Northern Freegold Reports on Progress and Enhances Drill Program With Titan Deep IP Survey at Freegold Mountain, Yukon
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/10/10 -- Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: NFR) -
Highlights
-- Completed approx. 3,000 m of a planned 4,500 m Phase 1 drill program to
expand 1 million ounce resource(1) at Nucleus deposit
-- Completed approx. 4,100 m of a planned 5,500 m Phase 1 drill program to
test potential for significant new resources at adjacent Revenue zone
-- Initiating a Titan-24 (Quantec Geoscience) Deep Penetrating
IP/Resistivity Survey to identify large scale (epithermal gold/porphyry
gold-copper) targets associated with and adjacent to Nucleus-Revenue
system
Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. is pleased to provide an update on the Phase 1 10,000 m drill program at the road accessible, district scale (200km2) Freegold Mountain Project. The program seeks to expand the existing gold resource at the Nucleus deposit, and help define additional gold and copper resources at the highly prospective gold-silver-copper enriched Revenue zone. A Titan geophysical survey has been added to the 2010 program to enhance the company's ability to define additional gold and copper targets at depth.
'We are pleased with the progress of our drill programs and we look forward to releasing results after interpretation and compilation. In the meantime, we have initiated a Titan IP survey to further define this gold enriched porphyry system. The ability of the Titan system to define the limits of existing deposits and help identify new targets has been well demonstrated at several mines and deposits near Freegold Mountain,' commented Bill Harris, NFR's Chairman & COO. 'Results of the Titan survey combined with those from the current drill programs in the Nucleus and Revenue Zones should help us prioritize the highest potential targets in what we already know is a very large scale gold-copper porphyry system.'
Progress on Drill Programs:
Close to 3,000 m of the planned 4,500 m drill program at the Nucleus Deposit has been completed. Thirteen step-out holes have been completed with an objective of expanding the current million ounce(1) NI 43-101 compliant inferred gold resource.
(1)(35.8 million tonnes @ 0.87 g/t gold with a 0.4 g/t cutoff including higher grade zone of 184,000 contained ounces of gold within 2.2 million tonnes @ 2.55 g/t gold with a 0.4 g/t cutoff ; see news release dated March 5, 2010).
The Nucleus gold deposit remains open to further expansion in all directions and to depth. The deposit is primarily a gold system with some copper enrichment, primarily in the higher grade core and at depth, and is thought to be part of a much larger gold-copper porphyry system. A large scale gold and copper soil anomaly (24 km2) extends from the Nucleus Deposit for 6 km eastward through the Revenue Zone.
The Revenue Zone shows similar geological and mineralogical characteristics to other deposits in the region which have developed multi-million ounce gold resources with multi-billion pound copper-moly resources. Results from limited historical drilling combined with the information from NFR exploration activity over the last four years has shown the potential of the Revenue Zone to contain a large gold-copper mineralized system, warranting follow-up drilling with a goal of defining new project resources.
To date, approx. 4,100 m of the planned 5,500 m reverse circulation (RC) drill program has been completed. Twenty-nine (29) holes have been completed along a 3km trend of high gold and copper geochemical anomalies including 16 RC holes at the Granger target, 9 RC holes in the Discovery target and 1 RC hole in the Guder target (see attached map). Final assay results are pending, however significant alteration and disseminated mineralization has been observed in the drilling to date.
Titan 24 Deep IP Geophysical Survey to complement drilling at Nucleus & Revenue Zones:
The significant RC program underway at the Revenue Zone is testing the top 150 metres of mineralization within a portion of the 24 sq km gold and copper geochemical anomaly. The deep penetrating Titan-24 IP/Resistivity survey will aid in determining the scope of the mineralized system and its extent down to an estimated 750 m depth. The program will consist of 15 Titan (DCIP & MT) lines totalling approx. 50 to 60 line kilometers with a line spacing of 500 m (see attached map). The survey will cover an area of approx. 30 km2 which includes the area covering the million ounce gold resource at the Nucleus Zone and the 24 km2 gold and copper soil geochemical anomaly over the Nucleus and Revenue Zones. The survey is expected to take about two to four weeks to complete, once it begins in early September.
Results of the Titan Survey in conjunction with previous geophysical surveys, the expanded geochemical surveys and geological mapping, as well as the results of 2010 and earlier drilling, should assist in the prioritization of additional high potential targets and possibly identify previously unrecognized targets with similar geophysical signatures to the resource at Nucleus and the known gold-copper mineralized system at the Revenue Zone.
The Titan 24 survey has been successful at identifying targets and systems at several deposits within the Dawson Range of the Tintina Gold Belt, within close proximity (80 km radius) of the Freegold Mountain Project. For example, Titan 24 surveys have been utilized at the producing Minto Mine of Capstone Mining Corp. (www.capstonemining.com) and the Casino Deposit of Western Copper Corporation (www.westerncoppercorp.com) to expand the extent of known deposit limits. The Minto Mine expanded their successful Titan test survey from 2009, which was partially responsible for the Minto East discovery (see Capstone release dated April 29, 2010). Capstone recently reported (see Capstone released dated July 15, 2010) a new high-grade copper gold discovery at their Minto Mine. The 'Wildfire' discovery was made as a result of 'testing of an extensive geophysical anomaly detected during a deep penetrating IP survey being conducted over the Minto Mine property.' The survey has also been utilized at the Sonora Gulch Property of Northern Tiger Resources Inc. (www.northern-tiger.com) to identify priority areas of the porphyry target (see Northern Tiger news release dated July 15, 2010).
Geological Studies in the Dawson Range
NFR is participating in the 'Dawson Range-White Gold Belt Project' of the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) at the University of British Columbia. The project's main objective is to improve the geological, structural and metallogenic foundation of this important region and to develop tools that promote more successful exploration and targeting. In addition, the Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) have been focusing on the metallogenic controls within the Dawson Range and have released several publications on their initial studies. NFR has been working closely with MDRU and YGS geologists to better define controls on mineralization and target definition within the Freegold Mountain Project. This will continue NFR's highly successful technical approach to project wide exploration and will enable the Company to focus staff geologists on growing the million ounce Nucleus resource and better understanding the significance of the very large Revenue gold-copper porphyry system and the relationship between the two systems.
Qualified Person
Allan Armitage, PhD, P. Geol (AB), Exploration Manager for Northern Freegold is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and will be responsible for quality control of exploration undertaken by the Company and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.
About Northern Freegold
Northern Freegold is a well financed rapidly advancing Canadian-based precious metals exploration and development company, which brings local expertise and strong management to focus on the development of economic mineral resources on the district-scale Freegold Mountain gold and copper project in the Yukon and the Burro Creek gold and silver property in Arizona.
Northern Freegold Resources Ltd.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Bill Harris, Chairman & COO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The information in this press release includes certain 'forward-looking statements' All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, plans for and intentions with respect to the company's properties, statements regarding intentions with respect to obligations due for various projects, strategic alternatives, quantity of resources or reserves, timing of permitting, construction and production and other milestones, are forward looking statements. Statements concerning Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are also forward-looking statements in that they reflect an assessment, based on certain assumptions, of the mineralization that would be encountered and mining results if the project were developed and mined in the manner described. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from NFR's expectations include the uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests and the estimation of reserves and resources; the need for cooperation of government agencies and First Nation groups in the exploration, and development of properties; and the need to obtain permits and governmental approval. NFR's forward looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of management on the date the statements are made. NFR assumes no obligation to update the forward looking statements if management's beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors should they change.
Cautionary Note Regarding Reserve and Resource Estimates This press release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI 43-101') and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Classification System. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'), and resource and reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term 'resource' does not equate to the term 'reserves'. Investors should also understand that 'inferred mineral resources' have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an 'inferred mineral resource' will ever be upgraded to a higher category. The estimation of quantities of resources and reserves is complex, based on significant subjective assumptions and forward-looking information, including assumptions that arise from the evaluation of geological, geophysical, engineering and economic data for a given ore body. This data could change over time as a result of numerous factors, including new information gained from development activities, evolving production history and a reassessment of the viability of production under different economic conditions. Changes in data and/or assumptions could cause reserve estimates to substantially change from period to period. No assurance can be given that the indicated level of mineral will be produced. Actual production could differ from expected production and an adverse change in mineral prices could make a reserve uneconomic to mine. Variations could also occur in actual ore grades and recovery rates from estimates.
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Contacts:
Northern Freegold Resources Ltd.
Julie Hajduk
Investor Relations Manager
(604) 893-8757 or 1-877-893-8757
(604) 893-8758 (FAX)
www.northernfreegold.com