White Rock Minerals Ltd Stock Market Press Releases and Company Profile
Commences Drilling at High-Grade Zinc VMS Project
Commences Drilling at High-Grade Zinc VMS Project

Ballarat, May 23, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - White Rock Minerals Ltd (googlechartASX:WRM) ("White Rock" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its 2018 exploration program is now underway and drilling has commenced at its globally significant(see Note 1 below) 100% owned high-grade zinc VMS project at Red Mountain in Alaska.

The field program includes:-

- A targeted diamond drilling program aimed at in-fill and expansion of the high grade maiden Resource,

- Surface geophysics, mapping and geochemical sampling of new targets, and

- A follow-up diamond drilling program on the best of the more than 30 already identified exploration targets.

The first crews have mobilised with the camp now established (see Figure 1 in link below) and the field and drilling crews now occupying this camp. Drilling has commenced with the first diamond drill hole underway at the West Tundra Flats deposit (see Figure 2 in link below). In addition, a geological crew has commenced reconnaissance mapping and geochemical sampling of the new target areas ahead of the planned arrival of the surface geophysics crew in early June.

Drilling Campaign

The initial drilling campaign aims to infill and extend the Maiden Resource which already has two identified deposits (Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats) and a Resource base of 16.7Mt at 8.9% ZnEq(see Note 2 below) including a high-grade component of 9.1Mt @ 12.9% ZnEq(see Note 2 below) (refer ASX announcement 26 April 2017 regarding the maiden Mineral Resource).

This drilling is aimed to follow-up on drilling last done in the 1990s, which included the following done at West Tundra Flats (the first deposit being drilled in the current program):-

- 1.3m @ 21.0% Zn, 796g/t Ag, 9.2% Pb, 10.2g/t Au from 58.6m (WTF83-17),

- 3.0m @ 7.3% Zn, 796g/t Ag, 4.3% Pb, 1.1g/t Au from160.9m (WTF82-08),

- 1.7m @ 11.4% Zn, 374g/t Ag, 6.0% Pb, 1.7g/t Au from 104.3m (WTF82-05).

(refer ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2016 "White Rock Minerals proposes to acquire VMS project in Alaska".)

About Red Mountain (as more fully set out in the ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2016)

- The Red Mountain Project is located in central Alaska, 100km south of Fairbanks, in the Bonnifield Mining District. The tenement package comprises 224 mining claims over a total area of 143km2.

- The Red Mountain Project contains polymetallic VMS mineralisation rich in zinc, silver and lead, with potential for significant gold and copper.

- Mineralisation occurs from surface and is open along strike and down-dip.

- White Rock used historical drilling to determine a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate for the Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats deposit (ASX Announcement 26th April 2017). The Inferred Mineral Resource contains an impressive base metal and precious metal content with 678,000t zinc, 286,000t lead, 53.5 million ounces silver and 352,000 ounces gold.

- Good preliminary metallurgical recoveries of >90% zinc, >75% lead, >80% gold, >70% silver and >70% copper.

- Previous drilling highlights (ASX Announcement 15th February 2016) include:

Dry Creek

o 4.6m @ 23.5% Zn, 531g/t Ag, 8.5% Pb, 1.5g/t Au & 1.0% Cu from 6.1m

o 5.5m @ 25.9% Zn, 346g/t Ag, 11.7% Pb, 2.5g/t Au & 0.9% Cu from 69.5m

o 7.1m @ 15.1% Zn, 334g/t Ag, 6.8% Pb, 0.9g/t Au & 0.3% Cu from39.1m

West Tundra Flats

o 1.3m @ 21.0% Zn, 796g/t Ag,9.2% Pb, 10.2g/t Au & 0.6% Cu from 58.6m

o 3.0m @ 7.3% Zn, 796g/t Ag, 4.3% Pb, 1.1g/t Au & 0.2% Cu from160.9m

o 1.7m @ 11.4% Zn, 372g/t Ag, 6.0% Pb, 1.7g/t Au & 0.2% Cu from 104.3m

- VMS deposits typically occur in clusters ("VMS camps"). Deposit sizes within camps typically follow a log normal distribution, and deposits within camps typically occur at regular spacing. The known deposits at Dry Creek and West Tundra Flats provide valuable information with which to vector and target additional new deposits within the Red Mountain camp.

- Interpretation of the geologic setting indicates conditions that enhance the prospectivity for gold-rich mineralisation within the VMS system at Red Mountain. Gold mineralisation is usually found at the top of VMS base metal deposits or adjacent in the overlying sediments. Gold bearing host rocks are commonly not enriched in base metals and consequently often missed during early exploration sampling. This provides an exciting opportunity for potential further discoveries at Red Mountain.

- White Rock sees significant discovery potential, given the lack of modern day exploration at Red Mountain. This is further enhanced by the very nature of VMS clustering in camps, and the potentially large areas over which these can occur.

Notes:

1 Refer ASX Announcement dated 26 September 2017 "White Rock Minerals Independent Research Report"

2 ZnEq = Zinc equivalent grades are estimated using long-term broker consensus estimates compiled by RFC Ambrian as at 20 March 2017 adjusted for recoveries from historical metallurgical test work and calculated with the formula: ZnEq =100 x [(Zn% x 2,206.7 x 0.9) + (Pb% x 1,922 x 0.75) + (Cu% x 6,274 x 0.70) + (Ag g/t x (19.68/31.1035) x 0.70) + (Au g/t x (1,227/31.1035) x 0.80)] / (2,206.7 x 0.9).

White Rock is of the opinion that all elements included in the metal equivalent calculation have reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.

To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/7086KG12


About White Rock Minerals Ltd

White Rock Minerals Ltd

 White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) (OTCMKTS:WRMCF) is a diversified explorer and near-stage producer, headquartered in Ballarat, Victoria. The Company's flagship exploration project is Red Mountain in central Alaska. At Red Mountain, there are already two high grade zinc - silver - gold - lead VMS deposits, with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 9.1 million tonnes @ 609g/t AgEq / 13% ZnEq. The Company is also exploring its recently discovered large intrusion related gold anomaly at Last Chance, also located in the Tintina gold belt of Alaska, home to multi-million gold ounce deposits like Pogo, Fort Knox and the Donlin Project. The Company also has the Mt Carrington project, located near Drake, in Northern NSW, which is a near-production precious metals asset with a resource of 341,000 ounces of gold and 23.2 million ounces of silver on an approved mining lease, and with a Gold First PFS and JORC Reserve.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/white-rock-minerals-ltd/ abnnewswire.com 


Contact

Matthew Gill (Managing Director & CEO)
Phone: +61-3-5331-4644
E-mail: info@whiterockminerals.com.au

Shane Turner (Company Secretary)
Phone: +61-3-5331-4644
Website: www.whiterockminerals.com.au



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