Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 3, 2017) - Midnight Sun Mining Corp. (TSXV: MMA) (the "Company" or "Midnight Sun") is pleased to announce the commencement of drilling on the Mitu copper-cobalt discovery on the Company's optioned Solwezi properties. The Company has contracted Blu Rock Mining Services Ltd. to conduct a diamond drilling program intended to further expand and define the extent of the previously announced ore-shale type copper-cobalt discovery (see news release dated January 12, 2017).
A geophysical survey on Mitu, including 37 line-kilometers of natural source audio magneto tellurics ("NSAMT") conducted by the Company, indicates a very large 'banana' shaped anomaly running south of the initial discovery area on the western flank of the Solwezi Dome. This favourable contact zone along the western flank of the Solwezi Dome extends for over 17 kilometers on the Company's optioned properties.
Midnight Sun is currently conducting air core drilling to confirm the presence of the ore-shale unit closest to surface as indicated by the NSAMT survey. To date, this shallow drilling (approximately 60 meters in depth) supports the NSAMT interpretation which indicates the ore-shale potentially continuing along the full 17 km contact zone. The goal of the diamond drilling is to test the dip extent of the ore-shale, which is estimated by the NSAMT survey to be 3 to 4 kilometers at a 20 degree angle from surface.
NSAMT surveys are used extensively in the Zambia/Congo Copperbelt with known efficacy in identifying the blanket style deposition of ore-shale mineralization. Ore-shale mineralization is the dominant form of copper-cobalt deposition in the Zambia/Congo Copperbelt, the largest single copper-cobalt production area in the world. Mineralization is associated with shale units which form chemical and physical 'traps' for base metals at or near the contact between the Upper and Lower Roan units.
The sedimentary nature of these ore-shale deposits lends themselves to the potential for both high grade as well as very large tonnage. Examples of this type of deposition in Zambia include the Sentinel mine, owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum"), which has a measured and indicated resource of over one billion tonnes of copper1, and the Nkana copper-cobalt mine, jointly owned by Glencore International AG, First Quantum, and ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc, which has been in production since 1932 and still contains a measured and indicated resource of 211,300,000 tonnes of copper and cobalt.2
"We are at a transformative time for the Company" said Robert Sibthorpe, President "This drill program at the Mitu area should give us the big picture - whether Mitu has the strike and dip extent to potentially develop into a world-class deposit."
While Mitu is the most advanced of the Company's Solwezi property targets, the earlier stage Dumbwa and 22 Zone areas remain highly prospective.
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1 First Quantum website. Available at http://www.first-quantum.com/Our-Business/Development-Projects/Trident/Sentinel/Reserves-and-Resources/default.aspx
2 Glencore Resources and Reserves as at 31 December 2016. Available at http://www.glencore.com/investors/reports-and-results/reserves-and-resources/
Qualified Person: Richard Mazur, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical data and contents of this release. Mr. Mazur is a Director of the Company and, as such, is not independent.
