March 1, 2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: HPY, the "Company") announces it has added several important new mineral claims and provides additional results from its Hawk copper-gold property, B.C., Canada.
The Hawk property is located approximately 36 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House, in south central British Columbia, Canada. The Company has a 100% interest in approximately 22 square kilometres of mineral claims covering prospective geology and multiple copper-gold-silver mineralized zones in an area approximately 3.5 kilometres by 1.5 kilometres in dimension. Forests on the property are extensively affected by the pine beetle. Logging activity has developed excellent access, and several new copper-gold bearing outcrops have been exposed.
During 2011, the Company collected rock samples from the property to determine the presence of platinum group elements (PGE's). PGE's may occur in trace amounts within alkalic type porphyry deposits and during 2011, the first samples from the Hawk property confirmed the presence of PGE's with significant copper, gold and silver values. Results in the following table are for percent (%) copper and grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag), gold (Au), palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt).
2011 Hawk Property Rock Sample Results
---------------------------------------- |A |Cu |Ag |Au |Pd |Pt | |--------------------------------------| |Sample |% |g/t |g/t |g/t |g/t | |--------------------------------------| |HK11DR-1|0.931|17.60|0.95|0.004|<0.005| |--------------------------------------| |HK11DR-3|0.767|4.08 |1.18|0.024|0.189 | |--------------------------------------| |HK11DR-4|1.640|18.30|3.00|0.007|0.007 | |--------------------------------------| |838984 |1.670|11.10|3.08|0.002|0.006 | |--------------------------------------| |708671 |0.203|1.47 |0.05|0.011|0.008 | ----------------------------------------
David Blann, President of Happy Creek states: "Our recently staked claims cover an area that was unavailable for 22 years and include partially exposed outcrops with 5.0 metres of 0.88% copper and 1.07 g/t gold. Numerous alkalic type deposits and mines occur within the Quesnel Trough and the Hawk property geology is consistent with this model. We have steadily advanced this project and identified an attractive large scale copper-gold mineral system."
Highlights of historical surface samples are presented below to indicate the nature of relative copper-gold-silver ratios that occur in widespread mineralized outcrop, subcrop and boulders within a 3.5 kilometre by 1.5 kilometre area of the property. The highest gold values (18.01 and 30.17 g/t gold) are from highly oxidized samples containing abundant malachite (copper oxide).
Highlights of Historical Hawk Property Surface Sample Results
----------------------------------------------------------------- |Sample|Cu % |Au g/t |Ag g/t |Sample |Cu % |Au g/t |Ag g/t |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |HAWK DR3 |4.53 |18.01 |105.7 |151756 |0.81 |0.80 |8.3 | |---------------------------------------------------------------| |41577 |0.71 |1.11 |9.1 |151776 |1.44 |2.22 |20.6 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |41583 |0.44 |0.71 |4.2 |151777 |0.89 |1.11 |11.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |41589 |0.60 |2.86 |6.5 |151780 |1.82 |0.55 |5.5 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151639|0.40 |0.47 |3.7 |151782 |0.72 |1.31 |11.1 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151640|2.49 |3.06 |25.7 |151784 |0.57 |0.91 |7.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151643|2.57 |3.30 |29.6 |151785 |0.84 |1.72 |10.2 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151644|1.85 |3.25 |24.4 |184339 |0.38 |0.02 |3.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151646|1.38 |0.28 |8.4 |184381 |0.39 |0.06 |3.6 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151647|0.65 |0.37 |2.5 |184388 |0.18 |0.52 |3.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151648|0.62 |0.21 |3.3 |184389 |0.39 |1.31 |12.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151689|0.53 |2.55 |8.0 |184391 |2.11 |2.38 |17.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151690|2.17 |5.35 |15.0 |HS-8 |3.49 |7.30 |44.6 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151753|0.98 |0.64 |9.2 |HS-21 |0.59 |0.50 |5.6 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151754|0.32 |0.77 |5.8 |HS-40 |0.34 |0.25 |4.0 |A| |---------------------------------------------------------------| |151755|0.52 |0.78 |8.8 |5826 |18.59 |30.17 |215.3 |A| -----------------------------------------------------------------
Recent claim staking by the Company has covered an important addition to the historical Clay prospect, called the Main zone. For the past 22 years, this area was unavailable for staking. At the Main Zone, chip sampling of three hand trenches average 0.88% copper and 1.07 g/t gold over 5.0 metres. Approximately 250 metres to the northeast, subcrop boulders returned 2.49% copper, 3.06 g/t gold and 25.7 g/t silver. Approximately 700 metres northeast of the Main Zone, angular rubble returned 1.2% copper and 1.3 g/t gold. Between 400 and 600 metres southwest of the Main Zone material grading up to 2.17% copper, 5.35 g/t gold, and 0.528% copper, 2.55 g/t gold occur with magnetite and quartz veins, respectively.
Drilling in 1982, 1985 and 2007 was performed to the north, south and southeast of the Main Zone and were generally shallow holes between 50 to 125 metres in length and partially sampled. Select historical drill results include: 3.0 metres of 0.79% copper, 1.73 g/t gold and 9.43 g/t silver, 1.83 metres of 0.93% copper, 3.10 g/t gold and 12.34 g/t silver, and 19.7 metres of 0.12% copper and 0.23 g/t gold. Approximately 450 metres south-southeast of the Main Zone, the first 9.1 metres of H07-02 intersected 0.09% copper and 0.13 g/t gold and this mineralized zone remains open in extent behind the drill collar and to the south.
The Hawk property is underlain by volcanic breccia, calcareous sediment and minor limestone of the Nicola volcaniclastic succession, Upper Triassic in age. These rocks are cut by dikes of diorite to monzonite composition, and to the west are in contact with granite and granodiorite of the Takomkane Batholith, Early Jurassic in age. Crowded feldspar phyric dykes are cut by quartz veins that contain pyrite and chalcopyrite and occur in proximity to several mineralized zones including the Main zone. Widespread moderate to intense propylitic and potassic alteration of the volcanic and intrusive rocks occur. Magnetite, hematite and pink colored calcite is common within or adjacent higher grade samples. Pyrite occurs over a large area to the east of the Main zone and is well defined by induced polarization geophysical surveys. Copper and associated silver and gold values occur with predominantly bornite, chalcocite/digenite and chalcopyrite copper sulphides outboard of the pyrite zone. Airborne radiometric, induced polarization and magnetic geophysical surveys and geology are thought to be consistent with the B.C. alkaline porphyry copper-gold model. Other B.C. examples include Mount Polley, Afton, Ajax, Copper Mountain and Kemess.
The Company is pleased to have added several new claims that were previously unavailable for approximately 22 years, and cover extensions to several important copper-gold prospects on the property. In addition, rock sampling in 2011 has confirmed that trace levels of platinum group elements (PGE's) occur with the copper-gold values and the Hawk property remains a quality, under explored alkalic porphyry copper-gold target.
Additional exploration including drilling is planned for the Hawk property.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
"David E Blann"
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