Aura Silver Focuses Current Drill Program on Gold-Bearing Surface Outcrops and Soils at Northeast Greyhound
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 08/17/11 -- Aura Silver Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AUU) ('Aura Silver' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce that the second phase of the 2011 drilling program is underway on its wholly-owned Greyhound property, NU. This 2,200 metre program will test a new area of bedrock gold and silver targets located in the northeastern part of the property (see press release of July 28, 2011). Several target areas are defined by broad extensive soil anomalies up to 2.0 g/t Au, bedrock grab samples up to 6.49 g/t Au and surface gossans associated with sulphide zones in magnetite iron formation.
Iron formation hosted gold deposits are common throughout the Canadian Shield and can be economically very important. The former Lupin Mine at Contwoyto Lake, NU, for instance, produced 3.37 million ounces of gold between 1982 and 2005. In Ontario, the Pickle Crow mine has historic production plus current resources of 2.70 million ounces at an average grade of 6.09 g/t Au. Closer to Aura Silver's project are the Meadowbank gold deposits which comprise four separate zones with an aggregate open-pittable resource of 3.64 million ounces of gold (Agnico Report, June 28, 2011). These deposits lie in the same stratigraphic unit (Woodburn Group) and are sulphide zones in magnetite iron formation. Additionally one other zone, the Vault deposit, unrelated to iron formation, is hosted as disseminated pyrite in felsic metavolcanics. The iron formation deposits at Meadowbank are economically the most important and are expressed as conductors. They were found as surface showings but were outlined by HLEM (horizontal loop) geophysical surveys. Aura Silver believes that it has discovered mineralization of the same character as the Meadowbank deposits adjacent to MaxMin conductors (HLEM). Four target areas in the Greyhound northeast area (as outlined in the attached figures) will be tested by diamond drilling.
At North Gossan, anomalous gold values in soils have been traced along a one kilometre zone overlying banded iron formation. At the JohnPaul prospect, two kilometres south of North Gossan, a pair of one kilometre long MaxMin conductors coincide with magnetite iron formation. Grab samples of sulphide-bearing iron formation assay up to 3.85 g/t Au and gold anomalies in soils (up to 2,000 ppb Au (2 g/t Au)) extend east from the mineralized subcrop for 300 metres. At a distance of 400 metres to the north, a sample of sulphide-bearing iron formation assayed 6.49 g/t Au. At the Bandit Prospect (1,500 metres southwest of JohnPaul) subcropping sulphide-bearing iron formation yielded an assay of 4.09 g/t Au at the northern end of a 400 metre long HLEM anomaly. East of JohnPaul at the Silver Prospect, rock samples from two outcrops with massive pyrite and pyrrhotite assayed up to 39.6 g/t silver and soil samples returned up to 12.4 g/t silver. Additional samples from all of the Northeast Prospects are pending and further prospecting is being carried out.
Aura Silver recently staked six additional claims aggregating 5,300 hectares at the northern extent of the northeast Greyhound property to protect the extension of the North Gossan gold zone.
Robert Boaz CEO and President of Aura Silver states that, 'the Company is very excited about the gold bearing potential of these targets and we look forward to the results of the current drill program.'
All samples have been processed by Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario. Soils were analyzed by multi-element Ultratrace-6 four acid digestion with analysis by ICP and Fire Assay while rocks and core were assayed for gold by 1A2 (Au Fire Assay-AA). Paul Pitman, P. Geo. is Aura Silver's qualified person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) for this press release and is Project Manager for the Greyhound exploration.
About Aura Silver
Aura Silver is a TSX Venture listed company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of precious metal prospects in Canada (100% owned Greyhound project) and in Oaxaca, Mexico. Aura Silver has 87,853,590 common shares outstanding.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
This press release may contain forward looking statements that are made as of the date hereof and are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business including the uncertainty as to whether further exploration will result in the target(s) being delineated as a mineral resource, capital expenditures, operating costs, mineral resources, recovery rates, grades and prices, estimated goals, expansion and growth of the business and operations, the private placement financing activities of the Company, plans and references to the Company's future successes with its business and the economic environment in which the business operates. All such statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, applicable Canadian securities legislation. Any statements contained herein that are statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution readers of this news release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations. Please refer to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent annual MD&A and the Company's continuous disclosure documents that can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Aura Silver does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Figure 1 is available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/aura0817figure1.pdf
FIgure 2 is available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/aura0817figure2.pdf
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Contacts:
Robert Boaz
President and CEO
(905) 403-8010
boaz@aurasilver.com
www.aurasilver.com.