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Silver Spruce is pleased to announce that it has completed field crew preparation for the Melchett Lake Zn-Au Ag volcanogenic massive sulphide project.
Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSXV:SSE, Frankfort:S6Q1) (“Silver Spruce” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has completed field crew preparation and due diligence plans for the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag volcanogenic massive sulphide (“VMS”) project, an advanced precious and base metal project in the Thunder Bay Mining District, northern Ontario, Canada. Mobilization to the Property by air from Nakina is scheduled in the first week of October 2019 for a ten-day field program focusing on the known targets with drill core and surface exposures.
“We are very pleased to begin management site visits, target exploration and data verification on the Melchett Lake VMS-Au Property to support a decision to earn a 100% interest in the project,” stated Karl Boltz, CEO of Silver Spruce. “We look forward to building our Leapfrog GIS database with all available geophysical and geological information leading to drill target identification. Director, Greg Davison, MSc, PGeo, who worked the Melchett Lake area as Project Manager and VP Exploration for Kerr Addison Mines (1983-1984) and Tribute Minerals (1999-2002), respectively, will lead the management visit to the Property.”
Letter of Intent
The principal terms to purchase 100% interest in the Property include CAD$150,000 in cash payments and CAD$250,000 in Silver Spruce common shares with minimum work expenditures of CAD$1,000,000 prior to the third anniversary.
Melchett Lake Property
The 1,820-hectare project is located within an active exploration and mining region north of Geraldton including Copper Lake’s Marshall Lake VMS project, Premier Gold’s Hardrock-Greenstone Au mine and past-producing Anaconda-Dofasco iron mine and the Skibi Lake and Stewart Lake iron prospects.
The Melchett Lake Property consists of 89 single cell mineral claims and two multi-cell mineral claims located in Thunder Bay Mining District of northwestern Ontario, Canada. The Property lies 110 km north of Geraldton and 60 km north of Nakina at 50°45′ north latitude and 86°59′ west longitude.
Due Diligence and Exploration Plans
Field work for the due diligence and an update to the NI 43-101 technical reporting by the independent Qualified Person (“QP”) are planned over the next month and will coordinate ground truthing of geochemical and geophysical targets, geological sampling and data verification on known occurrences, GPS location surveys of the historical drill collars, and preservation and sampling of the diamond drill core stored on the Property.
The advanced condition of the Melchett Lake project compels the Company to focus resources on updating and compiling the geochemical and geological survey data and diamond drilling logs, and acquiring and analysing historical airborne and downhole digital geophysical data to compile our GIS database and identify high priority drilling targets on the Property.
Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines work permits are in place for geological sampling work, stripping, trenching and diamond drilling (>20 pads).
The Property is accessible via ski or float equipped aircraft from Nakina or Jellicoe to Kapikotongwa Lake, Melchett Lake or Relf Lake. Road access is available from Geraldton and Nakina to the northwest on paved and unpaved roads along the past principal route to the Anaconda/Dofasco iron mine and near the proposed all-season road northeast to Marten Falls, to boat launch points and helicopter staging areas on the south end of Melchett Lake, within five to eight kilometres of the Property.
Geology
The Melchett Lake property is located within the English River Sub-province of the Superior Province as part of the Melchett metasedimentary-metavolcanic belt. The metavolcanics are comprised of mafic to felsic pyroclastics, tuffs and flows with metasediments and iron formation all of which have been metamorphosed to amphibolite grade. The general sequence includes basalts overlain by felsic metavolcanics and associated clastic and chemical metasediments showing a near-vertical dip, steep ENE lineation in a tightly folded sequence of schists and gneisses.
Mineralization
The Melchett Lake belt contains several occurrences of polymetallic Zn- Pb-Cu-Ag-Au VMS style mineralization similar in character to ore deposits exploited at Mattabi, Winston Lake, Geco, Brunswick, Rouyn-Noranda and Uchi Lake. Base metal mineralization consisting of pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena occurs within the felsic metavolcanic sequences of the Property. There are locally high-grade lenses of Zn & Ag with variable Cu, Au and Pb, and historical gold grades to 28.8 g/t Au, silver grades to 560 g/t Ag and zinc grades to 19.1%.
The mineralization is interpreted to occur as paleo-topographic accumulations related to fumarolic activity forming polymetallic deposits overprinted by a later stage gold-rich event.
Highlights of the prospective geology, alteration and mineralization are as follows:
- Three known centres of coincident alteration and metal mineralization
- Multiple stratigraphic horizons
- Distal and stacked proximal sulphides
- High Zn/Cu, Zn/Pb, Ag/Au
- Extensive remobilization of major and trace elements
- Sericite-quartz-cordierite-chlorite alteration zone
- Broad phyllic-pyrite zones
- Intense Na depletion with elevated Zn
- Ca and Sr depletion with elevated Zn
- Fe, Mg, Co, Cr, Cd enrichment within and below mineralization
- Continuity of alteration and anomalous Zn over large intervals in core drilling
- Extensive alteration haloes analogous to world class zinc deposits
Historical Precious and Base Metal Assays
Selected grab samples taken from the Relf Zone by Shawmin averaged 13.0% zinc (Zn), 1.2% lead (Pb), 0.26% copper (Cu) and 325g/t silver (Ag); best results received were 19.1% Zn, 2.2% Pb, 0.40% Cu, 565g/t Ag and 1.72g/t gold (Au).
A selection of Relf Zone samples collected in 1984 by Kerr Addison geologist and current Silver Spruce director G. Davison is shown below.
All of the above metal values were reported by past operators in the Melchett Lake area, from grab samples which may not be representative of the metal grades, and are historical in nature.
At the Nakina l Zone, Nakina Mines reported, in separate samples, 14.85% Zn and 28.8g/t Au from a pyritized felsic volcanic unit. Rock sampling of a pyritized felsic volcanic unit in the Nakina 2 Zone by Kerr Addison returned a value of 15.08 g/t Au.
Qualified Person
Greg Davison, MSc, PGeo and Silver Spruce Director, is the Company’s internal Qualified Person for the Melchett Lake Project and is responsible for 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. Mr. Davison worked the Melchett Lake area as Project manager and VP Exploration for Kerr Addison Mines (1983 and 1984) and Tribute Minerals (1999 to 2002), respectively.
About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company pursuing development of the Pino De Plata project in western Chihuahua State, Mexico. The Company has signed a binding Letter of Intent to acquire 100% of the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag project in northern Ontario, Canada and a binding Letter of Agreement to acquire 100% of the advanced Cocula gold project in Jalisco State, Mexico. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. continues to investigate opportunities that Management has identified or that have been presented to the Company for consideration.
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. The company seeks Safe Harbour.
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