Vault Minerals acquires Goldbanks property in the Kirkland Lake gold camp
posted on
Jun 24, 2008 05:07PM
An aggressive exploration company focused on the acquisition of and exploration for gold in Northeastern Ontario, Canada.
KIRKLAND LAKE, ON, June 24 /CNW/ - Vault Minerals Inc. (TSX-V: VMI) ("Vault" or the "Company") announces that it has entered into an option agreement with a syndicate of arm's-length parties to acquire six mining leases, comprising eight claim units, in the Kirkland Lake gold camp, Ontario.
The property, historically referred to as the Goldbanks, is situated in western Teck Township west of the Macassa mine, which is currently operated by Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. The Macassa mine is the western-most of the seven historic gold mines along the prolific Kirkland Lake Main-`04 Break which comprise the famous `Mile of Gold', and that have produced in excess of 24 million ounces of gold at a recovered grade of 0.47 oz/ton.
The Goldbanks property has received negligible modern exploration, in large part owing to the fragmented title history involving a number of owners, and including several estates. There are however three historic shafts on the property, dating back to the camp's early history.
The camp's Main-'04 Break transects the southern-most claim for a strike-extent of 1700 ft. There are at least five other sub-parallel structures interpreted to strike up to 3,000 ft across the newly-acquired property, referenced by their approximate distance (in feet) north of the Main-'04 Break; viz. 1400, 3200, 3800, 4200, and 4900 (see Figure 1).
The 1400 structure is interpreted to be the `05 Break that was partially mined by LAC Minerals/Barrick/Kinross and that currently hosts reserves 2700 ft to the east of the Goldbanks property. Diamond drilling verified the western extension of the '05 Break on the adjoining "KL West" property which is a joint-venture between Queenston Mining Inc. and Kirkland Lake Gold. The "KL West" property was recently purchased by the joint-venture from Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada Ltd. (announced February 6, 2008), and from which a drill intercept of 0.33 oz/ton over 2.2 ft on the Main-'04 Break was also reported.
The northern-most 4900 structure hosts two shafts, situated 1200 ft apart, and has a number of drill holes from 1936. Historical chip samples from this zone includes 1.43 oz/ton over 0.8 ft from the No.1 shaft, and 0.20 oz/ton over 2.0 ft and 2.00 oz/ton over 0.2 ft from the No.2 shaft. Drill hole intersections include 0.71 oz/ton over 1.0 ft 400 ft west of the No.2 shaft, 0.09 oz/ton over 3.0 ft midway between the No.1 and No.2 shafts, and 0.19 oz/ton over 5.8 ft under the No.1 shaft.
Historical assays from the other structures on the Goldbanks property and
their strike extensions on adjoining properties include:
- 3200 structure - 0.31 oz/ton from a surface grab sample,
- 3800 structure - 0.60 oz/ton over 1.0 ft in a drill hole 1400 ft
east of the property, and
- 4200 structure - 0.20 oz/ton over 2 ft and 0.36 oz/ton over 2 ft on
the Harry Oakes claim 300 ft east of the claim boundary with
Kirkland Lake Gold.
Mineralization consists of steeply-dipping, white and grey quartz veins, up to 5 ft wide, along the structures. These veins contain pyrite, molybdenum, local chalcopyrite, and occasional native gold. As is the case with the Main-`04 Break ore horizons, most of these structures exhibit a spatial relationship to intrusive rocks, particularly porphyry. The veins commonly emplace along geological contacts which represent competency contrasts and natural weaknesses in the rocks.
In recent years, renewed exploration in proven gold camps, such as Red Lake and Kirkland Lake, has resulted in discoveries of significant gold deposits on structures outboard from the historical workings and yet still "in the shadow of headframes". Vault intends to integrate all exploration data from the property into a GIS-based compilation and will then design an exploration program for the 2008 field season which will include field grid work, geological mapping & prospecting, ground geophysics, soil geochemistry, mechanized trenching and a subsequent diamond drill program.
Vault may earn 100% in the property for total consideration of $475,000 in cash payments, 250,000 shares of Vault and $100,000 in exploration work expenditures on the property over a four year period. First year obligations include $50,000 cash, 50,000 shares and $25,000 in work expenditures. The property will be subject to a sliding-scale net smelter returns royalty of between 1.5% and 2.5% of any gold produced from the property, tied to the prevailing gold price. The agreement remains subject to acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved for disclosure by Michael Sutton, P.Geo, Vault's Vice President Exploration, who serves as the Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).
About Vault
Vault Minerals Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on gold exploration and development in and around the proven gold camps of northeastern Ontario. In addition to its Kirkland and Lebel gold properties in the prolific Kirkland Lake gold camp, Vault is aggressively evaluating significant gold projects in the region for potential acquisition. The Company's capital consists of 29,526,093 issued and outstanding common shares which are listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol `VMI'.
On behalf of the Board of
VAULT MINERALS INC.
"Joe Horne"
-------------------------
Joseph D. Horne
President & CEO
This Press Release may contain forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's forward-looking statements and expectations, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
"The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this release."