Radius Gold provides update on exploration activities planned for 2018
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Radius Gold Inc. (TSX-V:RDU) is pleased to provide a status update on its exploration portfolio and comments on its planned work programs for 2018.
Spring Peak
The Spring Peak property in western Nevada is an exciting hot spring gold target defined by surface sinter, geochemistry, and geophysics. A plan of operations has been approved by the United States Forest Service for drilling the property, and the Company is in the final stages of completing the necessary bonding for issuance of the drill permit. Drilling is planned to begin in mid-July 2018.
Simon Ridgway, CEO of the Company, commented: “The target at Spring Peak is simple: a significant CSAMT resistivity anomaly exists below a geochemically-anomalous large sinter terrace. This resistivity anomaly could represent a gold-bearing hydrothermal feeder system for the sinter. Three or four well-placed drill holes should answer the question.”
Bald Peak
The Bald Peak Property is located in western Nevada, with a small extension into California, and was acquired in early 2017 (see news release of March 06, 2017). Since acquiring the initial 38 claims and mineral lease, Radius has expanded the land package to a total of 151 federal mining claims, and now controls a large area that trends northeast from inside the California border into Nevada, parallel to the trend of the neighbouring Bodie, Aurora, and Borealis mining camps.
Bald Peak is an un-eroded epithermal gold prospect in the Aurora-Bodie mining district. Sinter terraces outcrop along the length of the Property, evidence that the epithermal system has not been eroded beyond its paleo-surface elevation, and is thus likely fully preserved.
Work at Bald Peak in 2017 consisted of geological mapping and prospecting, rock and soil geochemistry, and compilation work of historical exploration and academic and government datasets. The work has demonstrated the presence of a strong gold-bearing epithermal alteration system that can be traced along strike for over six kilometres in a northeast trend, with an anomalous zone of up to several hundred metres in width on surface. Within this global target area are several high priority drill targets. They are described below, in order from SW to NE, and maps showing the property and the targets have been placed on Radius’s website at:
http://www.radiusgold.com/s/bald-peak.asp?ReportID=808181&_Type=Bald-Peak-Project-USA&_Title=Bald-Peak-Maps
West Bald Peak
West Bald Peak is a high-level epithermal drill target located in Mono County, California, at the southwestern end of the property. West Bald Peak exhibits a high Au, As, Sb, Hg response in both rocks and soils and a ~2-3 m thick approximately flat lying silica sinter terrace observed over 250m. The sinter terrace is bound to the southeast by an approximately 30 m wide northeast trending, steeply west dipping gold-bearing fault zone that is observed for 300 m along strike and is open in both directions. The sinter terrace is hosted within a thick volcaniclastic sequence and displays cross-cutting quartz veining with anomalous gold values. Planned drill holes will test beneath the sinter terrace/fault zone at productive levels beneath paleosurface.
Bald Peak Flats
Located southwest of the Bald Peak rhyolite, Bald Peak Flats is a ~1.3 km long by 500 m wide As, Sb, Hg-in-soil anomaly hosted within a volcaniclastic sequence. The soil anomaly drapes over a local topographic high exhibiting northeast-trending chalcedonic quartz veins and zones of silicification, mapped by previous operators. Two historical drill holes are known in this area; however, were not drilled to sufficient depths to test the mineralized system. High-level chalcedonic quartz, low Au and pathfinder elements (As, Sb, Hg) are indicative that this target is at high levels with an epithermal system.
Little Bald Peak
Little Bald Peak, located 200 m lower in elevation and to the northwest of Bald Peak, is a possible side vent or flow dome of the Bald Peak rhyolite. Where outcropping, brittle/fissile flow-banded rhyolite hosts both concordant and discordant <2 mm quartz veins and lenses. A historical prospecting pit is found on the southern side of Little Bald peak; no clear vein or vein orientation was observed but the spoil pile contained fine-grained, maroon-coloured jasperoid which returned anomalous Au and high As, Sb, Hg values. The target displays a high As, Sb-in-soil anomaly over Little Bald Peak itself and is located along strike and at higher elevations of a known mineralized zone (Great Wall).
The Great Wall
The Great Wall is a NNE-trending, steeply dipping, up to 3 m wide zone containing three parallel quartz veins hosted within a trachyandesitic unit. The outcrop is exposed over a ~25 m strike length. Rock channel sampling returned relatively high Au values in quartz veins displaying slightly coarser quartz crystallinity compared to the chalcedonic quartz observed within other zones. This increase in quartz crystallinity with a corresponding increase in gold grade is a positive indication that gold grade is increasing with depth.
NE Sinters
This target contains an extensive area of outcrop and float comprising two distinct zones of sinter within a widespread 1.5 km by 600 m wide As, Sb, Hg-in-soil anomaly. NE Sinter 1 is a broad topographic high with widely distributed sinter outcrops; NE Sinter 2 located on the northern slopes of the Bald Peak rhyolite is identified by zones of limited vegetation. This target is bound to the west by an approximately north-south trending fault that has down dropped and preserved these sinter areas. The occurrence of sinter combined with high As, Sb, Hg pathfinder elements are indicative of being at the top of a fully preserved mineralized system.
Planned work at Bald Peak
During the summer of 2018, as permitting a plan of operations proceeds with the United States Forest Service, these targets will be better defined by geophysical surveys and further geological and structural mapping programs. The permitting process may allow for a late 2018 drill program, but more likely the process will run into early 2019 before drilling is authorized.
Other Nevada properties
Several other low-sulphidation epithermal gold properties are presently under review and/or negotiation in Nevada.
Mexico
Amalia Project, Chihuahua
The Amalia property in the Sierra Madre gold belt, Chihuahua, comprises 10,380 ha 100% controlled by Radius. Amalia is an exciting new discovery with high grade gold and silver mineralization defined across 2 km of strike length, in high level chalcedonic veins, stockworks and breccias. Deeper in the system, sulphide-rich, structurally controlled fault breccias have returned bonanza grades of 4 m at 6.4 g/t Au and 1,702 g/t Ag. (see press release 18th Dec 2017).
Radius continues to advance the Amalia project and is currently permitting drilling and bulldozer trenching, which is expected to be granted in the coming months. Sampling conducted in the last field campaign resulted in a new high-grade extension northward of Campamento zone with a continuous rock chip channel assaying 4.5 m at 10.3 g/t Au and 202 g/t Ag. This extends the total strike length of outcrop of the high level chalcedonic breccias and stockwork zone at Campamento to 500 m.
Regional, Chihuahua
Radius geologists conducted extensive mapping and sampling at the Company’s Tarros project 50 km north of Amalia. Results did not confirm continuous extensive gold silver mineralization with the Tarros Breccias, and Radius has terminated its option agreement and returned the property to the underlying owners. Radius geologists continue to evaluate other gold and silver properties in Mexico.
Guatemala
Banderas, Holly, El Zapote
Radius continues to hold a large and prospective land position in Guatemala to the north of Bluestone Resources’ Cerro Blanco gold deposit. Previous exploration work and drilling on these properties defined several exciting targets. However, Radius awaits the outcome of Bluestone’s efforts to develop Cerro Blanco before investing further in Guatemala.
Investment Portfolio
Radius has a healthy treasury, with current cash and equity investments totaling approximately CDN$8.6 million. Its investment portfolio also includes royalty interests on the Bayovar 12 phosphate property in Peru, the Tambor gold mine in Guatemala, the San Jose gold property in Nicaragua, and the Tlacolula silver property in Mexico.
Qualified Person
David Clark, M.Sc., P.Geo. is a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101, “Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects”, and has approved the disclosure of the technical information in this news release.
About Radius
Radius has been exploring for gold in the Americas for over a decade. The Company has a strong treasury and is looking for investment and project acquisition opportunities across the globe. Please call toll free 1-888-627-9378 or visit our web site (www.radiusgold.com) for more information.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Simon Ridgway
President and CEO
Symbol: TSXV:RDU
Contact: Simon Ridgway
200 Burrard Street, Suite 650
Vancouver, BC V6C 3L6
Tel: 604-801-5432; Toll free 1-888-627-9378; Fax: 604-662-8829
Email: info@goldgroup.com
Website: www.radiusgold.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements which include, without limitation, statements about the Company’s exploration plans for its properties; the Company’s business strategy, plans and outlook; the merit of the Company’s investments and properties; timelines; the future financial performance of the Company; expenditures; approvals and other matters. Often, but not always, these forward looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “estimate”, “estimates”, “estimated”, “potential”, “open”, “future”, “assumed”, “projected”, “used”, “detailed”, “has been”, “gain”, “upgraded”, “offset”, “limited”, “contained”, “reflecting”, “containing”, “remaining”, “to be”, “periodically”, or statements that events, “could” or “should” occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, the Company’s plans for exploring its properties; changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; the Company or any joint venture partner not having the financial ability to meet its exploration and development goals; risks associated with the results of exploration and development activities, estimation of mineral resources and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; unanticipated costs and expenses; and such other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s quarterly and annual filings with securities regulators and available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.
Forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to: that the Company’s planned exploration activities will proceed as expected; that the Company’s activities will be in accordance with its public statements and stated goals; that all required approvals will be obtained; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its investments or properties; and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.