Silver Spruce Reports on Ongoing Diamond Drilling Program, Big Easy Gold/Silver Property, Eastern Newfoundland
BRIDGEWATER, NOVA SCOTIA -- (Marketwire) -- 04/08/11 -- Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SSE)(FRANKFURT: S6Q) -
Highlights
-- Three holes totaling 507 m completed to date, all holes have intersected
wide zones of mineralized (pyritic), silicified sedimentary units with
strongly brecciated zones.
-- Widest intersection - 245.6 m of altered (silicified) / mineralized
conglomerate in DDH BE-11-3.
Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is pleased to announce that diamond drilling at the Big Easy property in eastern Newfoundland is ongoing with three of six planned holes, totaling 507 m, completed to date. A contract for 2,000 m of diamond drilling was given to Cabo Drilling of Springdale, NL for drilling on the Big Easy property and the Rambler South Gold property in the Baie Verte area (see news release dated March 24, 2011).
All three holes, at the south end of the alteration zone, at -50 degree dip and approximately 100 m apart, the first ever drilled on the property, collared in, and intersected, wide zones of strongly altered (silicified) sedimentary units, generally pebble conglomerates, with some narrow coarse sandstone interbeds, which carry variable pyrite mineralization. Overburden ranges from 3 m to 5 m. Two of the holes (1 and 3) intersected unaltered, post mineralization, mafic dikes over widths in the 15 m to 20 m range near the top of the holes. Drill holes 1 and 2 were stopped in unaltered, unmineralized, red conglomerate while hole 3 was stopped in an unaltered, unmineralized, fine grained, green mudstone. The total lengths of the holes and the combined widths of mineralized/silicified units intersected, (with dikes and overburden removed), are: BE-11-1 - 107 m / 54 m; BE-11-2 - 98 m / 83.8 m; BE-11-3 - 302 m / 245.6 m. Brecciation is variable throughout the mineralized zone but is more extensive in BE-11-3 especially in a section from 245 m to 272 m (27 m) with pyrite ranging from trace to 10% over narrow intervals, averaging 3% to 5%. Similar brecciation was not noted in the surface trench mapping or sampling. The orientation of the mineralized / altered zone, which is thought to be fault bounded, remains unknown. Bedding dips at approximately 30 to 40 degrees, based on surface mapping of the trenches. Gouge zones, thought to represent fault structures, were noted in drill hole 3, including at the bottom of the 27 m brecciated section.
Trench channel samples indicate that the altered zone is anomalous in precious metals (see news release dated August 26, 2010) with gold (Au) values ranging from 30 ppb to 2,083 ppb with a mean of 71.7 ppb. Silver (Ag) values range from 1.9 ppm to 13.4 ppm with a mean of 3.55 ppm. The highest gold value, 2083 ppb over 0.7 m, was in silicified sediments cut by a 1.5 m wide quartz vein in Trench 5. Drill holes BE-11-2 and 3 were drilled along Line 7700 N, undercutting Trench 5. Core samples from the first two holes and the upper part (first 78 m) of hole BE-11-3 have been submitted to the laboratory. Cutting of the samples is continuing and samples will be submitted every few days. Results will be reported as received.
The drilling is testing Induced Polarization (IP) targets in an altered (silicified) / mineralized area, which extends in a north-northwesterly direction, over an area of greater than 1 km by 300 m to 500 m wide, narrowing to the north and south. Gerard Lambert, a geophysical consultant who evaluated the IP results, concluded: 1) Results indicate nine shallow (i.e., 25 m depth or so) anomalous IP features, all of which are of the 'non-conductive' type, indicating disseminated to stringer sulphides, which extend through the altered / mineralized area, in a north to north-northeast direction, and 2) The IP anomalies appear to be grouped to form two linear trends, one of which falls along the corridor of silicification in the central portion of the grid which appear to show potential for outlining a significant pyritized zone (see news release dated November 13, 2010).
The 121 claim (30 km(2)) property, located near Thorburn Lake in eastern Newfoundland, was optioned from prospectors Alex Turpin and Colin Kendall. The option agreement, to earn a 100% interest subject to a 3% NSR with a 1.5% buyback for $1.5M, is a total of $110,000 plus 1.6 M shares over three years. A yearly advance royalty payment of $20,000 per year, deducted from future NSR payments, is payable from the 4th anniversary on.
Drill core was cut in half using a diamond core saw, with one half sent for analysis and the other half retained. Samples were submitted to the Acccurassay Preparation laboratory in Gambo, NL where they were prepped and then sent to their laboratory in Thunder Bay, ON for analysis for gold by fire assay with an AA finish and an ICP-30 technique for other elements. Some samples may also be analyzed for Hg using the ALHg1 technique. Values are checked by internal standards and check sampling will also be carried out.
Hand samples of the drill core plus pictures showing the core and drill locations will be displayed at the Silver Spruce AGM, which is being held at the Akerley Room, Park Place Hotel, 240 Brownlow Ave., Dartmouth, NS at 11:00 AM on Monday, April 11, 2011. All shareholders are invited to attend and hear an update on the company's exploration activities. Plan maps for the proposed drill holes, the IP chargeability and resistivity and a compilation map for the property, plus pictures showing the drilling and the drill core, are also available on the Silver Spruce website at silverspruceresources.com.
This release has been approved by Peter M. Dimmell, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Silver Spruce Resources Inc., who is a Qualified Person (QP) in NL and ON as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
ABOUT SILVER SPRUCE
Silver Spruce is a junior exploration company originally focused on uranium in the Central Mineral Belt (CMB) and elsewhere in Labrador, Canada. With interests in more than 4,000 claims totaling more than 1,000 square kilometers in Labrador, Silver Spruce is one of the largest landholders in one of the world's premier emerging uranium and REE districts. The company has rare earth element (REE) properties in Labrador - Pope's Hill, RWM and the Straits and gold/silver projects on the island of Newfoundland.
Neither 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:
Silver Spruce Resources Inc. - Head Office
Gordon Barnhill
CFO & Director
902.527.5700
902.527.5711 (FAX)
gbarnhill@silverspruceresources.com
www.silverspruceresources.com
Ascenta Capital Partners Inc.
Hugh Oswald
Investor Relations
604.684.4743 ext. 243 or Toll Free: 1.866.684.4743 ext. 243
hugh@ascentacapital.com
www.ascentacapital.com