Alder Defines Near Surface, Drill-Ready, Copper-Gold-Silver, Surface-Enriched and Oxide Exploration Targets and Develops Staged Value Building Plan
HISTORIC DRILL HOLES RETURN UP TO 2.08% CU OVER 47.5 METRESTORONTO, Mar 18, 2014 - Alder Resources Ltd. ("Alder" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ALR) has refined its value development plan to include a plan to drill test near-surface copper-gold-silver surface-enriched and oxide targets on its Rosita project in Nicaragua.
A review of near-surface exploration targets, in management's opinion, indicates potential for 2 to 5 million tonnes grading from 1.0% to 2.0% copper equivalent(1) from three known near surface copper-gold-silver enriched (supergene) and oxide mineralization zones. These targets, which can be tested with a drill program expected to cost approximately $500,000, in management's opinion, represent the best potential exploration investment return on the property.
The potential quantity and grade of the exploration targets described in this news release are conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource in respect of these targets and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in these targets being delineated as a mineral resource. Alder has not yet done sufficient work to verify the historical drill results reported in this news release and does not intend to use this information for purposes other than planning and prioritizing exploration targets.
In addition to the previously explored near surface targets, several new copper-gold-silver supergene and oxide targets have been developed (see summary http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_1.pdf figure 1). A summary of the targets in order of priority follows:
• R13/R13 West
- Historic drill holes at R13 returned up to 2.08% Cu over 47.5 metres and 0.98% Cu over 79.9 metres (see http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_2.pdf figure 2) in two parallel, interpreted, near-surface mineralized zones 130 metres by 450 metres and 90 metres by 300 metres in size, respectively. These intercepts need to be validated by drilling as there is no other way to validate the historic results.
• Tipispan
- Alder trench results returned up to 5.21% Cu, 4.6 g/t Au and 144.01 g/t Ag over 12.0 metres with zone open across strike (see http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_3.pdf figure 3).
- Supergene mineralization developed over Cu-Au-Ag mineralized porphyry zone that is cut by up to six northwest-trending high grade cross-structures. Target area is approximately 700 metres by 250 metres.
• T3
- Alder's work returned trench results of 2.09% Cu, 0.24 g/t Au and 14.6 g/t Ag over 29.0 metres and two drill hole intercepts returned 1.74% Cu, 0.09 g/t Au and 16.64 g/t Ag over 18.0 metres and 1.23% Cu, 0.36 g/t Au and 10.63 g/t Ag over 13.0 metres, respectively (see http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_4.pdf Figure 4). The initial target area is approximately 100 metres by 200 metres.
• Santa Rita pit
- Supergene Cu-Au-Ag mineralization has been documented around the historic Santa Rita pit where sampling by Calibre Mining Corp. has returned 3.26% Cu, 0.15 g/t Au and 55.82 g/t Ag over 8.3 metres(2) and 0.96% Cu, 1.06 g/t Au and 9.33 g/t Ag over 12.0 metres(2).
• Intersection of the northwest-trending Tipispan trend with the northeast-trending Santa Rita mine trend. Target area is approximately 400 metres by 750 metres in size.
• Intersection of the northwest-trending El Rastro trend with the northeast-trending Santa Rita Mine trend. Target area is approximately 100 metres by 600 metres in size.
Don Dudek, President and CEO of Alder, is quoted: "Alder has determined that a staged development plan is most likely to provide the best return at a lower risk to shareholders with a short-term focus on those near term, high value opportunities first, followed by the development of the larger scale porphyry and skarn targets either when this work can be supported by cash flow or stronger markets. The near-surface, copper-gold-silver supergene-enriched targets are what supported historic production of 5.4 million tonnes grading 2.06% Cu, 0.93 g/t Au and 15.08 g/t Ag and represent, in management's opinion, the best potential return per exploration dollar on the property. The copper-gold-silver supergene and oxide zones occur throughout the property and make excellent, inexpensive exploration targets. These zones have potential to materially increase the value of the property for a modest exploration cost."
A summary of Alder's updated value building plan is as follows:
| Value Building Plan | Expected Timing | |
| Determine metallurgy of 8 million tonne(3) on surface stockpile(4) and 1.75 and 2.25 million tonne target tailings resource(5) | 3 months - 2014 | |
| Define additional supergene mineralization - targeting 2-5 million tonnes at 1.0% to 2.0% Cu equivalent(6) | 6 months, 2014 | |
| Complete PEA | 4 months, late 2014 | |
| Complete infill drill program of stockpiles and near surface zones that have been defined | early 2015 | |
| Initial production of stockpile and supergene in the event of a positive feasibility study, cost determined by metallurgy and PEA | To be determined | |
| Continued exploration of large scale porphyry and skarn Cu-Au-Ag deposits | 2017-2018 |
R13 Target Area
The R13 and R13 West areas lie just east of the Santa Rita open pit (see figure) and were subject to historical mining via an up to 25 metre deep, shallow open pit. A historic plan map for this area displays drill intercepts of up to 2.08% Cu over 47.5 metres in a presumed vertical hole (see figure). No gold or silver assays are recorded, however mill records and remnant stockpile grades suggest that gold grades could be approximately 0.75 g/t Au for every 1% Cu and that silver grades would be close to 15 g/t Ag. Assuming that the drill hole intercepts represent a near surface supergene zone, which was the original mine target, the existing intercept data was modeled and the result was the delineation of two, northwest-trending, inverted, triangle-shaped zones, R13 and R13 West. These zones can be traced for 450 metres and 300 metres along strike and range from 130 metres to 90 metres wide, respectively. Assuming a density of 2.0 tonnes per cubic meter and weighted copper grades, the modeled mineralization solids represent an exploration target of 1,000,000 to 3,500,000 tonnes, after subtracting for material assumed to have been mined. Based on the historic drill data, targeted grades range from 0.90% copper to 0.95% copper with estimated gold and silver grades of approximately 0.5 g/t Au to 1.0 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag to 20 g/t Ag, representing a copper equivalent target grade ranging from 1.30% to 1.80% (using a copper price of US$3.00/lb, gold price of US$1,300 per ounce and a silver price of $20 per ounce). Alder plans to drill-test this target with 39 to 45 holes on 50 metre centres averaging from 30 to 35 metres deep, having an estimated cost of approximately US$150 per metre and totaling US$200,000 to US$250,000. An added benefit to this target area is that the mineralization continues to depth. An Alder drill hole that intersected the down-dip extension of the R13 zone at 150 metres below the surface returned 33.0 metres grading 0.72% Cu, 0.24 g/t Au and 21.95 g/t Au (1.09% Cu equivalent). The true width of this intercept is not known.
Tipispan Target Area
Tipispan, the second priority target area (see figure), is estimated to be at least 700 metres by 250 metres in size. Two historic drill holes, active artisanal mining and Alder trenching and soil geochemical data suggest that this area is underlain by a mineralized monzanite porphyry intrusion that has been cut by six, 5 to 15 metre wide, northwest-trending, higher grade mineralized structures that developed supergene enriched zones at surface (see figure). These mineralized structures and porphyry are in turn cut by barren granitic dykes, the extent of which are unknown at this time. Trenching has returned grades of up to 5.21% Cu, 4.6 g/t Au and 144.01 g/t Ag over 12.0 metres with mapping indicating that the supergene zone extends below un-mineralized overburden where no sampling has taken place. An exploration model for this area envisions overlapping zones of supergene mineralization developing over both the mineralized monzonitic porphyry and the mineralized northwest-trending cross structures. Assuming a target area of 500 metres by 200 metres with an average thickness of 5 metres and a density of 2.0 tonnes per cubic metre, this area could host a near surface exploration target of 500,000 tonnes to 1,000,000 tonnes of approximately 1.0 to 1.8% copper equivalent (0.7% to1% copper, 0.25 to 1 g/t Au and 10 to 20 g/t Ag) as well as deeper-rooted mineralized cross-structures and copper-gold-silver mineralized porphyritic monzonite porphyry. An initial program of 25 vertical, 25 metre deep holes on three fences 100 metres apart has been designed to evaluate the extent of the supergene mineralization and two holes have been planned to test below an active artisanal mine zone on one of the mineralized cross-structures. This initial program is estimated to cost approximately US$150,000 to complete.
T3 Target Area
The T3 area, which represents an exotic oxide Cu zone, lies on a hillside below an interpreted northerly-trending mineralized cross-structure. Surface trenching has returned up to 2.09% Cu, 0.24 g/t Au and 14.6 g/t Ag over 29.0 metres and two drill hole intercepts returned 1.74% Cu, 0.09 g/t Au and 16.64 g/t Ag over 18.0 metres and 1.23% Cu, 0.36 g/t Au and 10.63 g/t Ag over 13.0 metres, respectively. Based on trench and topographic data, this zone of exotic Cu-Au-Ag mineralization is estimated to extend approximately 100 metres along strike, 150 metres down slope and is at least 10 metres thick. Assuming a density of 2.0 tonnes per cubic metre, this represents a target of approximately 250,000 to 350,000 tonnes grading from 1.0% to 2.0% Cu equivalent (1.0% to 1.5% Cu, 0.25 to 0.5 g/t Au and 10.0 to 15.0 g/t Ag) . This target can be tested by 16, 15 metre deep holes drilled on a 25 metre by 25 metre grid with an estimated cost of $40,000.
Additional known copper supergene mineralization lies proximal to the historic Santa Rita pit, where chip sampling by Calibre Mining Corp. returned up to 3.26% Cu, 0.15 g/t Au and 55.82 g/t Ag over 8.3 metres, and just east of the R13 zone, where historic drilling returned an intercept of 0.66% Cu over 16.2 metres in what could represent a third mineralized northwest trending structure in the R13 area. Additional work is required to define the tonnage and grade potential of these zones.
Following the same targeting methodology as in the R13 zone area, there is also a reasonable possibility that additional blind supergene Cu-Au-Ag mineralization may occur where well known mineralized trends like the Tipispan trend intersects the Santa Rita trend and where the El Rastro trend intersects the Santa Rita trend and at Zopilote, where historic records indicate sulphide and oxide resources of 260,000 tonnes grading 0.92% Cu (no gold and silver grades were recorded). These specific blue sky target areas and other intersecting structural zones represent reasonable Cu-Au-Ag supergene targets that should be tested in subsequent programs.
A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate reported above as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and Alder is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
Qualified Persons
Don Dudek, P. Geo., Alder's President and CEO and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of this news release.
About Alder Resources Ltd.
Alder is a resource company focused on the development of gold and base metal projects throughout the Americas. Alder's exploration program is focused on the Rosita project in Nicaragua located 275 kilometres northeast of Managua. The company has current Inferred mineral stock pile resources of 7.95 million tonnes grading 0.62% Cu, 0.46 g/t Au and 9.21 g/t Ag. See the technical report entitled "Rosita Cu-Au-Ag Project, RAAN, Nicaragua, NI 43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resource Estimate of Rosita Stockpiles" effective as of May 8, 2012, which is available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.
In August 2011, Alder entered into an option agreement to acquire a 65% interest in the Rosita D concession from Calibre Mining Corp. by issuing 1,000,000 shares and incurring expenditures of $4,000,000 over four years. To date Alder has incurred approximately $3.3 million of the $4.0 million obligation and has until October 2015 to incur the remaining project expenditures.
For additional information, please visit our website at www.alderresources.ca and follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @AlderResources
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's mineral resource estimate, potential mineralization, future plans and the exploration targets. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Alder to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; risks associated with operations in foreign jurisdictions; ability to successfully integrate the purchased properties; and other risks inherent in the mining industry. Although Alder has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such 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. Alder does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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.
(1) 0.7% Cu to 1.5% Cu, 0.25 g/t Au to 1.0 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag to 20 g/t Ag. Cu @ US$3.00/lb, Au @ US$1,300/oz and Ag @ US$20/oz
(2) Calibre Mining Corp. news release July 13, 2011. Calibre is Alder's joint venture partner on the Rosita Property
(3) As reported in the news release issued by Alder on May 9, 2012, the inferred resource estimate totals 7.95 mt, at an average grade of 0.62% Cu, 0.46 g/t Au and 9.2 g/t Ag with an overall copper equivalent grade of 1.01%. The inferred mineral resource contains 108 million pounds of Cu, 118,500 ounces of Au and 2.35 million ounces of Ag.
(4) See Data in NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled "Technical Report on Mineral Resource Estimate of the Rosita Stockpiles" dated June 22, 2012 and filed on SEDAR.
(5) Targeted grade of tailings resource 0.14 to 0.30% Cu, 0.52 to 0.57 g/t Au and 6.37 to 12.55 g/t Ag
(6) 1.0% to 2.0% Cu equivalent ranges 0.7% Cu to 1.5% Cu, 0.25 g/t Au to 1.0 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag to 20 g/t Ag. Cu @ US$3.00/lb, Au @ US$1,300/oz and Ag @ US$20/oz
To view Figure 1, please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_1.pdf
To view Figure 2, please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_2.pdf
To view Figure 3, please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_3.pdf
To view Figure 4, please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/933947_FIG_4.pdf
Contact
Alder Resources Ltd.
Michael McAllister
416-309-2134
info@alderresources.ca
www.alderresources.ca