinement of total sub-sample into a silver doré bead. The silver bead is dissolved in an aqua-regia digestion and analysis by atomic absorption (AA). Trace element analysis is performed on a 200mg subsample which is totally dissolved in four acids and analyzed by Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES Au+ICP34). Of note, the drill core was analysed only for Au with trace element analysis pending results. As such, trace element analysis was deferred to date.
ALS performed multi-element analysis - Pulps (50g) were analysed by Aqua Regia digestion followed by a combination of Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry and ICP Mass Spectrometry (ICP-AES, ICP-MS) (AuME-TL44).
Local chain of custody was monitored and maintained by the Project Site Manager under the direction of the QP. Silver Spruce follows a strict quality control program to ensure best practice in the sampling and analysis of rock samples and drill core, which includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified standards into the sequence. In-house quality control samples, including OREAS certified reference materials (CRM's), were inserted into the core sample set at a select frequency and Au grade rotation as per the direction of the QP by the Project Site Manager. ALS and EA conduct their own internal QA/QC program of blanks, standards (CRM's) and duplicates, and the results are provided with the Company sample certificates.
A total of 239 gold assays were conducted on the drill core submittal including 60 QA/QC insertions (25%) as pulp duplicates (10), crush duplicates (9), SSE CRM's (16), EA CRM's (11) and EA blanks (14). The results of the internal and EA control samples were evaluated by the Company's QP and approved for acceptable tolerances prior to disclosure. All sample and pulp rejects will be stored at ALS and EA pending full review of the analytical data, and future selection of pulps for independent third-party check analyses, as requisite.
Metal values disclosed herein by the Company are reported from representative sawn drill core samples whereas those reported from grab and channel rock samples from earlier programs may not be representative of the metal grades. The Company's Qualified Person believes that the sampling documentation, analytical protocols and quantitative data will withstand scrutiny for inclusion.
Qualified Person
Greg Davison, PGeo, Silver Spruce VP Exploration and Director, is the Company's internal Qualified Person for the Mystery Project and is responsible for approval of the technical content of this press release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), under TSX guidelines.
About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company holding 100% of the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag project in northern Ontario and has signed Definitive Agreements to acquire 100% interest in the Mystery Au project near recent discoveries by Sokoman Minerals Corp. and New Found Gold Corp. among others in the Exploits Gold Belt, Newfoundland and Labrador, 100% interest in the Pino de Plata Ag project located 15 kilometres west of Coeur Mining's Palmarejo Mine in western Chihuahua, Mexico and up to 50% interest in Colibri Resource's Diamante Au-Ag project located from 5 kilometres to 15 kilometres northwest from Minera Alamos's Nicho deposit in Sonora, Mexico. Silver Spruce also has a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Colibri on the nearby Jackie Au project. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. continues to investigate opportunities that Management has identified or that have been presented to the Company for consideration.
Contact:
Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Greg Davison, PGeo, Vice-President Exploration and Director
(250) 521-0444
gdavison@silverspruceresources.com
Michael Kinley, CEO and Director
(902) 402-0388
mkinley@silverspruceresources.com
info@silverspruceresources.com
www.silverspruceresources.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements "Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future".
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate.
SOURCE: Silver Spruce Resources, Inc.
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