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Trailbreaker Resources Ltd. (TBK.V) ("Trailbreaker" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has received a geological study from Terrane Geoscience Inc. ("Terrane") with recommended drill holes for Trailbreaker's 100%-owned Atsutla Gold project, located in northwestern British Columbia (BC).
While discussing potential deposit models for the project, the report summarized that there is good evidence of a porphyry-epithermal system, as well as possible orogenic-type mineralization. It was also determined that many features of the Swan zone suggest it represents the shallow, lithocap levels of a porphyry copper system.
Daithi Mac Gearailt, CEO of Trailbreaker, commented, "We are very excited to have this study in hand. The Terrane team did an excellent job defining the structure and mineralization at Atsutla. It's a big project, and they were able to confirm many of our suspicions about the nature of mineralization."
The report is the culmination of 2 weeks of targeted geological mapping during the 2022 exploration season. Mappers investigated structure, alteration, and mineralization at the Highlands, Christmas Creek, Willie Jack, and Swan zones. Twenty-six samples were sent for thin section analysis. Products include recommendations for future work on the property.
Of particular interest to Trailbreaker was the alteration mapping conduced at the Swan zone (see Figure 1). It was found that all rock units in the Swan area, except for mafic dikes, are variably altered. Rocks display a strong hydrothermal overprint, which was interpreted to be concentrically zoned. Alteration is weakest at the periphery of the mapping area and intensifies towards the main mineralized zone, grading from phyllic to advanced argillic.
The report discussed possible deposit models for the Atsutla Gold project (Généreux, 2023):
"Results of mapping of the Atsutla West and Swan Zone showed good evidence of a porphyry-epithermal system on the Atsutla Gold Project, as well as possible orogenic-type mineralization. Many features of the Swan Zone suggest it represents the shallow, lithocap levels of a porphyry copper system" .
It was noted that the vein-hosted mineralization in the Atsutla project is reminiscent of epithermal deposits which are often found near porphyry copper systems, and that the similar orientations of the veins in Atsutla West (a term for the combined Highlands, Christmas Creek, and Snook zones) and fracture sets in the Swan zone area suggest that the mineralization may be of a similar age. "However," the report states, "given the ~26 km distance separating Atsutla West and the Swan zone, it is unlikely that the latter was the source of metals for the Atsutla West epithermal system, which suggests there may be further potential for porphyry- and epithermal-style mineralization between the two areas."
At the Willie Jack zone, which is located within older metasedimentary rocks on the margin of the Christmas Creek batholith, it was noted that the auriferous quartz veins may be part of the same epithermal system as the Highlands and Christmas Creek zones, however, numerous features suggest that the gold mineralization is more consistent with orogenic-type mineralization.
Recommendations for future work at Atsutla include:
- Conduct a property-wide LiDAR survey to increase confidence in fault interpretation and identify prospective regional faults outside the known mineralized zones.
- Complete a property-wide structural interpretation and map compilation of LiDAR and magnetic data in conjunction with existing mapping
- Drill 1-2 steep holes just north of the Highlands zone to test for the presence of stacked veins and ascertain the true width of the mineralized zones, as well as test for continuity between zones at Atsutla West.
- Complete an IP survey at the Swan zone and alteration-based logging of historical drill holes to assess the extent of the main alteration zone.
- Follow-up drilling at the Swan zone based on results of the IP survey.
- 2-3 drill holes to delineate the lateral extents of the phyllic and advanced argillic alteration zones to the north and west
- 1-2 drill holes to define the extent of the alteration zoning in 3D and test the potential for the copper-rich portion of the porphyry system at depth.
Figure 1: Detailed geological map of the Swan mineralized zone.
43-101 technical report, additional thin section analysis pending
Terrane Geoscience has also completed a 43-101 compliant technical report at the Atsutla Gold project. This report is currently being signed and processed and the company will issue a news release upon its release.
As discussed above, twenty-six samples were sent to Vancouver Petrographics for thin section analysis. While this initial analysis has been completed, additional study by Terrane to put them into the context of the structural study is pending. It is anticipated this will add to the understanding of the alteration and nature of mineralization.
About the Atsutla Gold Project
Trailbreaker's 100%-owned Atsutla Gold project is located 70 km south of the Yukon-British Columbia border and 130 km northwest of the community of Dease Lake, BC. The project covers 40,057 hectares of ground with very limited historic exploration. The project represents a district-scale discovery in an under-explored area of British Columbia.
To date, Trailbreaker has identified five gold zones at Atsutla: The Highlands, Christmas Creek, Snook, Willie Jack, and Swan zones, which span a distance of 28 kilometres. The highest grades occur at the Highlands zone, where grab samples have returned values up to 630 g/t (18.38 oz/ton) gold and 1,894 g/t (55.25 oz/ton) silver . High-grade, vein- and wallrock-hosted copper mineralization has also been discovered in the Highlands, Christmas Creek, and Willie Jack zones, with grab sample assays up to 1.7% copper . For more information and detailed maps, see the Atsutla Gold Project section on Trailbreaker's website.
Message from the President
"The Atsutla Gold project remains one of the few district-scale discoveries in the past decade. We now have deposit models and a stack of recommendations. The team is diligently planning the next steps. Stay tuned for the 43-101 report and other exciting developments for Trailbreaker Resources!"
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Daithi Mac Gearailt
President and Chief Executive Officer
For new information about the Company's projects, please visit Trailbreaker's website at TrailbreakerResources.com and sign up to receive news. For further information, follow Trailbreaker's tweets at Twitter.com/TrailbreakerLtd , use the ‘Contact' section of our website, or contact us at (604) 681-1820 or at info@trailbreakerresources.com .
References
Généreux, C.A., 2023. Report on 2022 Structural Mapping (Revised), Atsutla Gold Project, Northwest BC. For Trailbreaker Resources Ltd. Terrane Geoscience Inc. January 09, 2023. Unpublished.
Neither the 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.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or financial performance that is based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action; expectations regarding future exploration and drilling programs and receipt of related permitting. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipates", "expects", "understanding", "has agreed to" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "would", "occur" or "be achieved". Although Trailbreaker has attempted to identify important factors that could affect Trailbreaker and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, if any, Trailbreaker has applied several material assumptions, including the assumption that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required by law, Trailbreaker does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eca459ee-dff4-4298-a0be-223fa5871968
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