White Gold Encounters High Grade Surface Results of up to 29.1 g/t Gold at JP Ross, Drilling Underway on Newly Defined Targets


TORONTO, Aug. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- White Gold Corp. (TSX.V: WGO, OTC – Nasdaq Intl: WHGOF, FRA: 29W) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that high-grade gold mineralization has been encountered near surface on the Vertigo Trend located on the JP Ross property within a similar geological setting to the nearby Golden Saddle deposit on the Company’s White Gold property. The mineralization was encountered using the innovative GT Probe which is used in place of traditional trenching. The sample results support the modeling developed by the Company through soil sampling, Lidar and IP-Resistivity testing which identified at least 3 zones of potential mineralization. Rotary-Air-Blast (RAB) drilling has commenced to test the newly discovered gold targets. Images to accompany this news release can be found at http://whitegoldcorp.ca/investors/exploration-highlights/.

Highlights Include:

  • GT Probe sampling yielded results ranging from trace to 29.1 g/t Au, including samples returning 6.5g/t Au, 3.4 g/t Au and 3.3 g/t Au within 2m of surface on previously untested structures.

  • 11 samples returning grades of above 1 g/t Au, with anomalous samples clustered in multi-station hits, up to 45m in width defining three zones of mineralization ranging from 100m to 300m of defined strike length.

  • Rock samples from the Vertigo Trend are hosted in felsic gneiss and are strongly elevated in Ag-Pb-Bi (+/-As-Te), and occur along a W-NW structural trend traceable for over 6km in strike length and is in a similar geologic setting to the Company’s Golden Saddle Deposit, 30km to the south.

  • Follow-up drilling is underway with the first holes focused on confirming the continuity of the mineralization at depth and along trend.

  • Results expand on historic work(1) performed in the area including trench results of 4.28 g/t Au over 5m within a broader sampling range of up to 1.05 g/t Au over 45m, and a historic drill hole which intersected 17.9 g/t Au over 1 m.

“The results from the Vertigo are very exciting, confirming near surface high-grade gold mineralization in locations consistent with our model and the presence of multiple parallel mineralized zones on the JP Ross property. We immediately put a drill on the target to confirm that the mineralization continues at depth and we look forward to receiving these drill assays”, stated Jodie Gibson, VP Exploration of the Company.  “These new high-grade gold targets identified at Vertigo are a result of our systematic exploration method that emphasises the efficient collection of cost-effective exploration data that begins with regional soil sampling, followed by GT Probe and IP-resistivity surveys and finally drilling.”

GT Probe Results
The GT Probe is a track mounted device designed to drive a cased hole through the soil profile to the bedrock interface. Samples were collected from the final 30cm of the hole and analyzed for gold and other pathfinder elements. The depth of each hole to bedrock was up to 2m. Holes were located on 5m intervals on lines designed to cut across defined soil anomalies. The GT Probe is used as a cost-effective intermediate step between soil sampling and drilling, providing similar data to traditional trenching but with minimal environment impact.

A total of four GT Probe lines were placed on the Vertigo Trend returning results ranging from trace to 29.1 g/t Au. All lines returned zones anomalous results (>0.1 g/t Au) with 11 samples returning values >1 g/t Au (up to 29.1 g/t Au). The anomalous samples were clustered in multi-station hits, up to 45m in width, and define three W-NW trending zones of mineralization across the Vertigo target ranging from 100 – 300m defined strike length. A fourth GT Probe line, located approximately 390m NW of the defined zones, returned an additional 45m zone of anomalous mineralization with individual, 5m spaced, samples ranging from 0.9 – 3.25 g/t Au and may represent a fourth zone of mineralization in the area.

Highlights of results from GT Probe testing on the Vertigo target are outlined below:

Probe LineAu (g/t)
JPR18GTP-0111.145
JPR18GTP-0111.052
JPR18GTP-0111.795
JPR18GTP-01129.14
JPR18GTP-011*1.769
JPR18GTP-011*3.351
JPR18GTP-012*2.152
JPR18GTP-012*1.123
JPR18GTP-012*0.346
JPR18GTP-012*6.47
JPR18GTP-013*3.253
JPR18GTP-013*2.131
JPR18GTP-013*0.826

*Represent consecutive samples at 5m spacing.

The GT Probe has been remobilized to site to test additional soil anomalies in the Vertigo area to expand the strike length of known zones and evaluate for additional trends of mineralization.

Geology of the Vertigo Trend
The mineralization observed at Vertigo is associated with strongly elevated Ag-Pb-Bi (+/-As-Te) and consists of NW-W oriented, steeply dipping, zones of strong alteration, brecciation, quartz veining and oxidized sulfide mineralization within a felsic gneiss unit. Previous work in the area favoured a model where mineralization was interpreted as trending north-south, however, new data collected in 2018 by White Gold that includes GT Probe, Lidar and IP-Resistivity surveys, has identified at least 3 zones that appear to trend W-NW instead of the previously interpreted north-south trend. The Vertigo occurs along a W-NW structural trend traceable for over 6km in strike length and is in a similar geologic setting to the Company’s Golden Saddle Deposit, 30km to the south.

The JP Ross Property
The JP Ross property is comprised of 2,251 quartz claims covering over 46,000 hectares of exploration ground which currently has at least 14 known anomalous trends including the Vertigo, and numerous placer gold bearing creeks. The property is located 30km north of the Company’s flagship White Gold property which has a mineral resource of 960,970 ounces Indicated at 2.43 g/t gold and 262,220 ounces Inferred at 1.70 g/t gold. Historic exploration performed on the property by Underworld Resources and Kinross Gold includes geochemical surveys, trenching, airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, and 8,592 metres of diamond drilling over 64 holes. 14 target areas are currently known and large portions of the property are unexplored. Key areas identified as priorities in 2018 include the Vertigo, Rebecca and Sabotage Trends.  Historic work(1) on the Vertigo target included trench results of 4.28 g/t Au over 5m within a broader sampling range of up to 1.05 g/t Au over 45m, and a historic drill hole which intersected 17.9 g/t Au over 1m.

   (1)  Reported in Yukon Assessment Report #096205

About White Gold Corp.
The Company owns a portfolio of 19,606 quartz claims across 30 properties covering over 390,000 hectares representing approximately 40% of the Yukon’s White Gold District. The Company’s flagship White Gold property has a mineral resource of 960,970 ounces Indicated at 2.43 g/t gold and 262,220 ounces Inferred at 1.70 g/t gold as set forth in the technical report entitled “Independent Technical Report for the White Gold Project, Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada”, dated March 5, 2018, filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR. Mineralization on the Golden Saddle and Arc is also known to extend beyond the limits of the current resource estimate. Geologic models in this area conceptually include an estimated seven million to 10 million tonnes grading between one g/t to 1.5 g/t gold.  Regional exploration work has also produced several other prospective targets on the Company’s claim packages which border sizable gold discoveries including the Coffee project owned by Goldcorp Inc. (disclosed M&I gold resource of 4.1M oz) and Western Copper and Gold Corporation’s Casino project (disclosed P&P gold reserves of 8.9M oz Au and 4.5B lb Cu). The Company has outlined an aggressive exploration plan to further explore its properties. For more information visit www.whitegoldcorp.ca.

QA/QC
The analytical work for the 2018 program has been performed by Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd., an internationally recognized analytical services provider, at its Vancouver, British Columbia laboratory.  Sample preparation was carried out at its Whitehorse, Yukon facility. All GT Probe, RAB, RC, and diamond core samples were prepared using procedure PRP70-250 (crush, split and pulverize 250 g to 200 mesh) and analyzed by method FA430 (30g fire assay with AAS finish) and AQ200 (0.5g, aqua regia digestion and ICP-MS analysis). Samples containing >10g/t Au were reanalyzed using method FA530 (30g Fire Assay with gravimetric finish). Metallic-screen analysis may also be utilized if coarse gold mineralization is encounter (FS600).

The work was completed using industry standard procedures, including a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program consisting of the regular insertion of certified standards and blanks into the sample stream. The qualified person detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data.

Qualified Person
Jodie Gibson, P.Geo. and Vice President of Exploration for the Company is a “qualified person” as defined under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release. 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", “proposed”, "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the anticipated benefits to the Company and its shareholders respecting the Company’s objectives, goals and exploration activities conducted and proposed to be conducted at the White Gold properties; future growth potential of the Company, including whether any mineral resource will be established in accordance with NI 43-101 at any of the Company’s properties; exploration results; and future exploration plans.

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the expected benefits to the Company relating to the exploration conducted and proposed to be conducted at the White Gold properties; failure to expand or identify any additional mineral resources; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on the White Gold properties and the Company’s other properties; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); the unlikelihood that properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; soil sampling results being preliminary in nature and are not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit; title to properties; and those factors described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company’s most recently filed management’s discussion and analysis. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange”) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Contact Information:
David D’Onofrio
Chief Executive Officer
White Gold Corp.
(416) 643-3880
ddonofrio@whitegoldcorp.ca