2012-09-18 10:06 ET - News Release Also News Release (C-UNR) Uranium North Resources Corp
Mr. Mark Kolebaba reports
URANIUM NORTH AND DIAMONDS NORTH TO EVALUATE GOLD POTENTIAL OF THE ALDER MINE IN WASHINGTON STATE
Diamonds North Resources Ltd. and Uranium North Resources Corp.'s wholly owned U.S. subsidiary Minerals North LLC has signed a lease agreement on the privately owned Alder mine project in Okanogan county, Washington state. In addition to the lease agreement, 13 unpatented lode claims have been staked on surrounding federal land.
An initial exploration program is under way and will include detailed mapping, geophysical surveying and prospecting. Detailed mapping of the open-pit exposures will attempt to identify any zones of high-grade gold within the known deposit. Geophysical surveying will try to test the limits of the known deposit, and prospecting the property surrounding the mine will try to identify other zones of mineralization.
The Alder mine, currently inactive, is a base metal deposit with strong gold and silver credits that was mined from the late 1930s to the 1950s. During a preliminary property investigation by Minerals North, eight random grab samples were collected from the surface of an open pit. Several high gold values were obtained. See the accompanying table.
Sample Gold Silver Copper (g/t) (g/t) (%)1 102.0 36.3 1.242 12.65 37.3 1.713 2.35 6.38 0.314 2.21 4.27 0.155 1.02 1.36 0.056 0.90 4.06 0.087 0.51 1.35 0.068 0.31 0.74 0.06
"Historically, the bulk of the value mined at the Alder deposit was attributed to the base metal content with significant precious metal credits. Our preliminary sampling returned high gold/silver values, and with today's precious metal prices, we think Alder has potential as a stand-alone gold deposit. Our initial program will focus on the open-pit exposures in an attempt to identify any significantly wide zones and structures with high gold/silver content," said Mark Kolebaba, president and chief executive officer of Uranium North and Diamonds North.
Historic shipping records for 62,700 tonnes of ore from the Alder mine produced an average of 6.85 grams per tonne gold, 5.49 g/t silver and 0.78 per cent copper. Records from an additional 15,800 tonnes of ore yielded on average 2.64 g/t gold, 15.43 g/t silver, 1.87 per cent zinc and 0.11 per cent lead. This provides information on average grades of various metals within the deposit and indicates the presence of at least two types of ore: (i) a high gold/copper ore; and (ii) a low gold/copper ore with high zinc, silver and minor lead.
The terms of the lease agreement include payments of $10,000 for the first year, $15,000 for the second year, $20,000 for the third and fourth years, and $25,000 for all years beyond until the agreement terminates or Minerals North purchases the surface rights on the land.
The surface rights on the property may be purchased for 200 per cent of the fair market value, excluding any value attributed to mineral content on the property. A 3-per-cent royalty on the property and a 0.5-per-cent royalty on any unpatented claims staked within an 805-metre radius will be reserved for the property owner. Two per cent of the royalty on the private land can be purchased for $3-million. All lease payments are considered advance royalty payments in the event of a royalty buyout.
The property owner will receive a one-time bonus payment of $50,000 if more than 24,380 metres of core drilling are completed on the property. If the property goes into production, a 0.25-per-cent royalty will be payable to a consulting geologist. The royalty may be purchased at any time for the value of 300 ounces of gold.
Diamonds North and Uranium North have formed and jointly own Minerals North, a Nevada-registered company, with the objective of exploring mineral potential in Washington state. This partnership demonstrates the companies' commitment to increasing shareholder value while maintaining a low cost of operation. The companies are actively seeking joint venture partners for their Northern Canadian projects, as they represent significant opportunity.
Graham Gill, PGeo, and Bruce Kienlen, PGeol, will be the qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 reviewing the data collected and overseeing the project. All Minerals North sample analyses were completed by ALS Canada Ltd. The historical data are from private reports and have not been verified by the companies; however, they appear to have been completed under standard best practices consistent with the time, and appear to be of reasonable quality.
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