ATAC Resources Ltd. Announces Exploration Results from the Rau Project - Rackla Gold Property, Yukon

VANCOUVER, Feb. 06, 2018 /CNW/ - ATAC Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ATC) ("ATAC" or the "Company") announces exploration results and project developments from its 100% owned, 660 km² Rau Project located at the western end of the Company's Rackla Gold Property, Yukon.

The objectives of the 2017 Rau Project exploration program were to improve the knowledge base related to existing targets along trend from the Tiger Deposit, evaluate untested soil anomalies and gain a better understanding of the broad controls on mineralization within the district.

2017 Rau Project Highlights

• Assays of 17.00 g/t gold, 9.46 g/t gold and 23.3% zinc from grab samples collected at the Condor target (located 1.5 km northwest of the Tiger Deposit);
• Assays of 4.63% copper and 7,080 g/t silver from grab samples collected as part of a prospecting program on the Spotlight target area; and
• The identification of three intrusive centres underlying the Rau Project, suggesting possible sources for mineralization in the area.

"The regional exploration potential at the Rau Project has always been compelling but systematic evaluation of the area was curtailed after the Company's discovery of Carlin-type mineralization in 2010," states Rob Carne, the Chair of ATAC's Technical Committee. "The 2017 regional exploration program was very successful in confirming that the Rau Project is a fertile district with the potential to host multiple gold and base metal deposits in a number of sediment hosted and intrusive related settings."

Existing Targets

Prospecting in 2017 was designed to advance and prioritize the many known gold and base metal targets along trend from the Tiger Deposit for future drilling. Highlight grab sample results from the prospecting program are provided in the following table:

The high-grade gold results from the Condor and the Panther targets - located 1.5 km and 3 km northwest of the Tiger Deposit, respectively - confirm the potential for carbonate-replacement style gold mineralization. The Tiger Deposit is characterized as an intrusion related, carbonate-replacement system, with the strong structural control of the mineralization the result of its association within a corridor of highly strained rocks.

High-grade zinc, lead and silver mineralization, similar to that identified at the Ocelot Zone in 2011 (see ATAC news releases dated June 13 and September 13, 2011), has also been identified elsewhere on the Rau Project. Follow-up prospecting of the known mineralized targets between the Tiger Deposit and Ocelot in 2017 included a reassessment of the base metal potential of these target areas. The high-grade zinc, lead and silver results returned from the Condor (23.3% zinc), Panther (6.09% zinc), Cheetah (116 g/t silver and 1.34% zinc) and Now (456 g/t silver) targets highlight the multi-commodity potential of the district. 

New Discoveries

One of the ongoing exploration objectives of ATAC is to identify new mineralization along trend of existing occurrences. The 2017 exploration program resulted in the identification of the Spotlight and Northwest target areas. Both target areas were identified through the follow-up of anomalous gold and arsenic in soil. Results of prospecting grab samples from both of these areas are presented below:

The 7,080 g/t silver sample noted above is the highest silver-in-rock sample collected to date on the Rau Project. Additional grab samples collected from the 350 by 250 m Spotlight target returned elevated gold, copper and tin, a typical metal suite associated with skarn mineralization.

Prospecting at the Northwest target area was completed over a poorly exposed and forested area located 3 km north of the Now target and within a belt of mineralized showings between the Tiger Deposit and Ocelot Zone. Assay values of 1.43 g/t gold and 4.14 % zinc from grab samples collected within this broad 7.5 km² target area suggest the potential for the discovery of additional mineralized zones.

Grid geochemical surveys and detailed prospecting will be conducted in 2018 at Spotlight and the Northwest target area to expand on the limited coverage to date. Unassessed areas, such as the 2 km² zinc-in-soil anomaly 2 km south of the Now target, will be systematically explored in 2018.

District-Scale Mineralization Controls

In 2017, a desktop evaluation of the district-scale potential for intrusive-related mineralization was completed through the reinterpretation of existing geochemical and geophysical data sets. The results of this work suggested the potential for three distinct intrusive centres beneath the Rau Project. The interpretation is based on characteristic intrusive-related geochemical signatures correlated with areas of anomalous magnetic response. 

Of the three intrusive centres identified, one correlates with the known location of the Rackla Pluton and is believed to be related to the development of gold mineralization at the Tiger Deposit. A second intrusive centre is located approximately 5 km to the north of Tiger in the area of the Blue Lite skarn target and the recently identified Spotlight target.  The third intrusive centre is located approximately 14 km to the west of Tiger, in the vicinity of the Now target and just south of the Northwest target area. All three intrusive centres will be further evaluated during the 2018 field program.

An updated Rau Project map with 2017 highlight results in relation to the intrusive centres is available on ATAC's website.

QA/QC

Samples were forwarded to ALS Minerals in Whitehorse and North Vancouver where they were fine crushed before a 250 gram split was pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Pulps were then analyzed at ALS Minerals in North Vancouver where gold determinations were carried out. Rock sample gold analyses were by the Au-AA26 procedure that involves fire assay preparation using a 50 gram charge with an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. Initial multi element data for 49 elements was determined by the ME-MS61 procedure that involves a four acid digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Over limit values for silver, copper, lead and zinc are determined by the Ag/Cu/Pb/Zn-OG62 method that utilizes a four acid digestion followed by an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. Over limit values for silver determined by the OG62 method are re-analyzed using the Ag-GRA 21 method which involves fire assay preparation using 30 gram charge and a gravimetric finish.

All prospecting grab samples reported in this release represent significant results only. Below detection values for gold, copper, silver, lead and zinc were encountered in grab samples from the 2017 prospecting program.

The technical information in this news release has been approved by Julia Lane, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for ATAC and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

About ATAC

ATAC is a Yukon-based exploration company focused on developing Canada's only known Carlin-type gold district at the Rackla Gold Property. Recent work on the ~1,700 km² property has resulted in a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Tiger Gold Deposit, drilling of multiple high-grade Carlin-type gold zones and the identification of numerous early-stage gold exploration targets. ATAC and Barrick Gold Corp. recently partnered to explore the Rackla Gold Property's Orion Project, with Barrick having the option to earn up to 70% of Orion by spending $55 million in exploration. ATAC is well-financed with approximately $13 million in its treasury and recently completed an approximately $10 million exploration program at the Osiris and Rau Projects (which are not subject to Barrick's earn-in right), while concurrently working with Barrick to advance the 780 km² Orion Project.

On behalf of Management and the Board of Directors
of ATAC Resources Ltd.

Graham Downs, President and CEO

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SOURCE ATAC Resources Ltd.