TORONTO, Sept. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - Anaconda Mining Inc. ("Anaconda" or the "Company") (TSX: ANX) (OTCQX: ANXGF) is pleased to announce that it has optioned the Cape Spencer Gold Property, located east of the City of Saint John, New Brunswick ("Cape Spencer") (Exhibit A). In conjunction with this transaction, the Company has created a new wholly-owned subsidiary of Anaconda ("ExploreCo"), which will focus on early-stage gold exploration projects within Atlantic Canada. Anaconda is also contributing the Great Northern Project ("Great Northern") (Exhibit B) to ExploreCo. The Company intends to utilize ExploreCo to advance these projects and is considering strategic opportunities with ExploreCo to realize value not currently reflected in Anaconda's share price, which may include a spin out of ExploreCo to establish it as a publicly-traded company with separate management.

"There is an opportunity to capitalize on the resurgence in early-stage, Atlantic Canada gold exploration properties and we have assets that we believe have the potential to generate significant value. The Appalachian geological region has numerous multi-million-ounce gold deposits, with about 30% of them in Atlantic Canada, and much of the resource growth has occurred in the last decade due to increased investment. We feel that the Great Northern Project and the recently optioned Cape Spencer Gold Property have the potential to be cornerstone assets in our new venture, and the new wholly-owned subsidiary will enable the focus and priority required to generate value. Our goal is to create a company with a clear mandate to explore for and build significant district-scale Mineral Resources. Forming ExploreCo and giving it a specific focus, we expect the market can more clearly ascribe value to these exploration projects, particularly as we seek to potentially spin out the company."

~Dustin Angelo, President and CEO, Anaconda Mining Inc.

ExploreCo Highlights:

  • Exploring in two districts with camp-scale potential; Gold mineralization associated with major fault zones (total of 28 km of strike) that are known hosts of existing gold deposits;
  • Control greater than12,000 hectares of prospective gold bearing geological terranes;
  • Projects contain numerous prospects, gold occurrences and drill ready targets;
  • Two existing gold deposits, and several extensive zones of mineralization and alteration open for expansion;
  • Funding in place to execute on initial work plans.

Initial Work Plans

  • Update the Mineral Resource estimate at Rattling Brook (Great Northern Project);
  • Create initial NI 43-101 technical report for Cape Spencer;
  • Generate drill targets at Great Northern through a soil sampling and prospecting program in favorable structural trends in fall 2018.

Cape Spencer

Cape Spencer is an early stage exploration project, which includes 106 claims covering more than 2,350 hectares, located 15 kilometres east of the City of Saint John, New Brunswick.

Highlights of Cape Spencer include:

  • Hosted within similar Proterozoic-aged rocks of the Avalon Zone that host the Haile (5.0 Moz), Ridgeway (1.5 Moz) and Hope Brook (2.0 Moz) gold deposits (Exhibit C). These rocks are deformed, and mineralization is localized along relatively shallow dipping fault and shear zones; 
  • 8 kilometres of exploration potential with 10 known gold occurrences;
  • Excellent infrastructure with road access to the key areas of interest.

Drill Highlights from previous exploration work from 1982 to 2004 include:

Cape Spencer Mine – Past Producing (1985-1986) Mine. Highlight assays include:

  • 13.89 g/t gold over 2.46 metres within a zone grading 4.76 g/t gold over 9.45 metres (GX-86-09);
  • 6.22 g/t gold over 1.52 metres within a zone grading 2.13 g/t gold over 21.0 metres (GX-82-18);
  • 27.08 g/t gold over 1.08 metres within a zone grading 5.10 g/t gold over 9.15 metres (GX-86-29); and
  • 18.00 g/t gold over 1.50 metres within a zone grading 5.18 g/t gold over 8.25 metres (AB-04-10).

Northeast Zone - Located 400 metres northeast of the Cape Spencer Mine. Interpreted to be continuous with the Road Zone. Highlight assays include:

  • 41.96 g/t gold over 2.45 metres within a zone grading 7.72 g/t gold over 16.2 metres (CS-87-06);
  • 16.20 g/t gold over 1.5 metres within a zone grading 4.45 g/t gold over 19.0 metres (CS-87-08);
  • 11.52 g/t gold over 3.0 metres within a zone grading 4.85 g/t gold over 10.5 metres (CS-87-13); and
  • 12.54 g/t gold over 4.0 metres within a zone grading 4.26 g/t gold over 18.5 metres (CS-87-17).

Road Zone – 400-metre-long zone of gold-bearing alteration zone with an average width of 20 metres. This zone is interpreted to be the along strike continuation of the Northeast Zone. Highlight assays include:

  • 16.28 g/t gold over 2.5 metres within a zone grading 1.81 g/t gold over 55.0 metres (MR-087);
  • 10.35 g/t gold over 1.0 metres within a zone grading 1.49 g/t gold over 20.7 metres (MR-147); and  
  • 13.06 g/t gold over 2.0 metres within a zone grading 1.28 g/t gold over 18.0 metres (MR-105).

Birches Zone – 300-metre-long gold-bearing alteration zone south of the Road Zone. Highlight assays include:

  • 17.85 g/t gold over 1.0 metre within a zone grading 5.23 g/t gold over 4.0 metres (MR-150);
  • 9.48 g/t gold over 1.0 metre within a zone grading 4.01 g/t gold over 4.0 metres (MR-149); and
  • 3.60 g/t gold over 5.0 metres (AB-04-08).

Emilio's Zone – Prospect located 4 kilometres northeast of the Road Zone. Highlight assays include:

  • 85.20 g/t gold over 0.3 metres within a zone grading 8.39 g/t gold over 5.9 m (AB-04-06).

Great Northern Project
The Great Northern Project is an exploration-stage property that contains a Mineral Resource estimate on the Thor Deposit and a Historic Mineral Resource estimate on the Rattling Brook Deposit. The property comprises 2 claim blocks (9,850 hectares) referred to as the Jackson's Arm Property in the north and the Viking Property in the south. The properties are located 3 kilometres north and 15 kilometres south of the community of Jackson's Arm, respectively. The area is accessible by provincial Route 420, which is connected to the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) 75 kilometres to the south.

Highlights of the Great Northern Project include:

  • Located adjacent to the Doucers Valley Fault, part of the Long Range Fault system – a fertile gold bearing structure, similar to that associated with Marathon Gold's Valentine Lake project in central Newfoundland, which has been the focus of recent significant Mineral Resource growth and discovery;
  • Two gold deposits with an Historic Inferred Mineral Resource^ of 495,000 ounces at the Jacksons Arm Property (Rattling Brook Deposit) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 31,000 ounces and Indicated Mineral Resource of 83,000 ounces at the Viking Property (Thor Deposit);
  • Approximately 20 kilometres of strike along highly prospective geology of the Doucers Valley Fault;
  • Potential to upgrade the size and grade of the existing Mineral Resources, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 standards, through resource evaluation;
  • Excellent infrastructure with road access to the key areas of interest.

Cape Spencer Option Agreement

Pursuant to the Cape Spencer Option Agreement, for a 100% interest, ExploreCo will pay the vendor a total of $300,000 in cash and $145,000 in cash or equivalent value shares over a five-year period, subject to applicable regulatory approvals, including the Toronto Stock Exchange. ExploreCo will also complete $400,000 in exploration expenditures on Cape Spencer within the first four years. A 2% Net Smelter Return Royalty ("NSR") is payable to the vendor. One percent of the NSR is purchasable for $1,000,000 with a right of first refusal on the remaining 1% NSR.

A Table of Resources and Technical Reports*

The Thor Deposit contains an Indicated Mineral Resource of 83,000 ounces of gold (1,817,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.42 g/t gold) plus an Inferred Mineral Resource of 31,000 ounces of gold (847,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.15 g/t gold) at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold. The Thor Deposit remains open for potential expansion along strike near surface and at depth.

The Rattling Brook Deposit contains a Historic Mineral Resource of 495,000 ounces Au (18,310,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.84 g/t gold) at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold.

 

Summary of Mineral Resources at the Great Northern Project*

Deposits

Category

Tonnes

Grade (g/t)

Ounces Gold

**Thor (Current Estimate)

Indicated

1,817,000

1.42

83,000
 

Inferred

847,000

1.15

31,000

***Rattling Brook (Historic Estimate)^

Inferred

18,310,000

0.84

495,000
         

*Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not imply the economic viability of the resource.

^The Rattling Brook Resource is a Historic Estimate as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Historic Estimate is relevant, considered reliable and uses categories appropriate to 43-101 reporting requirements. No other Resource Estimates are known to Anaconda. To verify and upgrade the estimate as a Current Mineral Resource will require further discussions with Qualified Persons whom created the technical report.  Qualified Persons working on behalf of Anaconda have not done sufficient work to classify the Historic Estimate as a Current Mineral Resource, as a result Anaconda is not treating the historical estimate as a Current Mineral Resource.

** The Thor Deposit forms part of the project formerly referred to as the Viking Project. The resources quoted in this press release refer to the technical report: "NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate on the Thor Deposit, Viking Project, White Bay Area, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada" with an effective date of August 29, 2016 and authored by independent qualified persons David A. Copeland, M.Sc., P.Geo., (an independent consultant), Shane Ebert, Ph.D., P.Geo. (An independent consultant) and Gary Giroux, MASc, P.Eng. (Giroux Consultants Ltd.).

*** The Rattling Brook Deposit, including the Apsy, Road and Beaver Dam zones, form part of the project formerly referred to as the Jacksons Arm Gold Project.  The Historic Resources quoted in this press release refer to the technical report: "Technical Report on Mineral Resource Estimate Jacksons Arm Gold Project White Bay Newfoundland and Labrador Latitude 49o 53' 2.65''North Longitude 56o 50'7.09'' West.  With an effective date of April 20th, 2009, and authored by Michael P. Cullen, M.Sc., P.Geo, Chrystal Kennedy, B. Sc., P.Geo. Matthew Harrington, B. Sc. (Hons.), Andrew Hilchey, B.Sc. (Hons.)  Mercator Geological Services.

Drill composites reported on this press release are reported as core length.  True width of mineralization may vary from core length.  True width may be as little as 50% of core length based on preliminary assessment of the available data.

This press release has been reviewed and approved by Paul McNeill, P. Geo., VP Exploration with Anaconda Mining Inc., a "Qualified Person", under National Instrument 43-101 Standard for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

A version of this press release will be available in French on Anaconda's website (www.anacondamining.com) in two to three business days.

ABOUT ANACONDA MINING INC.

Anaconda is a TSX-listed gold mining, development, and exploration company, focused in the prospective Atlantic Canadian jurisdictions of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Company operates the Point Rousse and Tilt Cove Projects located in the Baie Verte Mining District in Newfoundland, comprised of the Stog'er Tight Mine, the Pine Cove open pit mine, the Argyle Mineral Resource, the fully-permitted Pine Cove Mill and tailings facility, deep water port, and approximately 9,150 hectares of prospective gold-bearing property. Anaconda is developing the Goldboro Gold Project in Nova Scotia, a high-grade Mineral Resource, which has a preliminary economic assessment and is in the feasibility stage. The Company also has a wholly owned exploration company that is solely focused on early stage exploration in Newfoundland and New Brunswick.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including, but not limited to, the Company's acquisition of Cape Spencer, the evaluation of strategic alternatives with ExploreCo including the creation of a new public company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Anaconda to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current production, development and exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of resources, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in the annual information form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, available on www.sedar.com. Although Anaconda has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Anaconda does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Exhibit A. Location and gold occurrences, including the Cape Spencer Mine and Northeast Zone, of Cape Spencer in southern New Brunswick. (CNW Group/Anaconda Mining Inc.)

Exhibit B. Location and gold occurrences, including the Thor and Rattling Brook Deposits, of the Great Northern Project in western Newfoundland and Labrador. (CNW Group/Anaconda Mining Inc.)

Exhibit C. Major gold deposits and geological domains of the North American Appalachians, including the Cape Spencer and the Great Northern Projects (after Pollock et al., 2011) (CNW Group/Anaconda Mining Inc.)

 

SOURCE Anaconda Mining Inc.

 

View original content to download multimedia: https://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2018/10/c7655.html