Evolving Gold discovers 1.2 km long sulphide-hosting basalt target
— Photo courtesy Evolving Gold Corp.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evolving Gold Corp. s pleased to report that, on September 15th 2017, the Company completed a helicopter-borne survey over its Toro Property in northern Quebec. The survey included field prospecting and sampling, with the collection of a combined total of 483 rock samples on the Pistol target and the 14 Toro magnetic targets which were associated with significant elemental anomalies in till assays generated from the previously reported till sampling program (see news release dated July 5th 2017). The survey team also collected 46 additional till samples glacially down-ice from these selected exploration targets. The Company defined four new areas of interest during the combined helicopter and ground prospecting programs, two of which were described in a press release announcing the early results of the field program, dated September 14. The Company has acquired 10 new claims to enlarge the Pistol claim block and 5 additional claims over the newly identified volcanic units close to the Toro 23 and Toro 24 targets.
Toro 7
An intensive ground survey was performed on the Toro 7 target which yielded anomalous to highly anomalous gold in till concentrate samples continuous over a strike of greater than 800 metres ("m"), as previously reported in a news release dated July 5th 2017. The follow-up field work consisted of geological mapping, prospecting and additional sampling, including 15 till samples and 91 grab samples from bedrock exposures and glacial float. Bedrock exposures include zones of basalt, and pegmatite veins in granitic gneisses. Within the central zone of the Toro 7 magnetic anomaly (up-ice from the 8 consecutive gold in till anomalies (up to 12,300 ppb Au) along with other anomalies in P, Cu, REE, U, Ag, Co, Bi, Sn, Sb, Nb and Ta) was a bedrock exposure including a swarm of pegmatite dykes (tens of 1 m thick pegmatitic intrusions) with disseminated magnetite mineralization in the pegmatite and in veinlets along the contact between the pegmatites and the granitic gneisses. The magnetite mineralization provides a likely explanation for the large high-magnetic anomaly, located 500m up-ice from the anomalous till samples previously reported. Magnetite is a good indicator for Iron Oxide Copper Gold (¨IOCG¨) style mineralization, which remains the Company's strongest hypothesis as the source of the multiple anomalous elements in the Toro 7 till samples. Figure 1 illustrates the field work conducted on Toro 7. Members of the field crew carried GPS tracking devices which updated their location every 30 seconds, allowing the company to monitor and precisely record the field prospecting activities and sample locations on a continuous basis. The movements of the field teams on the ground are shown in the accompanying figures. Photographs of selected mineralized structures described herein were also plotted in the accompanying figures, and can be found on Evolving Gold’s website at: https://www.evolvinggold.com/toro
Toro 14
The Toro 14 target is a high-magnetic anomaly located 500 m up-ice from till sample anomalies in Au, Cu, Li, REE, Nb, Ta, Sn, Zn and Ag. Toro 14 tills included the majority of the most highly anomalous lithium values on the Property (see July 5 press release). The field crew was able to define a basaltic corridor which may explain the Toro 14 magnetic anomaly and could be the source of the geochemical anomalies. Quartz and calcite veinlets were found in the basalt unit along with sulphides. At a local scale, this area shows multiple veins indicating the presence of hydrothermal events. The Company took a total of 56 grab samples on this target. Photographs taken there can be found on Evolving Gold’s website at: https://www.evolvinggold.com/toro
Pistol Claims and Toro 23 and Toro 24
The Company has previously discussed its field exploration work on these targets in the news release dated September 14th 2017. The Company staked 80 new contiguous claims, named the Pistol group, following the discovery of a metre-scale and one smaller block of sulphide rich sediment. The blocks contrast with existing maps of the local geology and indicate to the technical team that sediments and volcanics are both present in what is currently mapped only as a granodiorite unit. The mineralization contained in the larger block was between 2 and 20% of fine grained and disseminated pyrite along with trace amounts of chalcopyrite and bornite. Stringers of pyrite were found throughout the block. A smaller block with a mineralized quartz vein was also found close to the larger block, which suggests that multiple mineralization styles or zoning of mineralization is possible at their bedrock source location. Regional and local prospecting work remains to be done in this area since current exploration program data indicates that the blocks are derived from a large sedimentary unit which has not yet been identified in the field. Photographs of the sulphide-bearing blocks can be found on Evolving Gold’s website at: https://www.evolvinggold.com/pistol-claim-block
Another area of particular interest was a feature called the basal contact zone, discussed in a news release dated September 14th. In the immediate vicinity of magnetic targets Toro 23 and 24, the crew was able to identify a basalt unit that contained multiple sulphide-bearing zones in bedrock. Free blocks with significant oxidation were found at surface near a regional contact zone. The rust-coloured blocks and outcrop proved to be rich in sulphides, primarily pyrite, and were observed over a strike distance of greater than 1.2 kilometres. It is possible that this feature corresponds with two different volcanic units or intrusive cycles. The basalt unit extending to the NE is proximal to known felsic volcanic rocks. The contact between the basalt and the felsic volcanics is a prime exploration target for volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization. The basalt unit included a volcanic sediment (tuff) deposit with embedded pillow lava. A number of photographs of the new basalt zones and their associated mineralized areas can be found on Evolving Gold’s website at: https://www.evolvinggold.com/toro. A total of 4 regional till samples and 18 grab samples were taken from the Pistol claims, while 7 till and 179 rock samples were taken on the Toro 23 and 24 targets. To cover the potential source of the mineralized blocks, the Company staked 5 new claims located near lake sediments anomalies, up-ice from the blocks. Additional information on the Toro 23 and 24 targets can be found in the news release dated September 14th 2017.
Evolving Gold’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. R. Bruce Duncan stated, “The unexpected discovery of sulphides associated with volcanic and sedimentary rocks in this part of the La Grande sub-province suggests that there is much more to be learned about this area’s geology. The newly identified geological units were not previously known to exist, and have become high priority exploration targets for the Company. Furthermore, the discovery of extensive zones of sulphide mineralization within those units, up-ice from significant till anomalies, suggests that there is a very good potential for gold and base metal discoveries associated with regional hydrothermal activity.”
Methodology
The SL Exploration Inc technical team collected 483 whole rock grab samples, each approximately 1 kilogram ("kg") by weight. These samples were bagged and tagged, and sent to AGAT Laboratories (Val d’Or QC), where they will be prepared for assay. Gold (Au) will be determined by pyroanalysis with an AAS finish (protocol 202-051, with a 0.002ppm detection limit). The samples will also undergo sodium peroxide fusion with a ICP-MS/OES finish (protocol 201-378), to provide a 59-element whole rock trace analysis.
The technical team also collected 46 C-horizon glacial till samples, screened in the field to pass a 5 cm mesh. SL Exploration Inc technicians will prepare till concentrates in a secure environment, before shipping the concentrates to Actlabs, (Ancaster ON) for final preparation and assay. Gold and silver (Au, Ag) will be determined by fire assay with an AA finish (protocol 1A2). Trace element content will be determined using analytical package Ultratrace 7, which involves sodium peroxide fusion with an ICP-MS finish.
Qualified Person
Steven Lauzier, P.Geo OGQ, A Qualified Person (“QP”) as defined by National Instrument 43-101 guidelines, has reviewed and approved the technical content provided in this news release.
About Evolving Gold
Evolving Gold is exploring the 72.5 square kilometre (total area) Lithium Lakes property in Quebec, located about 10 km north of the Route du Nord and between eight and 30 km from Nemaska Lithium's Whabouchi Project. The Company’s exploration goal is to discover economic quantities of lithium mineralization, hosted in pegmatite.
Evolving Gold is also exploring the 172.82 square kilometre (total area) Toro Project, in the vicinity of the Lithium Lakes property. The Company's immediate exploration goal is to assess numerous geochemical anomalies in till samples collected down-ice from large magnetic anomalies.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
EVOLVING GOLD CORP.
“R. Bruce Duncan”
President, CEO & Director
