Minfocus Exploration Announces Encouraging Results from Initial Field Program at Peregrine Zinc Property in SE British Columbia
Toronto, ON (FSCwire) - Minfocus Exploration Corp. (TSX-V: MFX)("Minfocus") is pleased to announce that it has completed its initial field program at its Mississippi Valley Type (“MVT”) Peregrine Zinc property in southeastern British Columbia. The work relocated an area of historic trenching from which several samples were collected assaying 13.0 to 35.9% zinc. A geochemical soil survey has demonstrated a strong zinc anomaly extending the full 650 metres of the surveyed area.
Peregrine Lead-Zinc Project Exploration History and Current Work
The initial discovery of lead-zinc mineralization on the Peregrine property dates back to the 1970’s with the most recent exploration being historic work from 1986 by Cominco. Regional lead-zinc exploration throughout British Columbia mostly ceased around that time due to poor metal prices.
Historical chip sampling of a showing by Cominco, in 1986, using 1-metre intervals, channel sampled across breccia in the Cambrian-age Jubilee Formation, assayed 11.7% Zinc over 1.7 m. Historical geochemical surveys indicate widespread very high zinc values in soils. Anomalous soil analyses ranged from 5,000 to 30,000 ppm Zinc and from 100 to 1,500 ppm Lead. All assays and analyses were performed at Cominco’s exploration laboratory in Vancouver, B.C.
Minfocus’ exploration team relocated the showing and collected several grab samples from the zinc mineralized exposures in the blasted area with results as shown below:
| Sample | Zinc % | Lead % | Iron % | Silver ppm |
| 27 | 26.9 | 0.28 | 1.67 | 10 |
| 28 | 35.9 | 0.28 | 4.11 | 16 |
| 30 | 19.1 | 0.44 | 1.25 | 12 |
| 31 | 13.0 | 0.48 | 1.08 | 7 |
The very low iron content demonstrates the attractiveness of this mineralization as being low iron sphalerite mineralization which is preferred by smelters and is characteristic of many Mississippi Valley type zinc deposits.
The team also soil sampled an area of 1,000 x 700 metres along the strike of the potential mineralization host and identified a strong soil anomaly along 650 metres of the favourable host horizon. The highest zinc values were over 3,000 parts per million (“ppm”) and were supported by a coincident lead anomaly. Analyses were all undertaken by Activation Laboratories Ltd. For more information on the Peregrine property and results of the soil survey the reader should visit the Company website at www.minfocus.com
The survey was stopped at the claim boundary, and now that the anomaly is known to extend further, additional claims have been acquired so that the geochemical program can be extended to determine the full extent of this anomaly which follows the favourable host rocks that dip into the hillside across the property. The extended claim block covers an area in which a very old, partially buried, adit was found, surrounded by very rusty dolostone. A sample of the sludge accumulated at the entrance to the adit yielded almost 1% zinc (9,420 ppm Zn) and 0.2% lead (1,970 ppm Pb). A water sample collected from the adit also yielded a very high zinc value of 323 micrograms per litre.
Peregrine Geology and Access Advantages
The Peregrine property contains two regional disconformities in dolostone host rocks that are associated with major lead-zinc ore deposits and occurrences elsewhere in North America. The Cambrian disconformity at the contact of the Upper Jubilee Fm with the McKay Fm. is approximately the same age as the prolific Viburnum lead-zinc district in S.E. Missouri. The Silurian–Devonian disconformity at the contact of the base of the Mt Forster Fm. with the top of the Beaverfoot Fm. is approximately the same as the disconformity at the Pine Point Mine in the Northwest Territories. The Peregrine lead-zinc property covers over 7 km of this favourable underexplored stratigraphy.
The property has good access to infrastructure and is within 30 km of a commercial airport and rail line and is reachable by all-weather gravel roads. A high voltage power transmission line passes less than 10 km from the property.
Minfocus can earn a 100% interest over a period of two years in one part of the property by making optional staged payments totaling $10,000 cash and issuing 1,000,000 shares plus the grant of a 2% NSR. Minfocus has the option to repurchase up to 1% (half) of the NSR for $1.0 million after commercial production. The balance of the property has been staked by Minfocus.
About Minfocus Exploration Corp.
Minfocus Exploration Corp. is a Canadian company currently advancing a portfolio of base metal projects including zinc and nickel projects. Minfocus has a successful management group with a record of multiple discoveries of deposits worldwide, including gold and uranium deposits in Mongolia and PGE-rich resources in Ontario; the latter including the first Platinum-rich Pt-Pd-Cu-Ni deposit in the Midcontinent Rift, the Current Lake deposit (+700,000 oz. Pt-Eq). Minfocus is strongly committed to safe and environmentally responsible exploration practises and to building transparent and meaningful relationships with First Nation and community stakeholders related to its projects.