NewsAlexis Expands High-Grade Gold Potential South of Herbin and Confirms Significant New Resource Area
Results Include 32.76 Grams Gold Per Tonne Over 4.9 Metres (0.96 Oz. Per Ton Over 16.1 Feet)
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - April 26, 2007) - Alexis Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE:AMC) is pleased to report the confirmation of the extension of high-grade mineralization in underground exploration of the new discovery area, now termed the "Deep South Zone", south of and at shallow depth beneath, the 200-meter level of the Lac Herbin Mine. The two discovery holes (see Press Releases: January 24 & February 14, 2007) returned 12.8 (12.27(i) cut) grams gold per tonne (g Au/t) over 12.5 metres (LH02-123) and 35.42 (9.76(i)cut) gAu/t over 9.2 m, (LH02-122). Since then, 27 drill holes for 5,607 metres of additional drilling has been completed to test the continuity to this new mineralized area. Drilling has confirmed a shallow western plunge to the mineralization with high gold grades traced to the 400-m level. The high grade area remains open at depth and to the west. The zone has a vertical height of between 75 and 100 metres and a plunge length of over 250 metres (see Figure 1).
"Drilling in the Deep South area confirms a significant new addition to the Lac Herbin gold Resource within easy access of our current ramp, which now extends down to the 250-m level," said David Rigg, President and CEO of Alexis Minerals. "The new zone represents an important new gold structure. Mineralization at the limit of the deepest drilling in this area has a strike length of 200 metres and remains open to the west and to depth. Results from drilling in this area and on the S1W area released in March are very exciting for the long term potential of the deposit. We have confirmed that we are tapping into two major ore zones in the upper part of a large and deep ore system. There is a lot of potential to expand the known deposit."
New drilling results include (see Table 1, Figure 1):
- 32.76 (22.86 cut(i)) g Au/t over 4.9m (LH02-167),
- 15.05 (13.48 cut(i)) g Au/t over 4.8 m (LH02-168) including,
-- 35.0 (19.41 cut(i)) g Au/t over 1.7 m
- 9.37 g Au/t over 3.0 m (LH02-127)
- 17.94 (14.81) g Au/t (14.81 cut(i)) over 3.5 m (LH02-169)
- 3.70 g Au/t over 21.3 m (LH02-129), including
-- 8.51 g Au/t over 5.5m, and
-- 12.86 g Au/t over 2.3m
- 8.12 g Au/t over 9.9m (LH02-170), including
- 16.24 g Au/t over 3.9 m
(i) Cut Grades - See note in Table 1
The high grade zone is now known to be located within a broader envelope of veining which plunges steeply to the west and, also, to the limit of current drilling on the 400-m level (see Figure 1). This broader zone of mineralization at the 400-m level has a strike length of 200 metres and remains open to the west and to depth. Similar westerly plunging high grade trends were recognized within the Resources of the Lac Herbin Deposit (see 43-101 Technical Report filed on SEDAR.com: February 23, 2007). The structural character of the Lac Herbin area clearly supports the potential for the discovery of additional high grade zones at depth similar to the Deep South zone within the continued extension of the more steeply plunging structures.
The Deep South Zone will contribute significantly to near term mine development and production, at mining grades expected to be much higher than the average mine grade. The mineralization will be incorporated into ongoing mine planning as a mine feasibility study advances to confirm the economic viability of the Lac Herbin Deposit.
The "Deep South" Zone
The new intersections are the deepest holes drilled to date on the S3 structure and lie immediately beneath the southern limit of previous mine exploration and resource evaluations (see Press Release: January 11, 2007). The extensive area of mineralization lies outside the current Resources being used in feasibility studies.
Reported drilling has tested the new zone, the Deep South zone, down to the 400-m level. High grade mineralization has been drill defined as a shallow western plunging zone, Figure 1. The high grade zone has a vertical height of between 75 and 100 metres and a plunge length of 250 metres, to the limits of current drilling. The zone demonstrates strong vein widths up to 6 metres and will provide for significant Resource growth. The zone occurs within a broader zone of mineralization which demonstrates a strike length of 200 metres at the 400-m level, remaining open to the west and at depth.
The broader zone of mineralization on the S3 structure is more characteristic of the principal zones of the Lac Herbin mine area. It trends steeply to the west and parallels the trend of the S1 zone (see Press Release: March 22, 2007, Figure 1). The Deep South area dips to the south and away from current mine workings. Deeper drilling of the zone is difficult from current mine workings and development is being initiated to provide access in the hanging-wall of the zone to the south at the 200-m level. This development will provide a substantial drill position that will allow deeper drilling of the down-dip continuation of mineralization in both the Deep South Zone and the S1 zone. The S1 zone has a strike length of 250-metres at the 500-m level and remains open to depth and to the west. At the 400-500 metre level the two zones overlap and run parallel to each other, approximately 100 metres apart. Drilling is expected to test deeper areas of the deposit recommencing in June. Exploration drilling in the meantime will test other defined targets in the mine area and its extensions.
The development of the hangingwall exploration drilling gallery on the 200 metre level and to the south will tie into proposed ventilation access from the south side of Lac Herbin which is required prior to entering full-scale production. Longer term, this development will provide a base from which Lac Herbin can be developed to incorporate the (currently flooded) infrastructure at the historic Dumont Mine. Potential to deepen the 400-metre Dumont shaft to exploit any deeper discovery at Lac Herbin would also provide for deeper exploration of the Dumont Mine area. These provisions will provide for the planned and staged, long term exploration and development of operations in the area.
Quality Control
The Lac Herbin underground diamond drilling program is supervised by Mr. Richard Roy, P.Geo., of NordQuest Inc., Qualified Person (QP) as defined under NI 43-101 guidelines. Assay samples are taken from underground drill core sawed in half with one half sent to a commercial laboratory and other half retained for future reference. A strict QA/QC program is followed which includes mineralized standards, blank and field duplicate for each batch of samples. Analyses were performed by ALS Chemex -Chimitec of Val-d'Or (Quebec).
About Alexis Minerals
Alexis Minerals Corporation is a Canadian exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Alexis holds an outstanding portfolio of properties covering the Val-d'Or and Rouyn-Noranda Mining Camps in Quebec. Alexis is following strategic exploration approaches across these properties for both gold and base metals, with a focus on the potential for gold production from the Lac Herbin and Lac Pelletier deposits during 2007 - 2008. Alexis has a clear route to 100% ownership of all interests of Aur Resources on approximately 212 square kilometres of the Val-d'Or Mining Camp and has recently purchased the 1400 tonne per day Aurbel gold mill. The Company is also currently advancing towards a 50% interest in 825 square kilometres of the Rouyn-Noranda Mining Camp, all of the property holdings of Falconbridge Limited (formerly Noranda Inc.). Alexis has the right to earn-in into a 100% interest in the Lac Pelletier property.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those in these "forward looking statements".
Table 1 - Results from Underground Diamond Drilling:
"Deep South" (DS) Zone, Lac Herbin Project, Val-d'Or, Quebec
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole From-To Length Uncut Cut Grades(i) True
Number (m) (m) Grades (gAu/t) Width
(gAu/t) (m)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Discovery" Drillholes (reported on January 24 & February 14, 2007)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-122 155.0 - 162.7 9.2 35.42 9.76 4.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
including 7.7 41.93 11.28
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-123 126.0 - 138.5 12.5 12.8 12.27 6.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
including 126.4 - 136.2 9.8 15.36 14.68 4.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holes at or Above the 280-m Level (Mine Delineation drilling)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-109 54.0 - 56.3 2.3 LV 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-110 51.7 - 52.7 1.0 LV 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-111 65.7 - 67.5 1.8 LV 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-112 93.0 - 96.0 3.0 2.5 1.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-113 113.8 - 116.5 2.7 LV 1.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-124 112.5 - 115.5 3.0 1.4 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-125 64.5 - 67.0 2.5 LV 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-126 82.5 - 84.0 1.5 LV 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-127 124.5 - 127.5 3.0 9.37 9.37 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-128 148.5 - 150.8 2.3 LV 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-154 123.6 - 128.0 4.4 Significant Veining - Assays Pending
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-155 106.5 - 111.0 4.5 Shearing - Assays Pending
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-156 71.6 - 73.5 1.9 LV 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-157 55.5 - 72.0 16.5 Shearing - Assays Pending
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-167 140.6 - 145.5 4.9 32.76 22.86 3.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-168 111.9 - 116.7 4.8 15.05 13.48 3.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
including 115.0 - 116.7 1.7 35.0 19.41 1.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH03-002 195.8 - 198.0 2.2 LV 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holes below the 280-m Level
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-129 239.0 - 260.3 21.3 3.7 3.7 5.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
including 239.0 - 244.5 5.5 8.51 8.51 1.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
and including 258.0 - 260.3 2.3 12.86 12.86 0.53
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-130 297.5 - 302.9 5.4 Veining - LV 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-138 249.9 - 253.2 3.3 LV 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-139 237.5 - 240.6 3.1 3.68 3.68 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-140 276.0 - 279.8 3.8 5.83 5.83 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-153 216.5 - 221.4 4.9 Veining - Assays Pending
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-169 172.5 - 176.0 3.5 17.94 14.81 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH02-170 178.8 - 188.7 9.9 8.12 8.12 4.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
including 178.8 - 182.7 3.9 16.24 16.24 1.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH03-003 242.8 - 245.4 2.2 Veining- LV - Assays Pending 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH03-004 34.5 - 36.9 2.4 LV 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LH03-005 In Progress
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes: (i)Cut Grade- all assays in excess of 34.28 gAu/t are cut conservatively to 34.28 gAu/t (or 1.0 troy ounce/tonne), a common industry practice. Cutting factors at Lac Herbin have been based on statistical results of the bulk sampling and test milling program completed in November 2006 and reported in January 2007 (see Press Release: January 16, 2007).
LV equals Low Values, QT equals Quartz Tourmaline, VG equals Visible native Gold
For a map of the Lac Herbin Deposit, please click on the link below:
https://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/amc426.pdf
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.