Vancouver, B.C. March 23rd, 2021: Sun Summit Minerals Inc. (TSX-V: SMN; OTC: SMREF) (“Sun Summit” or the “Company”) provides an update on the Company’s current exploration drill program at its 100% controlled Buck Property, north-central British Columbia. Since mobilization of crews, Sun Summit has completed 10 drill holes for over 4,000 metres focused on investigating zones of high-grade and bulk-tonnage style gold mineralization. Drilling will continue to test these targets as well as other targets going forward.
Highlights
- Five out of 10 drill holes intersected zones of visible gold mineralization in a new and highly-prospective area between the Horseshoe and Trench zones.
- Metallic screen fire assay analyses of visible gold-bearing samples from discovery hole BK20-012 demonstrates a local increase in gold grade compared to traditional fire assay methods.
- Regional exploration targets within the 33,000-hectare land package are being refined and prioritised.
Bob Willis, Sun Summit’s CEO, stated, “Our current drill program at Buck is on track to achieve all three goals we initially set for the team. These goals are targeting high-grade gold mineralization peripheral to our discovery hole, testing newly identified chargeability anomalies, and investigating the strike extent of near-surface breccia-hosted mineralization.
“The fact that 50% of our drill holes so far have cut zones of visible gold mineralization attests to the significance of our discovery and the high-grade potential of the area between the Horseshoe and Trench zones. All holes have intersected mineralized zones similar to those that reported gold in earlier campaigns.
“Buck contains a large-scale system created by multiple mineralizing events that have deposited gold in several environments. It will take more drilling to fully explore Buck’s multiple gold zones, but we are very pleased with what we are seeing as work progresses. Furthermore, based on results from our metallic screen study, we are now systematically and selectively using the metallic screen method to fully evaluate the gold grade of these significant zones. We look forward to presenting assays from this drill phase.”
Drill Program
Sun Summit has now completed 10 diamond drill holes in the Company’s fully-funded 2021 program, previously announced on February 9th, 2021. Drill holes to date have tested areas peripheral to the high-grade intersections of the discovery hole BK20-012 (e.g., 17 metres of 5.86 grams per tonne (g/t) gold including 3 metres of 23.05 g/t gold, and 7.5 metres of 10.19 g/t gold; see the Company’s news release dated January 5th, 2021), as well as areas along strike and down-dip from the near-surface breccia hosted mineralization intersected in numerous holes in 2020 (e.g., BK20-006; 46 meters of 1.12 g/t gold equivalent (AuEQ); see the Company’s news release dated January 5th, 2021). Samples from the first four holes are in the analytical lab and results will be released once they are received, modelled, and interpreted.
Visible gold has been identified in five of the 10 holes drilled to date. Gold is associated with discrete sphalerite + pyrite + quartz + carbonate veins and also in sulfide cemented breccias (Figure 1). Vein- and breccia-controlled mineralization is hosted in pervasively silica and sericite altered volcaniclastic rocks and locally porphyritic dacitic intrusions. The presence of sub-millimetre to millimetre-scale visible gold in numerous drill holes covering a distance of at least 300 metres east-west, demonstrates the high-grade gold potential of the structurally complex hydrothermal system at Buck. Additional drilling is focusing on investigating the true orientation and thickness of this newly interpreted high-grade gold mineralized corridor.
Figure 1. Photos of key mineralization textures and sulfide assemblages. A. quartz + pyrite + gold vein cutting altered volcanics (BK-21-020 at 326m), B. sphalerite + carbonate + gold vein cutting altered dacitic intrusion (BK21-023 at 132.5m), C. sphalerite + pyrite + gold bearing breccia cement (BK21-017 @ 137.5m), and D. parallel sphalerite bearing veins cutting pervasively altered volcanics (BK21-021 at 147.5m). Abbreviations, py = pyrite, sph = sphalerite, cpy = chalcopyrite and carb = carbonate.
Metallic Screen Fire Assay
Results from the selective metallic screen study have been received. Sample C355022 reported an increase in grade from 49.6 g/t gold (Au) by traditional 30 gram fire assay (ALS Au-AA23 method) to 141 g/t Au by the metallic screen method (ALS Au-SCR21). The results suggest that metallic screen methods should be performed on drill core samples containing visible gold. These methods utilize a larger sample and a tailored preparation procedure to systematically capture native gold, thus providing a more robust estimate of gold grade. A summary of metallic screen results from all samples with logged visible gold is shown in Table 1. Sun Summit is using these data to modify its analytical workflow for all samples with logged visible gold or samples that return >5 g/t Au by traditional fire assay.
Table 1. Metallic screen fire assay data from BK20-012 intervals with visible gold
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Coarse reject material from drill hole BK20-012 was dispatched from the Yellowknife, NT-based ALS Global preparation facility to the ALS Global analytical laboratories in North Vancouver, BC, for metallic screen fire assay. There, a one kilogram sample was passed through a 100 micron screen (Tyler 150 mesh). Any +100 micron material was retained and analysed completely by fire assay with a gravimetric finish (+ fraction result in Table 1). The -100 micron fraction was homogenized, and two sub-samples are analyzed by fire assay with AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) finish (Au-AA25 and Au-AA25D). The average of the two AAS results is reported as the Au (-) fraction in Table 1. All three values are then used to calculate the combined gold content of the (+) and (-) fractions (Au total in Table 1).
Property-scale Exploration
Sun Summit is planning a significant regional exploration program to rigorously investigate existing gold-silver targets and to define new targets across the 33,000-hectare land position. Central to this land package is an approximately 24 kilometre long, northwest-trending, fault-bound belt of Late Cretaceous Kasalka Group volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, host to epithermal-related mineralization at Buck. Kasalka Group volcanic rocks also host bulk-tonnage epithermal-related mineralization at the Blackwater and Capoose Au-Ag development projects of Artemis Gold Inc. (Angen et al., 2018).
The Company is currently compiling all regional (e.g., geology, stream sediment and till geochemistry) and project-scale historic data (e.g., ground, and airborne geophysics, soil and rock geochemistry) to better define areas of interest in these prospective, yet under-explored rocks. Exploration plans for this summer will be released once budgets are set and targets are ranked and prioritized.
Community Engagement
Sun Summit is working to engage with First Nations whose territory includes the Buck Property, to discuss their interests and identify contract and work opportunities, as well as opportunities to support community initiatives. We look forward to continuing to work with local and regional First Nations as the project continues.
Buck Property
The recently expanded 33,000-hectare property, approximately 12 kilometres south of Houston, British Columbia, has excellent nearby infrastructure and allows for year-round road-accessible exploration.
National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure
This news release has been approved by Sun Summit’s CEO, Robert D. Willis, P. Eng. a “Qualified Person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has also verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical and test data, underlying the technical information in this news release.
Health and Safety
The Company’s exploration programs are being carried out in full compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal guidelines established in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Sun Summit has a rigorous infection prevention and control protocol in place to protect the health of employees and contractors, as well as surrounding communities in which the Company works.
About Sun Summit
Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (formerly San Marco Resources Inc.) is a Canadian mineral exploration company actively pursuing world class gold and silver projects with a focus in mining friendly jurisdictions.
The Company’s principal focus is the Buck Property in north-central British Columbia that has bulk-tonnage gold and silver potential. The property is located in a mining-friendly region that includes many formerly operating mines and current exploration projects.
Sun Summit is committed to environmental and social responsibility with a focus on responsible development to generate positive outcomes for all stakeholders.
Further details are available at www.sunsummitminerals.com
References
Angen, J.J., Hart, C.J.R., Kim, R.S., and Rahimi, M. (2018): Geology and Mineral Potential of the TREK Area, Northern Interior Plateau, Central British Columbia, Parts of 1:250,000 NTS Sheets 093B, C, F and G; Geoscience BC Report 2018-12, MDRU Publication 411.175 p.
Additional Figure
Buck Drill Hole Locations
For further information, contact:
Sharyn Alexander, M.Sc.
VP Technical Services
Nancy Curry
Corporate Communications
Tel. 778-588-9606
Forward Looking Information
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences, without limiting the generality of the following, include: risks inherent in exploration activities; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; the impact of exploration competition; the ability to raise funds through private or public equity financings; environmental and safety risks including increased regulatory burdens; unexpected geological or hydrological conditions; changes in government regulations and policies, including trade laws and policies; failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; weather and other natural phenomena; and other exploration, development, operating, financial market and regulatory risks. Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (SMN) disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
