Minfocus Exploration Announces Plans to Commence BC Field Work Shortly and Approval for Expanded and Extended Coral Zinc Project Drilling Program
Minfocus Exploration Announces Plans to Commence BC Field Work Shortly and Approval for Expanded and Extended Coral Zinc Project Drilling Program
Toronto, ON (FSCwire) - Minfocus Exploration Corp. (TSX-V: MFX) ("Minfocus" or the "Company") announces that field work is planned to commence shortly on the Peregrine Lead-Zinc Property in southeastern British Columbia. The Peregrine Lead-Zinc 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 extent of this favourable underexplored stratigraphy covers over 7km on the Peregrine Lead-Zinc Property. Field work is planned to include a geochemical survey of the extent of this favourable underexplored stratigraphy, relocating historical Cominco sampled zones, and sampling both historical and any newly identified zones of mineralization, including taking sawn channel samples.
Minfocus is also pleased to report that has received approval for amendments to the Mineral Exploration Permit for its Coral Zinc Property from the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines which allows for an expanded surface drilling program and an extension authorizing drilling work on the property through until December 2019. Field work on the Coral Property is planned to be undertaken later this summer, subject to the closing balance of the current private placement financing underway.
Current plans for work at both the Coral and Peregrine Zn projects are also subject to change due to the current forest fire situation in British Columbia. At present, there are no fires of note affecting the plans for either project in BC.
Coral Zinc Project – 2017 Plans for Air/Ground Geophysics and Further Drilling Program
In addition to geophysical surveys the Company intends to undertake a drilling program this summer on its CORAL Project in east central British Columbia to follow up on the 2016 exploration results targeting zinc and lead mineralization in a low-iron Mississippi-Valley-Type (“MVT”) carbonate rock geological environment analogous to that hosting the Pine Point deposits. The property has historic core drilling and trenching intersecting mineralized breccias containing values of up to 7.8% zinc and up to 3.8% lead. The primary drilling target is the source of the large (600m x 300m) zinc soil geochemical anomaly with up to 6680 ppm zinc (15-50 times background zinc levels) with outcropping zinc mineralized brecciated dolostone at its edge. In addition to drilling, Minfocus intends to undertake air and ground geophysical work and a LiDAR survey to enhance selection of drill targets during the 2017 program.
Peregrine Lead-Zinc Project Exploration History and Access
The Peregrine Lead-Zinc Property is an MVT Lead-Zinc property in southeastern British Columbia, in which Minfocus acquired an interest in early 2017 by staking and optioning. The Peregrine project contains two regional disconformities in dolostone host rocks that are associated with major lead-zinc ore deposits and occurrences elsewhere in North America. The Peregrine lead-zinc property covers over 7 km of this favourable underexplored stratigraphy.
The initial discovery of lead-zinc mineralization on the Peregrine property dates back to the 1970’s with the most recent work being historic work from 1986 by Cominco. Regional lead-zinc exploration throughout British Columbia mostly ceased around that time due to low zinc and lead prices. Historical chip sampling of the Showing No. 1 by Cominco, in 1986, using 1-metre intervals, channeled obliquely across breccia zones in the Cambrian-Jubilee Formation, assayed 17m of 11.1% Zn, including an interval of 14.3% Zn over 11m with assays ranging from 2.90% to 25.2% Zn. Showing No. 2 assayed 11.7% Zn over 1.7m. A third trench stratigraphically higher in breccia of the Devonian Beaverfoot Formation assayed 2.92% Zn and 15.4% Ba. Cominco reported that surface mineralization at the two main showings investigated is of “significant extent and grade”. Historical geochemical surveys indicate widespread very high zinc values in soils. Anomalous soils analyses ranged from 5,000 to 30,000 ppm Zn and from 100 to 1,500 ppm Pb. All assays and analyses were performed at Cominco’s exploration laboratory in Vancouver, B.C.
The Peregrine 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 main power transmission line passes less than 10 km from the property.
Minfocus can earn a 100% interest over a period of two years 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% of the NSR for $1.0 million after commercial production (See news release dated January 24, 2017).
For more details on both the Coral Zinc Project and the Peregrine Lead-Zinc Project, see the Minfocus website at www.minfocus.com.
Minfocus Private Placement Update
Minfocus previously announced the non-brokered private placement of up to 20,000,000 units for gross proceeds of up to $500,000 (See news releases dated June 1, June 21 and July 4, 2017). The first tranche of the private placement closed subscriptions representing 3,100,000 units and proceeds of $77,500. Minfocus is also pleased to report the first tranche closing comprised subscriptions for $37,500 in non-flow-through units ("NFT Units") and $40,000 in flow-through units ("FT Units"). Minfocus has recently received approval to extend the final closing date for the private placement for a further thirty (30) days.
The use of proceeds is intended to be: to finance exploration and development of the mineral properties in which Minfocus holds an interest, primarily the Coral Zinc Project in British Columbia, Canada, which is expected to include air and ground geophysical surveys, as well as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) survey; a diamond drilling program; payment of unrelated-party trade payables; and general working capital for the Company. This private placement has received Conditional Acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange, but remains subject to final acceptance by the exchange. Additional Finders’ Fees may be paid in accordance with TSXV policy upon further tranche closings.
About Minfocus Exploration Corp.
Minfocus Exploration Corp. is a Canadian company currently advancing a portfolio of base metal projects including lead-zinc and nickel projects in British Columbia and a Platinum Group Element (“PGE”) rich nickel project in N.W. Ontario. 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, including the discovery of the first Platinum-rich Pt-Pd-Cu-Ni deposit in the Midcontinent Rift, the Current Lake deposit (+700,000 oz. Pt-Eq).
For further information, please contact:
Gerald Harper
President & Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (416) 232-0025