Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 11, 2022) - Tower Resources Ltd. (TSXV: TWR) ("Tower" or the "Company") is pleased to report that its December, 2021, diamond drilling program at the head of the recently identified gold grain dispersal train on the Company's Rabbit North property (Fig. 1; see Tower's August 10, November 12 and December 2, 2021 press releases at www.towerresources.ca) has discovered a new gold zone with an impressive initial intercept in Hole RN21-026 of 95.0 m of 1.40 g/t Au, including 19.2 m of 4.21 g/t Au (Table 1).
Rabbit North is strategically located between the two producing porphyry deposits of the Kamloops mining district, New Gold's New Afton underground Cu-Au mine to the east and Teck's Highland Valley open pit Cu-Mo mine to the west (Fig. 2). Tower's new discovery demonstrates that the district is prospective for major Au deposits as well Cu-Au deposits. Significantly, the new "Golden Zone" lies just 1 km southeast of the Western Magnetite Zone (Fig. 1) where Tower previously intersected 247 m of 0.51% Cu and 0.34 g/t Au (see Tower's July 11, 2017, press release at www.towerresources.ca).
Joe Dhami, President of Tower Resources, commented: "The Golden Zone's width and grade rival some of the best-known discoveries in central BC and marks a transformative change to our company. Adding a new Gold discovery to our known copper values highlights the unlimited potential of this underexplored property."
Stu Averill, a Director of the Company, added: "Tower is a very prudent exploration company but also progressive. It is one of the first companies in BC to adopt the till heavy mineral sampling method that ODM (Overburden Drilling Management Ltd.) used to discover the still-producing Casa Berardi gold deposits in Quebec nearly 40 years ago and has since applied successfully in many other parts of Canada. The objective of the Rabbit North till sampling program was to quickly, confidently and cost-effectively identify hidden gold and/or copper zones that are both strongly mineralized and extend to surface and thus have a high economic potential. This objective was clearly achieved as the Golden Zone was discovered just six months after the first till sample was collected and at a total expenditure of just $350,000."
Four holes, Nos RN21-024 to 027, totaling 875.0 m were drilled in December. The discovery hole, No. 026, is the 26th drilled since Tower acquired the property in 2013. It was drilled in an east-northeast direction (060° azimuth) across the projected trace of the gold dispersal train at a dip of -60° at a point ~300 m up-ice (northwest) of the defined portion of the train (Fig. 1).
The 95 m mineralized section in Hole 026 begins 51 m down-hole at the contact between preglacially oxidized and fresh, pyritic bedrock and extends to 146 m. The oxidized zone, from ~21 to 51 m, is also mineralized but the rock is so decomposed that it was mistaken for till and thus was not cored. Therefore the actual drilled width of the mineralized zone is 125 m and the potential width is even greater since the hole started in mineralization.
The gold mineralization of the Golden Zone, like the Cu-Au mineralization of the Western Magnetite Zone, is hosted by diorite of the alkalic Durand Stock. However, the Golden Zone appears to be a shear-hosted mesothermal rather than porphyry-related epithermal deposit and thus may extend to a considerable depth. The mineralized diorite is highly fractured to schistose, flooded with milky white silica and mineralized with 1 to 5% finely disseminated pyrite (Fig. 3a). More strongly deformed, brecciated to crushed sections contain more pyrite, and generally also more gold (Fig. 3b)
No arsenopyrite or other deleterious minerals are present. Furthermore, the gold appears to be rather evenly distributed as the highest Au assay obtained from the 62 samples collected from the 95 m section was 14.9 g/t and the least mineralized samples still contain significant Au (typically 0.1 to 0.3 g/t; Table 1). As is typical of mesothermal gold deposits, Ag values are relatively low.
The strike, dip and true width of the gold zone are not yet known. However, the true width is evidently substantial as the final hole of the program, No. 027, which was drilled from the same pad as Hole 026 but oriented west-northwest (azimuth 300°) rather than east-northeast (Fig. 1), also started in similar oxidized mieralization that continued for tens of metres into fresh pyritic mineralization. (Note: The samples from Hole 026 were analyzed on a priority basis while those from Holes 024, 025 and 027 are backlogged at the laboratory). The continuity of the gold zone between Holes 026 and 027 could indicate a roughly east-west strike.
Tower plans to resume drilling on the Golden Zone after the lab results from the other three December drill holes are obtained.
Methods and Qualified Person
The drill core was logged in a temporary core tent (Fig. 4) in a secure yard in Kamloops. It was logged by or under the supervision of Mr. Dane Bridge, MSc., P.Geo., a seasoned mineral exploration geologist with previous experience on the Rabbit North property.
Split samples of the core, generally 1-2 m in length, were delivered directly to Activation Laboratories (ActLabs) in Kamloops, BC, a laboratory certified as ISO/IEC 17025 Accredited (Lab 790) by the Standards Council of Canada. QA/QC samples including blanks and standards were inserted regularly into the sample sequence at a ratio of approximately 1:20.
The samples from Hole 26 were initially analyzed on a priority basis for only Au and Ag by fire assay and ICP-OES. However, they and the samples from the other three drill holes are also being analyzed for Ag and 36 additional elements by ICP-OES using a four-acid, near-total digestion. Any over-limit analyses (>5 g/t Au, >100 g/t Ag, >1% As, Zn or Cu, >0.5% Pb) are repeated using the same procedures but at a higher detection range.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Stuart Averill, P.Geo., a Director of the Company, Chairman of ODM and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Tower Resources
Tower is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and advancement of economic mineral projects in the Americas. The Company's key exploration assets, both in B.C., are the Rabbit North copper-gold porphyry project located between the New Afton copper-gold and Highland Valley copper mines in the Kamloops mining district and the Nechako gold-silver project near Artemis' Blackwater project.
On behalf of the Board of DirectorsTower Resources Ltd.
Joe Dhami, President and CEO(778) 996-4730www.towerresources.ca
Reader Advisory
This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Figure 1 - Location of the new Golden Zone discovery in relation to the Dominic Lake gold grain dispersal train.
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Figure 2 - Geologic map of the Kamloops Mining District showing the prime location of Tower's Rabbit North property midway between the New Afton and Highland Valley mines.
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Figure 3a - Weakly fractured, silicified and pyritized diorite core from Hole RN21-026. This 7.2 m section returned 0.41 g/t Au.
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Figure 3b - Strongly brecciated, silicified and pyritized diorite core from Hole RN21-026. This 0.4 m section is within a 1.9 m sample interval that returned 7.84 g/t Au.
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Figure 4 - Core logging tent.
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Assayed Interval (m) | ||||
Sample No. | From | To | Length | Au g/t |
556016 | 113.2 | 114.8 | 1.6 | 14.0 |
556017 | 114.8 | 116.0 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
556018 | 116.0 | 117.8 | 1.8 | 3.7 |
556021 | 117.8 | 119.7 | 1.9 | 7.8 |
556022 | 119.7 | 121.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
556023 | 121.2 | 123.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
556024 | 123.0 | 124.7 | 1.7 | 0.6 |
556025 | 124.7 | 126.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 |
556026 | 126.7 | 127.0 | 0.3 | 2.8 |
556027 | 127.0 | 128.0 | 1.0 | 8.3 |
556028 | 128.0 | 130.3 | 2.3 | 3.8 |
556029 | 130.3 | 131.0 | 0.7 | 4.2 |
556030 | 131.0 | 131.3 | 0.3 | 14.9 |
556031 | 131.3 | 132.4 | 1.1 | 3.7 |
Table 1 - Gold assays for the 19.2 m section from 113.2 - 132.4 m in Hole RN21-026. The weighted average Au content is 4.21 g/t.
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