Strategic Metals Announces Midas Touch Project Rau Gold District, Yukon
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/09/10 -- Strategic Metals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: SMD) ('Strategic' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce geochemical and prospecting results from several wholly-owned properties in the Rau Gold District, east-central Yukon Territory. The recent discovery of 'Carlin-type' gold mineralization by ATAC Resources Ltd. was made on claims adjacent to Strategic's historical land holdings in the area. Strategic has significantly expanded its land position to 1,758 wholly-owned claims in what is collectively referred to as the 'Midas Touch Project.' The Company is now the second largest claim holder in this new sediment-hosted gold district.
The Midas Touch Project covers more than 470 sq km of prospective carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks and overlying cap rocks. Many claims are located in areas where soil and stream sediments returned strongly elevated values for gold, silver and/or their pathfinder elements. On several claim blocks, the geochemical pathfinder signatures closely resemble the pathfinder signatures from government geochemical surveys in the vicinity of ATAC's Osiris Discovery. The Crag claim block, acquired by Strategic in fall 2008, hosts the only occurrence of realgar and orpiment (arsenic sulphide minerals) reported in the district, other than at the Osiris Discovery.
Grid soil sampling in 2010 at the Rod Property, also acquired by Strategic in fall 2008, outlined a 1,500 by 500 m area of anomalous gold results (20 to 106 ppb) accompanied by very high silver (20 to 293 ppm), antimony (20 to 918 ppm), arsenic (500 to 10,400 ppm), mercury (5 to 100 ppm) and lead (1,000 to 20,700 ppm) values. This area lies in the immediate footwall of a regional thrust fault, a key structural feature that extends through a number of claims belonging to Strategic and ATAC. The Rod Anomaly is underlain by a shale unit which regionally caps the carbonate-rich section that hosts ATAC's gold discoveries. The nature of the geochemical response coupled with silver-bearing veins and fractures within the shales suggest that the Rod Anomaly may represent leakage of fluids from a gold-rich system in the underlying carbonate strata.
'Strategic plans to drill at the Crag and Rod properties in summer 2011 and will simultaneously perform prospecting and more detailed geochemical surveys on its other properties in the belt' states Doug Eaton, CEO and President of Strategic. 'The objectives of the surface exploration programs will be to rapidly advance new discoveries to the drill stage.'
A map showing the location of properties comprising the Midas Touch Project and additional information appears on Strategic's website www.strategicmetalsltd.com.
About Strategic Metals Ltd.
Strategic is a pre-eminent explorer and landowner in the Yukon, with 38 properties under option to other companies, 8 properties subject to a sales agreement, and approximately 100 wholly-owned properties. Strategic also holds royalty interests in 8 more projects, including a net smelter return royalty on part of the Wolverine Deposit which is scheduled to commence production in 2010. Strategic currently has approximately $28 million in cash and owns marketable shares of other resource companies with a total value of approximately $63 million as of December 7, 2010. Its stock holdings include 9,806,286 shares of ATAC Resources Ltd. and 10,134,500 shares of Rockhaven Resources Ltd.
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Heather Smith, P.Geo., a 'Qualified Person' as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Soil samples were prepared and analyzed at the ALS Chemex lab in North Vancouver. All samples were initially analyzed for gold by fire assay followed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic absorption (Au-ICP21) and 35 other elements by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ME-ICP41). Overlimit values for silver and lead were determined by Ag/Pb/-OG62.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
W. Douglas Eaton, President and Chief Executive Officer
For further information concerning Strategic or its various exploration projects please visit our website at www.strategicmetalsltd.com.
This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Strategic Metals Ltd. - Corporate Information
W. Douglas Eaton
President and C.E.O.
(604) 688-2568
Strategic Metals Ltd. - Corporate Information
Bruce A. Youngman
Chairman
(604) 687-2522
Strategic Metals Ltd. - Investor Inquiries
Richard Drechsler
Corporate Communications
(604) 687-2522 or NA Toll-Free: (888) 688-2522
rdrechsler@strategicmetalsltd.com
www.strategicmetalsltd.com