Falcon Gold Corp. Executes Agreement on Cobalt and Gold Claims in Northwestern Ontario
HIGHLIGHTS: - Located in historic mining camp of iron, gold, nickel, cobalt and copper mines;
- Close to major mines and developments such as the Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef gold project;
- Numerous cobalt, copper and gold occurrences that have seen historical surface & shallow drilling;
- Important infrastructure including highway and rail access, and electrical power and natural gas pipeline;
- Low cost of entry and acquisition.
Vancouver, January 23, 2018 - Falcon Gold Corp. (TSXV: FG) ("Falcon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a letter agreement (the "Letter") for the right to acquire a 100% interest in six (cobalt, copper, gold) mining claims straddling the boundary of McCaul and Hutchinson townships in northwest Ontario. The claims comprise 55 claim units and cover an area of approximately 880 hectares.
Stephen Wilkinson, Falcon's CEO stated: "There is a close association with certain gold ("Au") deposits and historic cobalt ("Co") occurrences in the greenstone belts east of the past producing Atikokan iron mines. Both the Co and Au occurrences are reported in files and publications of the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines associated with a regionally extensive iron formation where the sulphide-rich parts of the iron formation contain Co- minerals and as well as gold and copper."
The Property
The Property is approximately 18 kilometres ("km") east of Atikokan, Ontario and the port city of Thunder Bay is about 160 km to the east-southeast. Access to the Property is by road from Provincial Highway 11 along secondary highway 623 to Sapawe Lake. Much of the Property is also accessible by several other unmaintained and private roads. The Canadian National Railway line runs east-west immediately south of the Property.
The Atikokan electrical generating station is located 5 km north of the town. The station which was recently converted from coal-burning is reportedly North America's largest 100% biomass-fuelled power plant. A natural gas pipeline and electrical transmission lines cross the Property near the west end of Sapawe Lake.
The Property is positioned along 10.6 km of the trend of a metasedimentary-meta-volcanic greenstone belt that hosts the targeted cobalt and gold occurrences. The Quetico Fault Zone (the "QFZ"), a regional east-west structure separates the Archean-age sub-provinces of Quetico on the south and the Wabigoon to the north and has been reportedly recognized for a 300 km strike distance.
In the Atikokan area, the greenstone belt hosts numerous oxide and sulphide iron formations. The Steep Rock and Caland mines 5 km north of the town of Atikokan were significant iron ore producers. As reported in 1972 in the Ontario Department of Mines, Geological Report 93, between 1944 and 1967, 51,276,535 tons of iron ore had been shipped valued at $443,522,800. In 1980, the mines were fully closed.
Further occurrences of the iron formation occur east of the (historic) iron operations. Historical work has established the existence of both oxide and sulphide iron formation in the vicinity of and within the claims optioned by Falcon. At the west end of Sapawe Lake is the Staines Cobalt Occurrence which is reported in the 1985 Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 5539 as:
".. a massive sulphide zone located beneath Sapawe Lake. Recent exploration has outlined two parallel sulphide zones at the west end of the property. The lenses or irregular masses of sulphide occur within a volcanogenic environment. There is an ultramafic to mafic intrusive associated with some of the massive sulphide zone. Sulphide mineralization consists mainly of pyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite with associated pentlandite and carrollite. Accessory minerals include chlorite and sericite."
The Staines Cobalt mineralization is described in the same open file report as:
"The main sulphide zone has been outlined to be 1,155 metres long and 76 metres wide. Analyses of earlier drill holes returned values of 32.7 percent soluble iron, 0.23 percent copper and 0.71 pound per ton cobalt over an estimated true width of 25 metres."
The history of exploration work in the area of the Staines Cobalt Occurrence and Sapawe Lake is summarised as follows:
- 1940 - The first known work consisted of 5 holes drilled on Sapawe Lake by Steep Rock Iron Mines Limited. Mineralization was intersected over core lengths of between 60 and 80 ft (18.3 meters ("m") to 24.4 m) of up to 40% Fe and 0.80% Cu.
- 1968 - A prospector, L.B. Staines, acquired much of the present property by staking and by purchasing the mining leases and patents (that are not part of Falcon's agreement) in 1969. The staked claims were optioned in 1969 to Kemins Explorations Ltd. who completed an airborne geophysical survey and then optioned the claims to Monteagle Minerals Ltd.
- Between 1970 and 1971 Monteagle completed ground geophysical surveys, 9 widely spaced diamond drill holes, totalling 3342 ft (1018.6 m), and metallurgical test work.
- 1979 - The property was optioned by Sherritt Gordon Mines Limited. 5 drill holes of which 2 holes were abandoned were completed, totalling 1,867 ft (569 m), on Sapawe Lake.
- Also in 1979 and 1980, Steep Rock Iron Mines Limited completed line cutting, ground geophysical surveys, geological mapping, and 8 diamond drill holes totaling 3,842 ft (1,171 m), mineralogical studies, and some surface sampling.
- 2005 MetalCorp Ltd. completed a 2-hole, 375 m, reconnaissance drilling program during the spring on an occurrence located on the mining lease a short distance east of Sapawe Lake and immediately north of Falcon's optioned property. Co-bearing sulphides were intersected.
Option Terms
To earn its 100% interest, Falcon has agreed to make escalating payments over a 4-year option period to the vendor totaling 400,000 common shares and cash payments totaling $250,000. Subsequent to Falcon acquiring its 100% interest, the vendor will retain a 1% Net Smelter Return ("NSR") that Falcon will have the right to purchase for $1,000,000 at any time up to commencement of production. The agreement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert T. Chataway, P. Geo., who is a member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Falcon Gold Corp.
Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture exchange with the trading symbol: "FG". For information on the Company, please visit our website: www.falcongold.ca.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
David Tafel
Chairman
Stephen Wilkinson
CEO & Director
Telephone: 604-683-1991
Email: info@falcongold.ca
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, etc. Forward looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
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.