Wheaton Creek Property
WHEATON CREEK GOLD PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE 4.9 GPT GOLD DRILL INTERCEPT OVER 3.05 METRES, HIGHLY ANOMALOUS GOLD SOIL VALUES
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019
For Immediate Release. Vancouver, British Columbia, September 16, 2019. David H. Brett, President and CEO, Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. (TSX Venture: PBM, “Pacific Bay” or the “Company”) reports that a review of historical exploration data at the Company’s 100% owned Wheaton Creek Gold Property south of the Turnagain River near Dease Lake in northern BC (formerly called the Boulder Property), has highlighted a number of significant and encouraging findings, including a 1986 drill hole (DDH 86-1) that cut 4.9 gpt gold over 3.05 metres. Additional drilling is warranted over a 1.5 kilometre zone prospective for both high grade and low grade bulk tonnage gold mineralization.
The Wheaton Creek Gold Property comprises 2,850 hectares of mineral claims underlying the Boulder Gold Placer operation along Wheaton Creek (the “Property”). BC’s largest existing gold nugget, the 52 Troy Ounce Alice Shea Nugget, was found in 1937 less than 2 km upstream of the Property, along the Wheaton Creek drainage. Based on analysis of the gold grains found in the mined placer gold, previous geologists working on the Property have concluded that the source of the gold is originating in the underlying bedrock within the Wheaton Creek drainage system. To date, the source of the local placer gold has yet to be discovered. The gold mineralization is thought to be related to a transitional epithermal gold system.
Work carried out by Supreme Resources Ltd. in 1986 outlined highly annomlalous soil geochemistry, with values ranging up to 32,300 ppb Au. Trenching of the most anomalous areas resulted in bedrock assays up to 11.25 gpt Au. Supreme Resources completed three holes to test the soil anomalies and trenching results. Hole 86-1 encoutered the above reported 4.9 gpt Au over 3.05m as well as intercepts of 1.71 gpt Au & 3.14 gpt Au over 2.43 m.
The style of mineralization is described as very similar to the Mother Lode model in California, characterized by enechelon quartz veins, silica-ankerite alteration zones and ultrabasic intrusions. Quartz mariposite outcrops on the Property have been found to be gold bearing, but with the limted prospecting and geological work so far, targets have yet to be determined. The best gold values in the drilling to date have been associated with highly silicified, quartz calcite breccias containing moderate to strong sulphide content. Two holes drilled in 2007 by Jedway Enterprises Ltd. as well as one hole drilled by Pacific Bay Minerals in 2015 encountered interesting zones with no significant gold values.
A series of major northwest by southeast fault structures transect the property within some highly prospective geological terrain. To date, less than 1,500 metres of drilling has been carried out at the Property, with very limited follow up from the historic results, within the productive placer operations. The Company believes that significant further exploration is warranted and intends to design and fund an aggressive program for the 2020 season.
“The highly under explored Wheaton Creek Gold Property represents an excellent opportunity for Pacific Bay make new gold discoveries ” said Pacific Bay CEO David Brett. “Situated in a famous placer gold camp, the Wheaton Creek Property is an exciting opportunity to leverage the Company’s gold assets at a time when gold prices have been rising.”
The technical disclosures in this news release were reviewed and approved by David Bridge, P.Geo., a Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd.
Per/
David H. Brett, MBA
President & CEO
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.
