ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR–(Marketwired – Sept. 20, 2016) – Altius Minerals Corporation (“Altius”) (TSX:ALS) is pleased to report the discovery of several new high grade gold occurrences in central Newfoundland on a property it refers to as the Wilding Lake Gold Project (“Project”). It also reports that it has completed an agreement to option the project to Northwest Arm Capital Inc. (“NWA”), a new TSX Venture Exchange listed Capital Pool Company. As consideration for the option of the Project, Altius will receive 4.5 million shares of NWA, and upon earn-in by NWA Altius will retain a 2% net smelter return royalty over the Project. Following completion of its Qualifying Transaction, NWA intends to seek shareholder approval to change its name to Antler Gold.
The Wilding Lake property hosts high grade gold mineralization within shear-related orogenic style quartz veins and quartz stockworks underneath shallow overburden in an area that has not previously been systematically explored for gold. The Project, totaling 688 claims and 17,200 hectares, is located immediately northeast of and adjacent to Marathon Gold Corporation’s Valentine Lake project [Mineral Resource of 1,060,100 oz. gold at 2.20 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 200,000 oz. gold at 2.85 g/t (Inferred), as of April 2015]. The land package covers more than 50 kilometres of strike length of the projected structure that is believed to control the regional gold mineralization (http://altiusminerals.com/uploads/WildingLakeLocationMap.jpg).
The initial Wilding Lake discovery was made by local Newfoundland prospectors Brian Jones and Gary Rowsell along a recently constructed logging road, where metre-scale angular quartz vein float containing coarse visible gold returned a maximum value of 74.8 g/t gold in initial grab samples. Follow up prospecting by Altius in 2016, subsequent to optioning the property from the prospectors earlier this year, has located additional areas of similar gold bearing float and recent initial trenching has successfully exposed gold bearing quartz veins in bedrock at the Alder Zone.
Mineralization at the Alder Zone occurs as coarse, free gold in association with chalcopyrite, rare scheelite and gold-silver telluride, in association with tourmaline bearing quartz veins. One hundred and seven cut channel samples collected to date from outcrop in trenches have yielded uncut gold values ranging up to 13.9 g/t over 4.0 m, 5.4 g/t over 3.6 m, and 49.3 g/t over 4.6 m (including 279 g/t gold over 0.9 m). Additional and infill channel sampling assay results are pending.
Several additional gold occurrences in outcrop and float have also been discovered by reconnaissance prospecting along trend up to 3.5 km away from the Alder Zone. Additionally, the newly discovered Birch Zone, located 450 metres south of Alder, has returned gold values of up to 36.4 g/t in grab samples and up to 5.5 g/t over 1.0 m in preliminary channel samples.
Also, two initial grab samples from a recently exposed pyrite-bearing shear zone occurrence named Jigger, located 15.2 km to the northeast, have returned results of 8.4 and 19.7 g/t gold in grab samples. (http://altiusminerals.com/uploads/WildingLakeLocationMap.jpg).
Work to date on the Wilding Project remains early stage in nature and has only included prospecting near roads, limited soil sampling, trenching of the immediate Alder Zone, and a preliminary structural interpretation of the gold mineralization.
A program for continued exploration will be conducted throughout the autumn and will involve more detailed trenching and channel sampling, systematic prospecting and mapping, soil sampling, structural analysis and other work required for design of an initial drilling program. Altius will be the operator of this work program. As well, an independent NI 43-101 technical report is currently being prepared and is anticipated to be delivered by late September in support of NWA’s Qualifying Transaction.
Quality Control
Grab sample results are not necessarily indicative of a property’s potential. The mineralized zone width is reported as ‘apparent’ since drilling is ultimately required to enable true width determination. Assays are uncut. All samples were collected by Altius personnel on site, sealed in bags and kept in a secure facility before being shipped to the ALS Minerals laboratory in Sudbury, Ontario. Gold was analyzed by 50 g fire assay with ICP-AES or gravimetric finish for assays greater than 10 g/t gold. Exploration program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results is performed by qualified persons employing a QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices; note that blind standards and blanks were not employed in this initial assessment. Duplicate samples have been submitted for check analyses.
Lawrence Winter, Ph.D., P.Geo., Vice‐President of Exploration for Altius, is the qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 guidelines responsible for the technical data presented herein and has reviewed and approved this release.
Further information is available at: http://altiusminerals.com/projects/wilding
About Altius
Altius diversified royalties and streams generate revenue from 14 operating mines located throughout Canada and, more recently, Brazil, from copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, precious metals, potash and thermal (electrical) and metallurgical coal. The portfolio also includes numerous pre-development stage royalties covering a wide spectrum of mineral commodities and jurisdictions. Altius also has a broad portfolio of precious and base metals exploration projects in North America, Europe and South America and is dedicated to attracting partners to these projects for the purpose of advancing them towards discovery and development, consistent with its proven project generation business model.
Altius has 43,373,854 shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada’s Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining Indices.
Chad Wells
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