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ATAC Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ATC) (“ATAC”) is pleased to announce the commencement of drilling at its 1,700 km2 Rackla Gold Property in east-central Yukon.
The previously announced, ~20,000 m diamond drill program will include: ~10,000 m at the high-grade, Carlin-type Osiris Project; and ~10,000 m at the Carlin-type Orion Project funded by Barrick Gold Corp. (“Barrick”) under an exploration partnership.
ATAC’s technical team is operating two diamond drill rigs on the Conrad Zone at the wholly-owned Osiris Project, while an additional two diamond drill rigs are targeting the Anubis Fault corridor at the Orion Project; which is subject to an earn-in agreement wherein Barrick can acquire a 70% interest for total expenditures of $55 million. A fifth diamond drill is scheduled to commence drilling within the next few weeks.
Prior to the Barrick earn-in agreement, ATAC completed ~3,200 m of diamond drilling within the Anubis Fault corridor, and highlights include: 8.51 m of 19.85 g/t gold from the Anubis Zone and 61.29 m of 2.75 g/t gold from the Orion Zone.
“We’re excited to have five diamond drill rigs running on the largest exploration program at Rackla in roughly six years,” commented ATAC president and CEO Graham Downs. “ATAC is anticipating an exciting field season, with drilling at the Osiris Project focused on expanding known high-grade gold zones, while Barrick targets gold discovery via aggressive drilling under their earn-in on the Orion Project.”
The reported intersections are drilled thicknesses and are believed to represent approximately 50-70% at the Sunrise Zone and 40-100% at the Conrad Zone. Based on the character of the mineralization and the limited drilling at Anubis and Orion, it is not possible to determine the true width of the mineralized intersections at this time.
The technical information in this news release has been approved by Julia Lane, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for ATAC and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About ATAC
ATAC is a Yukon-based exploration company focused on developing Canada’s only known Carlin-type gold district alongside Barrick at its Rackla Gold Property. Recent work on the ~1,700 km2 property has resulted in a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Tiger Gold Deposit, drilling of multiple high-grade Carlin-type gold zones and the identification of numerous early-stage gold exploration targets. ATAC and Barrick have partnered to explore the Rackla Gold Property’s Orion Project, with Barrick having the option to earn up to a 70% interest in Orion by spending $55 million in exploration. ATAC is well-financed with approximately $18 million in its treasury and will be conducting one of Yukon’s largest drilling campaigns in 2018.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of ATAC Resources Ltd.
Graham Downs, President and CEO
