Northern Sphere Mining stakes additional ground next to copper-zinc-manganese anomalies as staking rush occurs along its Black Diamond Property
Toronto, Feb. 6, 2018 - Northern Sphere Mining Corp. (CSE: NSM) (OTCQB: NSMCF) ("Northern Sphere" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that is has increased its land position by an additional 50 claims staked in areas where distinct copper, zinc, and manganese anomalies continue to be delineated. The Company is continuing to acquire ground at an accelerated rate and is encouraged by BHP Billiton's current staking activity along the Company's western claim boundary. Figure 1: Miami-Globe, Arizona - Northern Sphere's Black Diamond Claims
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In addition to claim staking, Northern Sphere continues to execute an intensive Geochemical Survey over its now expanded 4,800-acre Black Diamond Property, located 12 km (8 miles) north-east of Freeport McMoRan's Open Pit Copper Operations. The Geochemical Survey recovers systematic soil samples on a 50-metre spaced grid. Each sample was submitted to ALS Laboratories for a 51 Element Aqua-Regia digestion and an ICP-MS finish.
The survey currently comprises of more than 800 samples from three prospective areas encompassing approximately 500 acres which include: (i) the Richmond Basin, site of historic underground silver mines, (ii) Buckeye South, site of recent delineated soil anomalies containing copper-zinc-manganese and is in close proximity to former zinc and manganese underground mines, and (iii) Black Copper where previous outcrop sampling yielded copper values up to 7% (see TrueclAIM Exploration Inc. (TSXV: TRM) press release of September 29, 2011).
Initial results from the first 250 geochemical samples taken in the Richmond Basin area yielded anomalous copper values of 1,040 parts per million (ppm), 522 ppm, and 340 ppm along with silver values up to 344 grams per tonne (g/t) (see the Company's prior press release of November 11, 2017).
A second soil survey area consisting of 224 samples collected from the Buckeye South area returned exceptional results having both anomalous copper values of greater than 80 ppm and zinc values of 7,660 ppm, 4,820 ppm, and 4,770 ppm. Figure 2 depicts some of these anomalous trends.
Figure 2: Northern Sphere Black Diamond Soil Geochemical Survey
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More recent geochemical soil sampling from the Black Copper area yielded excellent results. Forty-six percent of the 135 samples collected at this location have copper results that exceed 100 ppm (or 100 g/t). Notable copper values analyzed from this location resulted in 634 ppm, 503 ppm and 496 ppm.
Manganese levels indicated from the soil survey were anomalous with all sample results exceeding 100 ppm. Soils samples collected from the Black Copper area all had manganese levels exceeding 200 ppm (72 exceeded 1,000 ppm or 0.1%). Manganese, which is often found in association with other notable metals such as lead, silver, zinc, copper and vanadium has been mined in the Globe-Miami, Arizona area. Although considered a "strategic mineral" in the United States, Manganese is predominantly sourced outside the US, primarily from China and South Africa.
Northern Sphere has increased its land position by 25% in recent weeks and will continue to undertake Geochemical soil sampling along identified copper and zinc trends. Ongoing geophysical surveying and diamond drilling on nearby claims by BHP Billiton has further invigorated Northern Sphere's exploration activities.
Steve Gray, Vice President of Northern Sphere, states "Recent claim staking and increased exploration activities near our western claim boundaries by "heavy hitters" has added some urgency for Northern Sphere to continue to add claim ground. The timing of the staking rush appears to correlate well with some of our recent results and we have noticed increased exploration activities in the area."
Mr. Gray adds "During my most recent visit to the site, I was pleased to substantiate previous mapping of andesite porphyry bodies in addition to identifying previously undocumented ones. These porphyries hold important clues and should assist Northern Sphere with potentially detecting orebodies similar in nature to Freeport McMoRan's porphyry copper mines located within view of our claims."
Targeting Optimization
In efforts to expediate mineral targeting, Northern Sphere has contracted external technical services to assist with target optimization, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) by incorporating Digital Geologic Modelling, Hyper-Spectral Imaging, Geophysical Survey re-inversion, and Geochemical survey data into prospect generating algorithms. A summary of the work is expected to be available for release during February 2018.
Quality Control
Northern Sphere's quality control and assurance program includes the use of an independent certified lab, ALS Laboratories ("ALS") of Tucson, Arizona. All ALS geochemical hub laboratories are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 for specific analytical procedures. The ALS quality program includes quality control steps through sample preparation and analysis, inter-laboratory test programs, and regular internal audits. It is an integral part of day-to-day activities, involves all levels of ALS staff and is monitored at top management levels.
Qualified Persons
Steve Gray, P.Geo., Vice President of Northern Sphere, has reviewed, prepared and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release and is Northern Sphere's "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Northern Sphere Mining Corp.
Northern Sphere is dedicated to growth through the acquisition and development of mining assets with an emphasis on gold, silver and copper. In efforts expediate and optimize mineral targeting on its assets, the Company is employing cutting-edge exploration technologies to generate robust mining projects. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Northern Sphere has a strong project pipeline of properties with a focus on gold, silver and other metal production in pro-mining jurisdictions.
Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which reflect Northern Sphere's current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those projected herein. Northern Sphere disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable securities laws.
For further information, please contact:
A. John Carter, Chief Executive Officer
Northern Sphere Mining Corp.
Tel: 905-302-3843