Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Nov. 14, 2011) – Blind Creek Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:BCK) (“the Company” or “Blind Creek”) reports that reconnaissance drilling at the Wann River Project in the Atlin Mining Division of northern British Columbia intersected multiple gold and silver veins grading up to 11.3 g/t gold and 226 g/t silver over 1 meter intersections, 4 kilometres south of the past producing and historic Engineer gold-silver mine.
The 17 hole, 3,325 metre reconnaissance drill program, occurred in a zone containing seven newly re-discovered quartz vein systems within an 800 metre by 180 metre prospective corridor adjacent to Wann River. Drilling took place from five separate drill pads (WR1 to WR5), set up over a 700 metre NW-SE trend. Targets in the Company’s extensive claim holdings will be for a bulk tonnage gold-silver mesothermal quartz stockwork porphyry type system as well as a high grade gold-silver epithermal quartz vein system.
J. Frank Callaghan, President and CEO states, “It is exciting to have hit multiple occurrences of gold and silver mineralized quartz veins in these initial reconnaissance drill holes.”
Data from 13 drill holes has been received of which nine indicated mineralized intersections. Data from three holes remain to be received; one hole (WR05-01-11) was not analyzed. Holes drilled ranged from vertical to -50 dips; drill directions were 30, 70, 210 or 250 degree azimuths.
Drilled rock intercepts include metamorphosed medium grained granodiorite, metamorphosed fine grained diorite and metamorphosed diorite, as well as un-metamorphosed fine to medium grained, slightly porphyritic quartz diorite. Multiple quartz stock works sections are present as well as quartz vein intersections up to 3 metres in length. True widths of the intercepts will be determined after additional drill holes are completed.
On surface, seven quartz vein systems host analytical gold and silver, as well as visible chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite in addition to more rare molybdenite and arsenopyrite. Drill core indicates visible to trace amounts of these minerals generally in one metre intercepts with sharp cut-offs.
Highlights include:
| Diamond Drill | From | To | Interval | Analyses | Assays | CALC. MEAN AV. | |||
| Hole # | (m) | (m) | (m) | Au ppb | Ag ppm | Au g/t | Ag g/t | Au ppm | Ag ppm |
| Drill pad WR-01 | |||||||||
| WR-01-01-11 | 33.85 | 35 | 1.15 | >1000 | 8.6 | 1.2 | |||
| WR-01-02-11 | 33.00 | 34 | 1 | >1000 | 20.6 | 2.34 | |||
| 39.62 | 40.2 | 0.58 | 990 | 48.2 | 56.2 | ||||
| WR-01-03-11 | 73 | 74 | 1 | >1000 | 15.8 | 1.2 | |||
| 147 | 148 | 1 | >1000 | >50 | 3.47 | 226 | |||
| 147 | 149 | 2 | 2.05 | 120 | |||||
| WR-01-04-11 | 31 | 32 | 1 | >1000 | 13 | 1.44 | |||
| 32 | 33 | 1 | >1000 | 42.4 | 3.85 | ||||
| WR-01-04-11 | 31 | 33 | 2 | 2.6 | 27.5 | ||||
| 71 | 72 | 1 | >1000 | >50 | 4.45 | ||||
| Drill pad WR-02 (170 m SE of Pad WR-01) | |||||||||
| WR-02-01-11 | 60 | 61 | 1 | >50 | 138 | ||||
| Drill pad WR-03 (65 m SW of Pad WR-01) | |||||||||
| WR-03-02-11 | 45 | 46 | 1 | >1000 | 44.4 | 2.29 | |||
| 78 | 79 | 1 | >1000 | >50 | 11.3 | 76.2 | |||
| 77 | 80 | 3 | 3.77 | 17.6 | |||||
| 112 | 113 | 1 | >1000 | 25.4 | 2.5 | ||||
| WR-03-03-11 | 118 | 119 | 1 | >1000 | 35.2 | 3.21 | |||
| 127 | 128 | 1 | >1000 | 45.8 | 4.15 | ||||
| 128 | 129 | 1 | >1000 | 47.2 | 1.69 | ||||
| 127 | 129 | 2 | 2.92 | 46.5 | |||||
| WR-03-04-11 | 186 | 187 | 1 | >50 | 63.8 | ||||
| 187 | 188 | 1 | 43.6 | ||||||
| 188 | 189 | 1 | 28.6 | ||||||
| 189 | 190 | 1 | 32.6 | ||||||
| 186 | 190 | 4 | 42.15 | ||||||
| Drill pad WR-04 (253m NW of Pad WR-01) | |||||||||
| WR-04-01-11 | 151 | 152 | 1 | >1000 | >50 | 11.3 | 94.8 | ||
| 155 | 156 | 1 | >1000 | 7.6 | 1 | ||||
| 164.6 | 166 | 1 | >1000 | 16 | 1.26 | ||||
| 151 | 155 | 5 | 2.504 | 22.8 | |||||
| 151 | 166 | 15.59 | 1.05 | 9.62 | |||||
Drill core processing included descriptive logging and sampling for geochemical analyses. The NTW size drill core was diamond sawed in two halves at the Company’s rented facilities in Atlin, BC. After sample preparations were completed, sample pulps were forwarded to Eco Tech Laboratory Ltd. in Kamloops, B.C. for ICP 28 element analysis, geochemical gold analysis and fire assay when returns are over 1000 ppb Gold. Analysis/Assays are made on requested 50 gram sample.
The technical information in this News Release has been reviewed by Nicholas Clive Aspinall, P.Eng., a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
The company began staking claims in 2004 around the historic Engineer mine and in the historic Atlin placer gold camp in the Atlin mining division of north western British Columbia. The two claim groups, now known as the Tagish Lake and Atlin claim groups, have grown to a total of 139,081 hectares of mineral claims. The Wann River project consists of mineral claims covering an area of 2,271 hectares within the Tagish Lake claim group; it is located approximately four kilometres south of the historic Engineer mine. The project area is accessible to sealed roads which lead to the Alaska Highway, including the White Pass Rail route to Skagway, Alaska, via 80 kilometres on navigable Tagish Lake.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
J. Frank Callaghan, President and CEO
This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements, which relate to future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our industry, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested herein. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results. All phases of the Company’s operations are subject to environmental regulation and governmental approval and permits and there can be no assurance that the Company will obtain all the requisite permits for future development. Mining is an inherently risky business with large capital expenditures and cyclical metals markets.
Neither the 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.
