Minfocus Options Coral Zinc Project in British Columbia Containing a Large Untested Zinc Geochemical Anomaly With Nearby Historic Drilling and Trenching Results
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TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - January 26, 2015) - Minfocus Exploration Corp. (TSX VENTURE: MFX)("Minfocus") is pleased to announce that it has signed an Option agreement with a group of four individuals ("Vendors") to earn up to a minimum 60% interest in the Coral Zinc Project in east central British Columbia over five (5) years by spending a minimum of $2.0 million on exploration work and making payments to the Vendors totalling $160,000, in cash and/or shares, in Years 3 to 5. Two of the Vendors are insiders of Minfocus. The Option agreement is still subject to approval by the TSX-V Exchange.
The Coral Zinc prospect was discovered in the early 1970's, when there was intense exploration in the area of the central Rocky Mountains, north of MacKenzie, B.C., which resulted in the discovery of the Robb Lake zinc deposit. The Robb Lake deposit has strong similarities to the Pine Point zinc deposits in the North West Territories mined between 1964 and1988. The Pine Point and Robb Lake zinc deposits are both examples of a class of zinc deposits known as Mississippi Valley Type ("MVT"), which are hosted by dolostone sediments and occur in clusters following along a bedding horizon. The Coral Zinc Project is believed to share the same favourable MVT sediment-hosted geology.
The Coral Zinc prospect was initially discovered by prospecting above treeline but no extensive searching was undertaken down below the treeline. Then in the 1980's, later prospecting, mapping and geochemical surveys down below the treeline revealed a highly elevated soil geochemical anomaly for zinc, silver and lead covering a large area (300 m by 600 m) on a hillside above a creek in which two outcrops of carbonate-hosted zinc mineralisation are exposed.
The 1980s exploration work, which was conducted by two of the Vendors, includes the following results:
- A large soil geochemical anomaly containing highly elevated zinc analyses of 2000 - 6680 ppm Zn against a baseline average of about 120 ppm Zn contained within a grid of 600 metres by 800 metres. Within the zinc anomalous area there are contiguous elevated lead and silver values.
- A hand trench was excavated for 9 metres extending the showing either side of the creek and revealed gossan with zinc assaying from 0.4% Zn to 2.1% Zn in 1 and 2 metre long samples.
- Six short "packsack" type drill holes were drilled close to the creek and four of which intersected significant zinc values immediately below the overburden as shown in the table below.
These four mineralized holes and the mineralization exposed in the trench are 50 - 100 metres from the edge of the zinc soil anomaly. The zinc anomaly is open-ended in at least two directions and has an aerial extent of 600 x 300 metres across an area of hillside with no exposure. Prospecting southwest of the soil anomaly across the hillside did locate one outcrop of mineralized dolostone breccia, 600 metres beyond the sampled limit of the soil anomaly from which two grab samples gave 2.36% Zn and 2.29% Zn.
Logging roads access areas within 15 kilometres of the Coral Zinc prospect anomaly area and a high-voltage power line is planned to pass within 25 kilometres to access an advanced mining development.
Coral Zinc Project Historic Drilling Results (1988)
Hole | C-88-2 | C-88-3 | C-88-4 | C-88-6 | ||||
Overburden | 0 - 2.80m | 0 - 1.78m | 0 - 4.10m | 0 - 5.40m | ||||
Recrystallized Dolostone Breccia | 2.80 - 4.25m | 1.78 - 7.40m | 4.10 - 10.60m | 5.40 - 13.20m | ||||
%Zn in Intervals | 3.12m to 4.12m @ 2.54% | 4.25m to 5.25m @ 7.67% | 4.10m to 5.10m @ 0.87% | 8.40m to 9.40m @ 1.28% | ||||
5.25m to 6.25m @ 1.03% | 5.10m to 6.10m @ 4.29% | 9.40m to 10.40m @ 0.54% | ||||||
6.25m to 7.25m @ 1.61% | 6.10m to 8.10m @3.04% | |||||||
8.10m to 9.10m @ 3.63% | ||||||||
%Zn in Overall Interval | 1.0m @ 2.54% | 3.0m @ 3.44 % | 5.0m @ 2.97% | 2.0m @ 0.91% | ||||
Under the terms of the Option agreement, by September 30, 2015, the anniversary date, Minfocus must spend a minimum of $50,000 on exploration and maintain the property in good standing. Thereafter it must spend cumulative $150,000 on exploration in Year 2. In Year 3, Minfocus must have spent a cumulative $450,000 on exploration work, plus pay the Vendors $20,000 in cash or shares of Minfocus, for which it will have earned a 20% interest in the property. In Year 4, Minfocus must have spent a cumulative $1,000,000 on exploration work, plus pay the Vendors a further $40,000 in cash or shares of Minfocus, for which it will have earned a further 20% interest in the property to reach a 40% interest. In Year 5, Minfocus must have spent a cumulative $2,000,000 on exploration work, plus pay the Vendors a further $100,000 in cash or shares of Minfocus, for which it will have earned a further 20% interest in the property and increased its interest to a a majority 60% interest and a joint venture shall be formed. After Minfocus has earned its majority interest of 60%, if the Vendors do not contribute to any work program thereafter, then Minfocus may earn another 10% interest if it incurs another $1,000,000 on exploration over the next two years to increase its total interest to 70% in the Coral Zinc Project.
Also, upon the formation of the joint venture, the Vendors will be granted a 3% NSR Royalty, of which up to 2% may be bought down by Minfocus for $4,000,000 if the Vendors have maintained their interest above 10%. If the Vendors joint venture interest is diluted to a 10% level, Minfocus may buy down 2% of the NSR Royalty for the reduced amount of $2,000,000, plus Minfocus will have the right to buy out their remaining minority interest in the property for $100,000 in cash or shares in Minfocus.
The Pine Point and Robb Lake zinc deposits are both examples of a class of zinc deposits known as Mississippi Valley Type ("MVT") which are hosted by dolostone sediments and occur in clusters following along a bedding horizon. At Pine Point, Cominco started mining in 1964 with an initial reserve (historic figures) of 21.5 million tonnes grading 7.2% Zn and 4.0% Pb. By the time they finished mining in 1988 they had mined 48 deposits with an aggregate 64 million tonnes grading 7.0% Zn and 3.1% Pb. For the initial production Cominco mined ore with grades above 20% combined lead and zinc which was shipped directly to their smelter at Trail, B.C. Pine Point, Robb Lake and Coral are all connected by a geological feature known as the Presqu'île Barrier which separates shallow water and deeper water sedimentary environments and it is that interface which provides the depositional environment for these types of deposits.
More information will be available on Minfocus' website at www.minfocus.com
About Minfocus Exploration Corp.
Minfocus Exploration Corp. is a Canadian company currently focused on the advancement of a portfolio of base metal projects including zinc and nickel assets in British Columbia and Platinum Group Element ("PGE") rich nickel projects in Northwest Ontario, which are among the most stable mining districts in the world. Minfocus has a distinguished management group with a record of multiple discoveries of deposits worldwide, including more than 15 years experience and success exploring for PGE-rich resources in Ontario, including the discovery of the first Platinum-rich PGE deposit, the Panoramic Resources' Current Lake deposit (+700,000 oz. Pt-Eq). The Minfocus management group also has extensive strength and success in corporate development, M&A and project development, which together with its technical prowess is aimed at delivering growth in shareholder value through a balanced strategic approach.
The Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the technical content contained in this release is Dr. Gerald Harper, P.Geo.(Ont).
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulatory Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of the
Company's business and operations as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions.
Forward-looking statements are often identifiable by the use of words such as "may", "will", "might", "would", "plan", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecasts" and similar expressions or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those currently anticipated by such statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, fluctuating commodity prices, delays in commencing the Company's proposed drilling program, exploration costs varying significantly from estimates, the availability of financing, and other risks identified in the Company's documents filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only of the date on which it is made, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Contact
For further information please contact:
Gerald Harper
President & Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (416) 232-0025