Mineral Mountain Closes Purchase and Sale Agreement With BHB Partners and has Completed the Compilation of Its Comprehensive Historical Database
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jul 18, 2016) - Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. ("Mineral Mountain" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:MMV) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release of March 7, 2016, the Company has closed the acquisition of 19 mining claims and a comprehensive historical database of exploration work (the "Historical Database") in the Rochford gold district, South Dakota, pursuant to the Purchase and Sale Agreement between the Company and with Larry Berger, Curt Hogge and Ron Berdahl (who are collectively known as BHB Partners) and Tate Berger (collectively, the "Owners"), as amended (the "Agreement"). The Company has also completed the compilation of the Historical Database, which led to the recent staking of 37 unpatented lode claims located along the Standby-South Standby-Lookout Mine trend which the Company believes has significantly improved the Company's strategic land position in the Rochford gold district. In addition, the Historical Database substantiates several positive geological and mineralogical comparisons between the Homestake Mine district and Rochford gold district and provides an immediate focus for future exploration. Since 2013, the Company has continuously added value to the Rochford Project through land consolidation, acquiring a significant database for the area and conducting what we believe to be the first high resolution helicopter-borne Mag and EM survey ever conducted in the area.
Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company has acquired: (1) three strategically located unpatented lode mineral claim groups (the South Standby Property, the Cochrane South Property and the Silver Creek Property totaling 19 claims (approx. 380 acres) (the "Purchased Claims")); and (2) the comprehensive Historical Database, dating as far back as 1927, containing results from over $10 million US in historical exploration work conducted in the Rochford Gold District by six major explorers.
Including the Purchased Claims, the Company's large contiguous land position in the Rochford gold district cover several Ledge-type synclinal limb folds that host important concentrations of gold mineralization associated with banded iron formation and similar to those produced at the Homestake Mine. The compiled database highlights four high priority gold targets, three along the Standby-South Standby-Lookout Mine Trend, and one covering the down plunge extension of the Cochrane deposit, that will require a well-planned, systematic drill program which is presently in the planning stage. Including the Purchased Claims and the recently staked 37-claim block, the Company now owns a 100%-interest in 345 unpatented mineral claims for an area totaling approximately 5,447 acres.
The Rochford Gold District
The northern limits of the Company's Rochford Project is located only 17 kilometers south of the world's largest iron formation hosted gold deposit, the Homestake Mine, which has produced a little more than 40,000,000 ounces of gold averaging about 8.38 g/t Au (0.27 opt) over the life of the mine from 1876 to 2001. At the Homestake Mine, commercial grade gold mineralization was mined from 11 Ledges, all located in synclinal limb folds that, collectively, extended from surface to a mine depth of 2.4 km and extended down the limb fold plunge for a distance of 4.0 km (Dakota Territories Resource Corp. R. Backman, personal comm. 2016).
The geology of the Rochford District is similar to that at the Homestake Mine with gold hosted in multiple deformed Proterozoic carbonate facies and local sulfide-facies iron formation that has typically been metamorphosed to cummingtonite/grunerite phyllites/schists and chlorite schists. There are numerous, relatively shallow past producing gold mines and prospects in the district that were developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Mineral Mountain's property package covers approximately a 14 km long segment of auriferous iron formation considered to have many geological and mineralogical aspects to the Homestake Mine.
The Rochford District covers more than 78 square kilometers and has been explored intermittently by several major companies like Getty, Newmont, Noranda, Cominco, Western Mining and Homestake Mining in the 20th century. Despite gold prices hitting $1,900 US per ounce in 2011, the Homestake Gold Trend has been completely overlooked by explorers with the last serious exploration for the Rochford District being completed in 1997. Mineral Mountain's technical team took the approach that, because the 70-km long Homestake Gold Trend, a crustal scale deformation zone, appeared to be strongly endowed with iron hosted gold mineralization along its entire length, it was unlikely that the Homestake Mine was a unique event.
The following are a few highlights from the Historical Database:
A) Cochrane South Property: (adjoining the Cochrane Project)
The Cochrane South Property, consisting of 6 unpatented mining claims, adjoins the Cochrane Project patents to the south and to the southwest and it straddles a regional scale, NNW trending structural corridor.
The privately-held Cochrane Project hosts a Homestake-style gold deposit. Getty, Noranda, Newmont and Naneco explored this prospect by drilling a total of 65 core holes and three reverse circulation holes for a total of 41,120 feet (12,536 meters). Naneco calculated an in-house, non-compliant gold resource consisting of 68,000 ounces of gold in the indicated category and 200,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category grading a combined 6.3 g/t Au or 0.185 opt Au on the Cochrane Project proximal to the Cochrane South/Cochrane Mine common boundary line. This estimate constitutes a historical estimate under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and it uses categories other than ones set out in sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the above historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and Mineral Mountain is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. In general, the Company believes that historical estimate calculated by Naneco Resources in 1997 is a reasonable estimate based on the data available at the time.
The Homestake-style gold mineralization at Cochrane is open at depth down dip and down plunge/rake to the south plunging onto the Cochrane South Property.
The Cochrane South property has above average potential to host high grade gold mineralization at depth in the down plunge direction of parasitic fold hinge zones. Newmont, between 1996 and 1997, drilled three core holes down plunge toward the South Cochrane Property intersecting 7.53 g/t Au over 1.98 m (0.242 opt Au over 6.5 ft.) in drill hole NM-96-2, 9.86 g/t Au over 2.74 m (0.317 opt Au over 9.0 ft.) in drill hole NM-96-5 and two separate mineralized intervals grading 9.11 g/t Au over 5.05 m (0.293 opt Au over 16.6 ft.) and 9.33 g/t Au over 2.43 m (0.300 opt Au over 8.0 ft. in drill hole NM-96-7. The latter drill hole NM-96-7 is only 100 m from the Cochrane Project/Cochrane South common boundary.
B) South Standby Property:
The South Standby Property, consisting of 10 unpatented claims, is situated southwest of the Standby Mine patents about 2.4 km northeast of the Cochrane Mine.
Historically, a total of 15 shallow drill holes have been drilled along the northwest portion of the Standby-South Standby-Lookout Mine Trend on the Standby Mine patents over a surface strike length of about 900 m. Getty Mining Company in 1983 and 1984, by Noranda and Homestake all recorded broad intervals of anomalous gold. For examples, Getty's drill hole B-84-3 intersected 4.73 g/t Au over 1.52 m (0.152 opt Au over 4.7 feet) in 1984 and Homestake's drill hole SM-86-1B intersected 1.50 g/t Au over 18.9 m (0.048 opt Au over 62.0 ft.) in 1986.
The South Standby Property presents a rare opportunity to explore at least three distinct, multi-kilometer, plunging limb folds that host iron formation hosted gold mineralization analogous to the productive Ledge-type deposits found at the Homestake Mine. The three plunging limb folds occur with a 5.5 km-long structural corridor that has been accurately defined by historical litho-geochemical rock sampling and by a high resolution airborne Mag and EM survey completed by the Company in 2013.
C) Silver Creek Property:
The Silver Creek Property, consisting of 3 unpatented claims, straddle the central part of a 750-foot wide by 2 mile long gently-plunging unit of gold bearing iron formation located north-northwest of the Standard Mine, a former small historical producer that occurs within the Company's land holdings.
Shares Issued to BHB Partners
Pursuant to the Agreement, Mineral Mountain has now issued to the Owners a total of 4,000,000 common shares. All of such common shares are subject to a four month hold period in Canada expiring on November 18, 2016.
Royalties
Also pursuant to the Agreement, Mineral Mountain also granted to the Owners a collective 2% net smelter returns royalty on the Purchased Claims, a collective 1% net smelter returns royalty on Mineral Mountain's claims in the Rochford District and a collective 1.5% net smelter returns royalty on claims falling within the area of mutual interest (the "Area of Interest Claims Royalty"). The Area of Interest Claims Royalty will only be granted if the acquired property or properties are not already burdened with a royalty.
Qualified Persons
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Nelson W. Baker, P.Eng., the President and CEO of Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. and a Qualified Person for this project. All exploration activities at the Rochford Project are being carried out under the supervision of Kevin Leonard, P.Geo., also a Qualified Person for this project.
About Mineral Mountain and the Rochford Project
Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd., through its wholly owned subsidiary Mineral Mountain Resources (SD) Inc., is focused on the exploration and, if warranted, the development of its 100%-owned Rochford Project along the Homestake Gold Belt approximately 26 km south of the Homestake Mine and located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, U.S.A. The Rochford Project covers approximately 5,447 acres the Company's focus will be to explore the local mineral units of auriferous iron formation.
The Rochford Project is located near Rapid City where it can be easily accessed by a network of roads and has hydro-electricity and modern internet services to the drill sites. As well, the area offers a skilled labor force and is one of the lowest cost exploration areas in the United States. South Dakota has a low political risk and embraces responsible mineral development.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
MINERAL MOUNTAIN RESOURCES LTD.
"Nelson W. Baker", President and CEO
Forward looking information
This release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation ("Forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion, growth of the Company's businesses, operations, plans and with respect to exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, permitting time lines, government regulation of exploration and mining operations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage, timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation and timing and results of future resource estimates or future economic studies.
Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "planning", "planned", "expects" or "looking forward", "does not expect", "continues", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "potential", "anticipates", "does not anticipate" or "belief" or describes a "goal" or variation 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 a number of material factors and assumptions, including, the result of drilling and exploration activities, that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen break downs, that no labour shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, future events, conditions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, prediction, projection, forecast, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of gold; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the company's publicly filed documents. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Contact
Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd.
Brad Baker
VP Corporate Development
604-714-0111 ext 204
Bbaker@mineralmtn.com