News drilling!ATAC Resources Ltd. Commences Drilling and Exploration at its Rackla Gold Project, YukonVANCOUVER,BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 31, 2011) - ATAC Resources Ltd.(ATAC) (TSX VENTURE:ATC) announces the commencement of a 40,000 metredrilling program at its 100% owned, 1,600 sq/km Rackla Gold Project(formerly named the Rau Gold Project) located in central Yukon. Thiscomprehensive $25 million exploration program will utilize eight diamonddrills and will focus on significant Carlin-type gold mineralizationdiscovered in late 2010.
2011 Exploration Plans and Major Objectives:
-- 40,000 metres of proposed diamond drilling consisting of approximately 200-250 holes -- 35,000 metres at the Nadaleen Trend and Osiris area targets -- 5,000 metres at the Rau Trend and Tiger area targets; -- Definition and step-out diamond drilling to expand the Osiris, Conrad, Eaton and Isis zones within the Nadaleen Trend; -- Prospecting, silt and soil sampling of the majority of streams and ridges along the Rackla Gold Project will be used to identify any exposed mineralized zones similar to Osiris; -- Scout drill testing of new targets identified late in 2010 that were not tested due to onset of winter will be carried out in June; -- One drill and crew solely allocated to test newly discovered targets throughout the 2011 exploration season; -- Comprehensive geological mapping throughout the Rackla Gold Belt.
"Managementis very excited that drilling is underway at the Ocelot and Conradzones and commends its field crews for their hard work to make thisearly start a reality," states Graham Downs, ATAC's CEO. "With Osiris,Conrad, Eaton and Isis discovered in such a short timeframe last fall,we are very optimistic that additional Carlin-type gold discoveries willbe made along the 185 km long Rackla Gold Belt this year."
Threediamond drills are currently operating; one drill is grid testing theOcelot silver-lead-zinc Zone located 15 km west of the Tiger Zone withinthe Rau Trend. Two additional drills are testing the Conrad zoneapproximately one kilometre east of the Osiris zone within the NadaleenTrend. An additional five drills are onsite and will be mobilized to theOsiris, Eaton and Isis zones in the coming weeks. Updated projectphotos, maps and figures can be viewed on ATAC's website,www.atacresources.com.
The Rackla Gold Project
TheRackla Gold Project encompasses a 185 km belt of Paleozoic carbonaterocks in the lower plate of the Dawson Thrust Fault known as the RacklaGold Belt. Within this belt there are currently two distinct trends; theNadaleen and Rau.
The Nadaleen Trend is defined by 25 kmlong and 5 km wide belt that is highly anomalous for many Carlin-typepathfinder elements which include arsenic, thallium and mercury. Late in2010, four at/or near surface Carlin-type discoveries were made andconfirmed by drilling at the Osiris, Conrad, Eaton and Isis zones.Highlights from the Osiris and Conrad zones include 65.20 metres of 4.65g/t gold and 21.13 metres of 8.01 g/t gold, respectively. Greater thanninety-five percent of this trend has never been systematically exploredfor gold.
The Rau Trend comprises a 15 km long ridgesystem underlain by Paleozoic carbonate rocks. The most advanced targetwithin the Rau Trend is the Tiger Zone, where 25,900 metres of drillingover the past three field seasons has defined high grade at/or nearsurface oxide gold mineralization as well as significant underlyingsulphide gold mineralization. ATAC intends to complete a NI 43-101mineral resource estimate on the Tiger Zone in 2011. In addition, thereare numerous undrilled surface gold zones located 5 km along strike fromTiger that exhibit similar oxide mineralization. Some of these targetswill be tested during the 2011 exploration season.
Thetechnical information in this news release has been reviewed by RobertC. Carne, M.Sc., P.Geo., a qualified person for the purposes of NationalInstrument 43-101.
ATAC also announces the appointment ofLarry Donaldson as Chief Financial Officer. Robert Dinning, the formerChief Financial Officer resigned following the ATAC annual generalmeeting on May 18, 2011 to pursue other business interests.
About ATAC
ATACis a well-funded, Yukon-based exploration company focused on developingCanada's only Carlin-type gold discovery at its 100% owned, Rackla GoldProject. For additional information concerning ATAC Resources Ltd.,please visit our website at www.atacresources.com.
On behalf of the Board,
Graham Downs, CEO
ATAC Resources Ltd.
Thisnews release may contain forward looking statements based onassumptions and judgments of management regarding future events orresults that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration andother risk factors