Vancouver, BC -- Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ABN) (OTCBB: ABNAF) (Frankfurt: E2L2) (the "Company") is pleased to report that the Company has now completed 9 holes and 2445 metres of it's expanded 1st Phase drill program. Assays are pending and are expected to start being received by the Company and continue through to the end of October. This drill program is considered the 1st Phase of what will be a multi-phase/multi-year exploration program guided by the extensive data compilation completed by the Company. The data obtained is based on historic exploration results made available when the Forrest Kerr Property was assembled in 2016. This historic data includes over 120 drill holes, 2100 rock and 18,000 soil samples property-wide. This comprehensive study has helped our team generate several exploration and drill targets based on a regional scale.
This first drill program is designed to test and confirm 2 historic drill intercepts and to better define the nature of the mineralizing systems with which they are associated. The Company will determine further drill plans for this program when assays are received and evaluated.
Forrest Kerr Gold Project Summary:
Historical drilling results at the Forrest Kerr Project have ranged from trace values to several high-grade intercepts such as 9.97 g/t gold over 29.3 metres, including 125 g/t gold over 0.8 metres and 91 g/t gold over 1.9 metres, in hole RG91-21 in the Carcass Creek Zone as well as 33.4 g/t gold over 11 metres, including 326 g/t gold over 0.5 metres, in hole RG91-16 at the Boundary Zone. This high grade mineralization is within 200 metres vertical depth of surface and the Carcass and Boundary Zones are approximately 4 kilometres apart, leaving robust discovery potential along strike, at depth and at other regional targets on the Property.
The historical drill holes at the two main target areas, the Carcass and Boundary Zones, were drilled decades ago with limited follow up work due to limited accessibility, high drilling costs and a less comprehensive understanding of the geology. Since then, major infrastructure improvements have been made including the Galore Creek access road on the northern extent of the Property as well as roads and powerlines within the southern boundaries of the Property where hydroelectric facilities have been constructed in recent years. In addition, rapid glacial retreat over the past 25 years has exposed extensive new areas of outcrop exposure in this highly prospective region. Aben's technical team has spent over a year analyzing and reinterpreting the historical exploration and geological data with the help of structural geologists to gain a stronger understanding of the existing targets and high-grade gold mineralization at the project.
*Note: Aben has not been able to independently verify the methodology and results from historical work programs within the property boundaries. However, management believes that the historical work programs have been conducted in a professional manner and the quality of data and information produced from them are relevant. In addition, management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the Forrest Kerr Property.
Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., V.P. of Exploration of Aben Resources, has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
In other news that positively affects Aben Resources, the Federal and the Yukon Governments have announced over $360 million in combined federal and territorial funding to improve road access in two mineral-rich areas: the Nahanni Range Road in southeastern Yukon and the Dawson Range in central Yukon. The Company's 100% held 18,300 acre Justin Gold Project is contiguous with Golden Predator's advancing high-grade 3 Aces gold project which is traversed by the Nahanni Range Road for approximately 30 km.
Improvements to the Nahanni Range Road will include upgrades along its 188 km length from its junction with the Campbell Highway to the border between the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Aben's Justin Project camp is located at km 143 on the Nahanni Range Road. This camp is currently being utilized by Golden Predator for its' 3 Aces project and by Aben personnel for a sampling, mapping and trenching program supported by the Yukon Government through a YMEP grant.
The "Yukon Resource Gateway Project" is critical to help advance exploration and develop new mining projects with improved access to our Justin Project and others, for the benefit of the Yukon's First Nations, rural Yukon communities, and Canada in general.
Aben's CEO, Jim Pettit states: "This move to upgrade infrastructure into these mineral-rich regions of the Yukon will have the same knock-on effects as the upgrades to infrastructure in the very active Golden Triangle region of British Columbia where our flagship Forrest Kerr Project is located. Aben's Justin Project and camp are located along the Nahanni Range Road, and any upgrades to access should help bring down costs. Aben believes the Yukon is one of the best jurisdictions in Canada for exploration and mining".
The Company is spending $100k on the Justin Project this year for further mapping, sampling and trenching. This will help expand our current knowledge and understanding of the intrusive- related gold system discovered by Aben in 2011.
About Aben Resources:
Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing projects in British Columbia's Golden Triangle, the Yukon, and Saskatchewan. Aben's flagship Forrest Kerr Gold Project is located in the Golden Triangle of BC where the Company currently owns certain mineral tenures outright and has agreements in place with various third-parties whereby it has the exclusive right to a 100% interest in the 23,000-hectare property area.
For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ABN), visit our Company's web site at www.abenresources.com.
Aben Resources has approx. 53.2 million shares issued and outstanding.
ABEN RESOURCES LTD.
"Jim Pettit"
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JAMES G. PETTIT
President & CEO |