VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/19/09 -- TintinaGold Resources Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: TAU) (formerly Mantra Mining Inc.) is pleased to announce that it has received its final results for its 2009 work programs on its exploration properties in Alaska, provided for each project below.
COLORADO CREEK PROPERTY
The Company completed its 2009 drilling program at its Colorado Creek property with 2,547 meters drilled in 12 core holes. The program was designed to test part of a multi-kilometer long area of elevated gold in soil and rock samples. The area of this gold geochemical anomaly is the source area for the Colorado Creek and Cripple Creek placer deposits, estimated to have produced more than 250,000 ounces of gold and still producing. Reconnaissance soil sampling in 2009 extended the gold-in-soil anomaly to a length of 8 kilometers with a width of up to 2.5 kilometers with portions of the anomaly still remaining open. The property lies in the Tintina Gold Belt in interior Alaska and has geologic, geophysical and geochemical characteristics similar to the 30 million ounce gold reserve at the Donlin Creek deposit under development by NovaGold and Barrick.
Results from the company's 2009 core drilling program confirm that gold mineralization persists across significant thicknesses and lateral extent. All drill holes at Porphyry Knob have thick intersections grading between 0.5 and 1 grams Au/tonne as disseminated sulfide and quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite veining. Mineralization occurs in a greater than 100 meter thick rhyodacite quartz porphyry sill and in surrounding andesite and siltstone host rocks throughout an area measuring more than 275 meters by 350 meters (approximately 900 feet by 1150 feet) and open along strike and down dip. Gold content increases southward and mineralization remains open for expansion to the south, southwest, west and southeast (see attached Maps A1, A2, and A3, or visit the Company's website at www.tintinagold.com for a map of the distribution of these drill holes).
Further east and across a northwest trending southwest dipping fault in Eldorado Creek, drilling encountered some areas of altered and mineralized rock, including quartz-arsenopyrite veining, in a flat-lying complex of interlayered rhyodacite, diorite, and gabbro within hornfelsed siltite and graywacke. In this area, only hole 19 returned a significant intersection, 6.28 meters grading 1.15 grams Au/tonne. Surface soil and rock sample results indicate good mineralization further north and east beyond the drilled area.
In the drilling to date, oxidation is pervasive down to approximately 75 meters (approximately 225 feet), but can occur intermittently throughout the entire drilled thickness. Some oxidized veins show visible gold and visible gold is apparent in drill cuttings and in core saw sludge. Bottle roll tests show preliminary Au recoveries from cyanide leaching of greater than 93%.
Reconnaissance soil sampling in 2009 extended the gold-in-soil anomaly to a length of 8 kilometers with a width of up to 2.5 kilometers and portions of the anomaly still remain open. Core samples were split in half and one half was sent to an ALS Chemex facility in Fairbanks, Alaska for preparation into pulps for analysis. Au analyses were done by the ALS Chemex Au-AA23 method which consists of fire assay and an atomic absorption finish.
A complete list of composite gold analyses for the first three holes previously announced is shown below:
Hole Hole DDH09-012 Total Depth 206.0 meters
From (m) To (m) Length (m) g Au/Tonne
Has 46.0 144.4 98.4 0.57
With 62.0 84.0 22.0 1.01
And contains 80.0 84.0 4.0 2.21
And contains 143.2 144.4 1.3 6.62
And has 182.0 184.0 2.0 3.53
Hole Hole DDH09-013 Total Depth 353.9 meters
From (m) To (m) Length (m) g Au/Tonne
Has 45.3 80.0 34.7 0.55
And has 279.0 302.2 23.2 0.66
And contains 296.0 299.3 3.3 1.65
Hole Hole DDH09-014 Total Depth 221.0 meters
From (m) To (m) Length (m) g Au/Tonne
Has 49.0 160.0 111.0 0.64
Which contains 49.0 73.0 24.0 1.15
With 59.0 61.0 2.0 6.38
And contains 122.0 136.0 14.0 1.44
With 122.0 124.3 2.3 7.28
And contains 150.0 160.0 10.0 1.29
Further, the results of significance from the six remaining holes are
provided below:
Hole Hole DDH09-015 Total Depth 271.9 meters
From (m) To (m) Length (m) g Au/Tonne
Has 34.5 162.8 128.3 0.60
Which contains 38.5 83.3 44.8 1.01
With 75.2 79.3 4.0 4.09
And has 195.4 218.2 22.9 0.58
Which contains 195.4 201.0 5.6 1.18
And has 232.4 241.8 9.4 0.52
Which contains 217.0 218.2 1.2 1.59
And contains 232.4 233.5 1.1 1.14
Hole Hole DDH09-019 Total Depth 204.5 meters
From (m) To (m) Length (m) g Au/Tonne
Has 43.5 49.8 6.3 1.15
With 49.2 49.8 0.6 5.62
Please see attached Map - A1 for drill hole locations. Drill hole intersections approximately represent true thickness to the best of our knowledge.
These results show that the Colorado Creek property hosts a large scale gold system with significant concentrations of gold in and proximal to felsic intrusions. Colorado Creek shows many geologic similarities with the 30 Million ounce gold reserve at the Donlin Creek deposit in the southwestern portion of the Tintina Gold Belt, where porphyry dike and sill complexes intrude Cretaceous age shales and siltstones. The property, geology and option agreement are described in more detail in a recently completed National Instrument 43-101 report (see the Company's website or the Company's profile at www.sedar.com for a link to the full report).
KUGRUK PROPERTY
The Kugruk property is located in Western Alaska on the northern Seward Peninsula and consists of 176,640 acres of Alaska state claims and 640 acres of leased Alaska state claims. The property is 100% owned by TintinaGold. The very large scale targets developed to date on the Kugruk property show excellent potential for the discovery of large copper-gold porphyry, IOCG and replacement style deposits.
Historic shallow drilling in the 1970's encountered a massive magnetite-chalcopyrite calc-silicate assemblage along the east margin of the Kugruk granitic intrusive complex, where it intrudes Paleozoic meta-sediments (see attached Map - B1). A small amount of drill core left on site returned copper assays as high as 0.9% within massive magnetite and calc-silicate rock. This core came from holes drilled along a small portion of the 14-kilometer long Kugruk Magnetic Belt which flanks the east margin of the Kugruk pluton. It is speculated by geologic inference that the entire belt may contain additional Fe-Cu mineralization. Further east are scattered high grade silver-lead-zinc occurrences including the Independence mine. Extensive reconnaissance soil sampling across the 52 kilometer by 17 kilometer area of the property shows that glacial loess cover masks the bedrock geology and geochemistry in the lower elevations, and that only the tops of the low hills in the area produce a reliable bedrock-generated soil geochemical response. Two areas where sampling was effective identified targets on Kugruk Mountain (see attached Map - B1), and in the southern part of the property in the Knowles Creek area (see attached Map - B2).
Exploration activities in 2009 included an orientation ground geophysical survey carried out by Zonge Engineering to investigate three of the many strong magnetic anomalies and low resistivity anomalies outlined in a Fugro 2006 airborne magnetic and EM survey. The survey consisted of 16.4 line kilometers of 100 meter dipole-dipole Induced Polarity and resistivity, and 11 gravity profiles. Work focused on three distinct areas: 1) a three kilometer segment of the northern Kugruk magnetic belt; 2) a three kilometer non-magnetic airborne low resistivity anomaly on the south slope of Kugruk Mountain (see attached Map - B1); and 3) a five kilometer non-magnetic airborne low resistivity anomaly, coincident with a copper-in-soil anomaly, near Knowles Creek in the southern part of the property (see attached Map - B2). In all cases, the survey confirmed the low resistivity response shown in the airborne survey, and showed a coincident and unusually high IP response. The scale of the geophysical response in all cases was larger than the size of the survey - additional work is planned in the future. In addition, the magnetic high in the northern Kugruk Magnetic Belt also showed an extremely high gravity response indicating a large massive body.
The results of this orientation geophysical survey strongly indicate widespread concentrations of metallic minerals in the subsurface of the Kugruk property, some of which are coincident with copper mineralization known from soil sampling and from very limited historic shallow surface drilling. The targets developed to date indicate the potential for large scale metal deposits and define several excellent targets for drill testing for large copper-iron-gold porphyry, IOCG and replacement deposits.
BAIRD PROPERTY
The Baird property is located in the Baird Mountains of northwest Alaska and consists of 80,560 acres of 100% owned Alaska state claims, and the 9,600 acre Omar claim block where TintinaGold is earning a 60% joint venture interest from Teck. The property lies 100 kilometers southeast of Red Dog, the world's second largest zinc producing mine. Work by NovaGold and TintinaGold to date includes collecting 3,826 soil, rock, talus fine, and stream silt samples and has identified four large copper-zinc mineralized areas ranging from 4 to 10 kilometers in length which contain multi-percent-level copper and zinc mineralization hosted by Paleozoic carbonate. At Omar, an historic drill program conducted by Bear Creek Mining Co. in the 1960's intersected 6.1 meters of 9.6% copper in one hole, and 36.6 meters grading 3.2% copper in another within a 4.3 kilometer long area of anomalous Cu and Zn. The Deadfall prospect lies within a 4 kilometer belt of strongly anomalous Zn and Pb where channel samples returned 36 meters grading 6% zinc and 21.7 grams silver per tonne. At Frost, a 4.3 kilometer belt of strongly anomalous Zn and Cu in soils is coincident with widely extensive silica-barite rock with strong copper and zinc mineralization occurring in both stratabound and cross cutting structural zones. The fourth area, Peak, consists of an extensive 10 kilometer long trend of Zn, Pb, and Ba geochemical anomalies with locally anomalous Cu. Reconnaissance rock sampling in 2009 focused on the Capital Hill area at the southeast end of this trend. This work located scattered gossan float trains and lenses in carbonate containing as much as 1% Zn, 0.5% Pb, and 500 ppm Cu; and silica-barite veins in carbonate with as much as 5.3% Zn. All this material is oxidized further evaluation requires additional sampling, mapping, and ultimately drilling will require further sampling and mapping.
These exceptionally large metal anomalies are hosted in Paleozoic carbonates, and Re-Os dating of Cu mineralization at Omar by the U.S.G.S. shows an early Devonian age of mineralization demonstrating that the Baird occurrences are part of the same regional metallization event that produced the nearby Red Dog zinc deposit, the Ruby Creek copper deposit, and the Ambler Cu-Zn deposit. TintinaGold's geologists believe that the Baird property represents an excellent district-scale target in which to locate a giant Cu-Zn deposit.
OMILAK PROPERTY
The Omilak property consists of 19,680 acres of 100% owned Alaska state claims in the eastern Seward Peninsula. TintinaGold's 2009 work included soil sampling across mineralized trends and rock sampling across the claim block. The claims cover an area including the historic Omilak lead-zinc-silver mine which was active during the late 19th century and produced high grade direct shipping silver ore. One report from 1889 records 142 ounces per ton silver and 75% lead in the 41 tons shipped. The Omilak East and the Foster prospects lie 4 to 6 kilometers east of Omilak and show argentiferous galena and sphalerite replacement mineralization focused on both structural and stratigraphic controls. At Omilak East, part of which is controlled by a third party, gossan float occurrences extend for over five kilometers along strike. 2009 sample results confirm the continuation of the zone along at least four kilometers of strike length, and the composite thickness of the zones reaches approximately one kilometer. At the nearby Foster prospect, a 1953 work program by the U.S. Bureau of Mines encountered values reaching 30 ounce Ag per ton in pit, trench, and float sampling, and recovered samples reaching 10 ounces per ton Ag in their shallow drill testing of the oxidized occurrence.
These silver-rich carbonate replacement deposits lie near a large granitic pluton northeast of the property which presumably provided the mineralizing fluids which invaded the Paleozoic carbonates. The property offers Mantra an excellent opportunity for discovery of a large high grade, silver rich polymetallic deposit.
Jerry Zieg, Vice President Exploration for the Company, is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the information of a scientific or technical nature contained in this news release.
The information in this press release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, plans for and intentions with respect to the Company's properties, statements regarding intentions with respect to obligations due for various projects, strategic alternatives, quantity of resources or reserves, timing of permitting, construction and production and other milestones, future operating or financial performance including production, rates of return, recoveries, cash costs and capital costs are forward-looking statements. Statements concerning Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are also forward-looking statements in that they reflect an assessment, based on certain assumptions, of the mineralization that would be encountered and mining results if the project were developed and mined in the manner described. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests and the estimation of reserves and resources; the need for cooperation of government agencies and native groups in the development and operation of properties; the need to obtain permits and governmental approvals; risks of construction and mining projects such as accidents, equipment breakdowns, bad weather, non-compliance with environmental and permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological structures, ore grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost increases; fluctuations in metal prices and currency exchange rates, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, and the Company's annual report s and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. Mantra's forward looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of management on the date the statements are made. Mantra assumes no obligation to update the forward looking statements if management's beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors should they change.
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.
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