Vancouver, British Columbia / TheNewswire / AFRICAN QUEEN MINES LTD. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it is now in final preparation for its 2017 core drilling program at the Yellowjacket Gold Project located 9 km east of Atlin, BC. After reviewing several prospective zones on its tenures, the company has prioritized the Gold Run prospect for initial drilling this season. Gold Run is the term given to the historic gold placer mining area located to the east of the Company's Yellowjacket mine site along Pine Creek. The Gold Run area was central to the historic gold rush in Atlin which began in 1898 and resulted in the creation of the mining boom town of Discovery during its heyday in the early 1900's.
Earlier this season, one of the leading placer mining operators in the Atlin District made a significant new discovery at Gold Run of an apparently virgin paleo channel of the original creek which had been overlooked by previous miners. The placer gravels have now become the site of a sizeable, mechanized placer mining operation on ground which overlays the Company's hard rock mineral claims in the area. Our geological model for the Atlin District suggests a strong likelihood that structural faults in the bedrock below and in the vicinity of the ancient creek channel may be conduits for gold-bearing solutions. Gold Run lies along the well-developed Pine Creek Fault, a major structure known to host high grade gold mineralization at the Yellowjacket Mine. Accordingly, the Company is planning to test the prospective fault structures in our upcoming drill program with a number of drill holes along an initial one km strike.
The Company now controls 51 mineral claims, 3 placer claims and one placer lease covering an aggregate of 291.54 km2 of strategic ground in the historically significant placer mining areas associated with many of the major creeks in the Atlin District. The permitted Yellowjacket Gold Mine is included within these tenures. The preponderance of its tenures is comprised of mineral claims covering structural trends within lithologies favourable for hosting hard rock gold deposits. Further details of the upcoming drill program will be announced upon commencement of drilling.
Linda Dandy, P.Geo., a Qualified Person within the meaning of N.I. 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical portions of this News Release. Ms. Dandy is providing on site supervision and guidance at the Project. She previously oversaw exploration activities on the Project for the Company in 2016 as well as for a predecessor operator. Overall project leadership at Yellowjacket is being provided by Dr. Reinhard Ramdohr, who also was on site in 2016 and is present on site at this time.
About African Queen
The Company is an exploratory resource company engaged in exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada and Africa. It is presently focusing on development of its Yellowjacket Gold Project in Atlin, British Columbia, which covers an aggregate of approximately 291.54 km2. The Company has its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, on April 30, 2008, and received certain southern African assets in a spin off transaction related to the acquisition of Pan African Mining Corp. by Asia Thai Mining Co., Ltd.
