News VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abacus Mining & Exploration Corporation (“Abacus” or the “Company”) (TSXV:AME) wishes to provide an update to its shareholders on the Ajax copper-gold project, located near Kamloops, British Columbia. Abacus holds a 20% ownership interest in the project, which is managed by base metal major KGHM Polska Miedz S.A., who hold the remaining 80%.
Abacus is pleased to report that KGHM has hired a new Ajax Superintendent, whose duties will initially be focused on First Nations, community and governmental engagement in order to advance the project towards a potential resubmission of the environmental application. Mr. Michal Wypych is a current resident of Kamloops, and he had prior involvement in the Ajax project. KGHM is currently looking for office space in Kamloops, in order to provide the project with an increased community presence.
“Ajax remains a priority for both Abacus and for our partner, and we are pleased to see that the Ajax project will once again have a community-based presence,” commented Paul G. Anderson, President of Abacus. “We understand that our partner has work to do in order to revitalize the project, and we welcome this first step.”
The Ajax Project underwent a joint provincial and federal environmental review starting in 2011, which culminated in the decision by the B.C. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources to decline to issue an environmental assessment certificate for the Project in December of 2017. Despite this setback, KGHM in consultation with Abacus has continued to work to advance the project, including evaluating various strategies geared toward potentially resubmitting the environmental application.
The Ajax Project contains significant quantities of copper and gold, within a NI 43-101 Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve of 426 Mt at 0.29% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au and 0.39 g/t Ag. Contained metal is in the order of 2.7 Bil lbs Cu, 2.6 Moz Au and 5.3 Moz Ag. (Wardrop Engineering Inc. 2012. Ajax Copper/Gold Project, Kamloops, British Columbia – Feasibility Study Technical Report. Doc. No. 1054610300-REP-R0004-02. January 2012).
Besides Ajax, the Company holds options and leases on the Willow and adjacent Nev-Lorraine copper-molybdenum properties in the Yerington copper camp, southeast of Reno, Nevada. Drilling by the Company in 2018 intersected a key intrusive rock unit on Willow that hosts all known porphyry Cu-Mo deposits at Yerington. This rock unit was not previously known to exist on the Company’s property, and it represents a key new discovery. The target is large and robust, and it remains essentially untested.
The Yerington copper camp contains several past producing porphyry and skarn deposits, including the Yerington Mine that produced approximately 1.6 billion pounds of copper for Anaconda between 1952 until 1978. Advanced projects in the camp include Ann Mason (M&I of 1.4BT at 0.32% Cu), owned by Hudbay Mining, Nevada Copper’s Pumpkin Hollow (P&P of 572 MT at 0.4% Cu) which is in mine construction, and Quaterra Resources’ MacArthur oxide project (M&I of 159MT at 0.212% Cu) which is in prefeasibility.
Abacus also holds the Jersey Valley gold property, prospective for both intrusion-related sediment hosted, and for epithermal precious metal mineralization, within the Battle Mountain trend of north-central Nevada. Jersey Valley is in close proximity to both the Phoenix/Fortitude mine complex (approximately 14 Moz gold plus significant Ag and Cu past production and a proposed mine life to 2063) and the Cove/McCoy Mine: 3.4 Moz gold and 110 Moz Ag past production. (Data is from the Newmont Mines and Premier Gold Mines websites. The reader is cautioned that the mineralization hosted on nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company’s Jersey Valley gold property). The Jersey Valley property has a well-maintained sealed road running through it, which provides access to a 15 MW geothermal power plant located on the edge of the claim group.
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul G. Anderson, M.Sc., P.Geo., a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
On Behalf of the Board,
ABACUS MINING & EXPLORATION CORPORATION
Paul G. Anderson
President and COO
About Abacus
Abacus is a mineral exploration and mine development company currently focused on its optioned Willow copper-gold property located near Yerington, Nevada in which it can acquire up to a 75% ownership interest, and the contiguous Nev-Lorraine claims subject to a ten-year lease agreement. The Company also holds a 20% ownership interest, together with KGHM Polska MiedzS.A. (80%), in the proposed copper-gold Ajax Mine located southwest of Kamloops, B.C., which has recently undergone a joint provincial and federal environmental assessment process. On December 14, 2017, a decision was made by the B.C. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources to decline to issue an environmental assessment certificate for the Project. For the latest reports and information on Abacus’ projects, please refer to the Company’s website at www.amemining.com.