TORONTO, Oct. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Idaho Champion Gold Mines Canada Inc. (CSE: ITKO) (“Champion” or the "Company"), a discovery-focused gold exploration company, is pleased to report on the initial batch of assay results from the Company’s Baner Project in Idaho.
Highlights:
- The initial batch of assay results represent the first five holes of the Company’s first drill campaign on the Baner property.
- Mineralization intersected at shallow depths
- Assay results for 13 remaining holes pending
- In June 2018, Champion commenced a 5,000-metre drill program
on the Baner property
President and CEO, Jonathan Buick stated: “We are pleased to see gold showings at shallow depths in the first batch of assay results. Champion’s first drill program on the Baner property was designed to test the IP survey anomalies coupled with the sample program which we completed in 2017.”
Table 1: ICG2018 Drill Program Holes 1 to 5 – Significant Intercepts
| Drill Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m)1 | Gold (Au) g/t | |
| ICG2018-1 | 16.5 | 23 | 6.50 | 0.54 | |
| 66 | 68 | 2.00 | 3.09 | ||
| 83 | 101 | 15.10 | 1.39 | ||
| 124 | 128 | 4.00 | 2.60 | ||
| 144.2 | 145 | 0.80 | 0.52 | ||
| 274 | 277 | 3.00 | 2.16 | ||
| ICG2018-2 | 151 | 158 | 7.00 | 0.69 | |
| 161.5 | 162.5 | 1.00 | 0.93 | ||
| ICG2018-3 | No Significant Values | ||||
| ICG2018-4 | 62.5 | 67.0 | 4.50 | 1.01 | |
| ICG2018-5 | 33 | 36 | 3.00 | 1.78 | |
1The intervals reported in these tables represent drill intercepts and insufficient data are available at this time to state the true thickness of the mineralized intervals. All gold values are uncut.
Figure 1 accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8dc78515-e9c0-4449-8f58-89daafec2b3f
Drilling strategy
The 2018 Baner Drill Program takes into consideration historical reports (Wagner), Premium soil sample & geophysical data, rock data collected by Idaho Champion Gold Mines in 2016 & 2017 along with surface geological mapping". Drill Hole ICG2018-1 located the Orogrande Shear Zone and holes ICG2018 2,3,4, & 5 located the shear zone south of the first drill hole. Gold mineralization is related to the shear zone and occurs as fine grained pyrite on fractures and in veins and along foliation of quartzite. A deep level of oxidation was observed in the drill holes.
Regional Description
The Baner Project is located within the Orogrande shear zone (OSZ), a 30 kilometer long and up to 3 kilometer wide regional shear zone located in Central Idaho. The Baner Claim block covers a series of parallel shear zones on the eastern margin of the OSZ. Significant oxidation and mineralization associated with the OSZ consists of quartz, sericite, & fine-grained pyrite. Mineralization includes disseminated low-grade precious metal mineralization in associated stockwork veins, hydraulic breccias; Plus high-grade gold associated with discreet structurally controlled quartz veins.
The Baner Project is in the central Idaho Gold Belt, 8 km south of the of Elk City, Idaho. Elk City is an historic gold mining region dating back to the 1860s and once supported more than 20 underground mines and extensive placer operations. During the 1930’s there were three cyanide mills along the Crooked River processing open pit and underground sulfide ore. Exploration in the district during the 1980’s and 1990’s included Cypress-Amax, Kinross Gold, Bema Gold focused primarily on near-surface bulk-tonnage gold potential targeting a Fort Knox type occurrence. Premium Exploration conducted extensive drilling, soil sampling, and airborne and surface geophysics in the 2010 era. Currently a Finnish gold producer, Endomines AB is developing the Friday Gold Project at Orogande into an underground gold operation.
QA/QC Program
Quality Assurance/Quality Control consists of the regular insertion of duplicates, blanks and certified reference standards into the sample stream. Check samples will be submitted to an umpire laboratory at the end of the drilling program. Samples are kept in a secure facility and transferred to American Analytical Services, Inc. in Osburn, Idaho in sealed containers on a weekly basis from the drill site by company contractors. Personnel handling core are using company approved protocols for all phases of core logging, sample delineation, sample layout, core cutting and storage.
American Analytical Services, Inc. is ISO 17025 certified.
American Analytical Services, Inc. has a standard operating procedure (SOP) for all aspects of sample drop off, drying and preparation, digestion, instrument analysis, quality control assurance and computerized data reporting.
Gold assays are determined by Fire Assay with a gravimetric finish using a 30 gram aliquot (1 Assay Ton). The detection limit for gold by FA/Grav is 0.10 g/t (100 ppb).
Idaho Champion as a part of the QA/QC protocol inserts a pre-pulverised 50g certified standard ranging in value from a low of 0.968 g/t , to 4.19 g/t and a high of 12.31 g/t. These are inserted by random grade into the sample stream at a rate of 1 standard every 20 samples. In addition a certified blank is inserted into the sample stream at a rate of 1 blank per 40 samples.
Assays are directly imported electronically from the American Analytical Services, Inc. certificate into Geosoft MX Deposit where QA/QC data are monitored for pass/fail.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Peter Karelse P.Geo., a consultant to the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Karelse has more than 30 years of experience in exploration and development. Field work at the Baner project site was supervised by Jim Baughman P.Geo.
ABOUT IDAHO CHAMPION
Idaho Champion is a discovery-focused gold exploration company that is committed to advancing its 100% owned highly prospective mineral properties located in Idaho, United States. The Company’s shares trade on the CSE under the trading symbol "ITKO".
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Jonathan Buick”
Jonathan Buick, President and CEO
For further information, please visit the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or the Company’s corporate website at www.idahochampion.com.
For further information please contact:
Nicholas Konkin, Marketing and Communications
Phone: (416) 477 7771ext 205,
email: nkonkin@idahochamp.com
THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF SECURITIES IN ANY STATE IN THE UNITED STATES IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
Cautionary Statements
This News Release includes certain “forward-looking statements” which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.