Vancouver, British Columbia / TheNewswire / February 28, 2017 - Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: HPY) (the "Company") is announcing a summary of exploration work completed in 2016 on its 100% owned Fox tungsten property, located northeast of 100 Mile House, in south central British Columbia, Canada.
Between May and October 12, 2016, the Company completed 2,330 metres of drilling in 28 holes, 79 metres of surface chip and channel sampling, 1.2 km of access trail construction between the BN and Ridley Creek zones, 61 contour soil samples between the BN and BK zones, and geological mapping with 23 rock samples collected for assay. A table of drill and trench results accompany this news release on the Company's website. Initial exploration and drill results were announced June 27, September 26, October 24, and October 31, 2016. New results presented here include additional soil, rock, trench and drill results with a view to the exploration potential for expanding the current resource as announced January 26, 2017. Drill and trench results are uncut, intervals presented are measured down-hole and true widths are estimated to be 75 to 95 percent of the interval. Tungsten assays are reported as percent WO3 (tungsten trioxide) as it is the compound for which prices are based, and is currently reported around US$21.0 per Kg WO3 while in 2012 it was around US$40.0 per Kg WO3. For reference, a grade of 0.8% WO3 contains 8.0 kg/tonne of WO3.
David Blann, P.Eng., President and CEO of Happy Creek states: "During 2016, we increased the Fox's contained tungsten by two and a half times while being among the highest grade in the industry, and a good portion occurs in a low-strip, surface-cut setting. The inferred resource at the BN zone with 1.89 percent WO3 is globally among the highest grade. In addition, new mineralized prospects found at surface are closing the gaps between the 708, BN, Ridley Creek and BK zones that span three kilometres, and the project is thought to hold great resource potential in the 10 km by 3 km mineral system. With less than one percent of North America's tungsten consumption mined here, the Fox is on track to be an important new development project with excellent grade, size potential and proximity to infrastructure. We look forward to advancing this project further in 2017."
Resources
On January 26th, 2017, the Company announced resources for the Ridley Creek and BN zones. Together, these zones now contain 486,000 tonnes grading 0.817% WO3 (Indicated) and 361,000 tonnes grading 1.568% WO3 (Inferred). For a portion of the Ridley Creek zone, there is 329,000 tonnes of 0.759% WO3 (Indicated) within a pit shell having a strip ratio of 3.3:1. These grades are thought to be comparable to the Cantung mine located in the Yukon/Northwest Territories, regarded as among the highest-grade deposits in the western world.
Exploration Results
Ridley Creek zone
In 2016, contour soil samples were collected at the southeast corner of the current Ridley Creek resource. In this area of the deposit, drill hole F11-2 contains 2.20 metres of 2.11% WO3 starting at 7.15 metres and the mineralized zone remains open in extent. The soils returned positive tungsten values (11-183 ppm W) along strike to the southeast that suggest the mineralized zone may continue near surface for 200 metres further in this direction. On the southwest edge of the current resource, drill hole F16-09 returned several mineralized intercepts including 3.0 metres of 0.52% WO3. Approximately 150 metres along strike to the north of the Ridley Creek resource, a chip sample from the bottom of a 20-metre thick calc-silicate cliff returned 1.5 metres of 3.44% WO3 and the mineralized zone is open in width. These results suggest there is good potential to expand the near-surface portion of the Ridley Creek resource in several directions.
BN zone
In 2016, drilling of nine holes at the BN zone together with those from 2012, have outlined an inferred resource of 254,000 tonnes grading 1.892% WO3. Drill holes F16-19 and F16-20 are the southern-most in this zone, and returned 6.0 metres of 0.56% WO3 starting at 31.0 metres, and 5.0 metres of 0.97% WO3 starting at 21.0 metres, respectively. These intercepts are closer to surface than the others further north. Approximately 150 metres south of these holes and at a lower elevation, large tabular shaped calc-silicate/skarn boulders were located at surface and are thought to be near where the zone will daylight to surface. At the north end of the BN resource, drill holes F16-22 returned 4.0 metres of 1.36% WO3 and F12-27 returned 4.1 metres of 1.78% WO3 at surface while the main resource layer intercept returned 14.8 metres of 4.0% WO3. Starting at 136.0 metres and not included in the current resource, F12-27 also returned 7.8 metres of 1.77% WO3 (along with 0.64% zinc, 3.0 g/t indium, 6.8 g/t silver and 151 g/t bismuth) and the three mineralized layers remain open in extent to the north. On a larger scale, positive tungsten in soil and outcrop located in 2016 occur in a 1.5 km long zone to the southwest of the drilling. The 708 prospect is an outcrop with 2.0 metres of 1.52% WO3 that is open in width. Much of the BN area is underexplored at surface. The BN target is situated near the contact between the favorable calc silicate host rock and the Deception stock, which is thought to be an ideal setting for high-grade tungsten skarn deposits to occur. Together, the results show excellent potential to expand the current BN resource.
BK zone
Trench sampling performed in 2016 has defined continuity at surface over a 20 metre strike length with 3.0 metres of 0.97% WO3, 6.0 metres of 0.66% WO3, and between these trenches, 3.4 metres of 3.42% WO3. The variation in grade of the trenches reflect a complexity to the mineralized zone. The mineralized zone was traced at surface for another 80 metres south with a moderate degree of certainty and chip samples across poorly exposed outcrop returned 2.0 metres of 0.66% WO3, and 0.60 metres of 0.38% WO3 which remain open in width. A grab sample containing 1.31% WO3 also occurs. Approximately 120 metres further south an outcrop containing 0.37% WO3 in a grab sample was collected and the favorable geology was mapped continuously south to the Ridley Creek zone.
Fifteen metres southwest of the BK trenches, drill holes F16-11 (vertical) and F16-12 (-60 degrees) are oriented to the southeast and cut 1.0 metres of 0.46% WO3 and 2.20 metres of 0.66% WO3, respectively, and both intervals start at 12.5 metres down hole. The mineralized zone in the trenches is continuous through these drill holes from surface, while the grade and thickness is lower. Seventeen metres west of the trenches, drill holes F16-14 (-45 degrees) and F16-15 (-65 degrees) are oriented to the northeast and returned 5.2 metres of 0.70% WO3 and 6.0 metres of 0.67% WO3, starting at 20.8 and 10.0 metres, respectively. The mineralized zone remains open in extent with encouraging grade and thickness. The down hole depths to the top of the zone as compared with the surface mineralized zone in the trenches suggest post-mineral folding occurred. Folding of the mineralized zone allows potential for it to extend at least 50 metres east of the trenches where angular boulders returned values of 1.12% WO3 and 4.65% WO3. Additional drilling and trenching of the BK zone is planned to further expand the known mineralized zone and determine its resource potential.
South Grid zone
The South Grid target is defined by positive tungsten in soil in an area 1.25 km by 500 metres in dimension and in early 2016, twenty grab samples collected from widespread outcrop and angular boulders returned positive tungsten values. Four samples contain from 1.75-5.89% WO3, five samples contain from 0.35-0.76% WO3 and five samples contain from 0.12-0.26% WO3. At the end of the 2016 drilling program, three drill holes were lost or abandoned at a shallow depth due to deep, sinking mud conditions. The drilling confirmed the favorable calc silicate zones are up to 16.0 metres in thickness, and dip 25 to 35 degrees southwest. Assays include 2.0 metres of 0.15% WO3 starting at 2.0 metres in F16-27 and the hole was lost at 19.6 metres. Drill hole F16-28 returned 1.5 metres of 0.13% WO3 starting at 26.5 metres and this hole was also abandoned. A machine trench cleared off an eight-metre-long and approximately 0.60 metres wide portion of surface outcrop and grab samples collected at two metre intervals returned 0.22 - 0.54% WO3. This zone remains open in extent along strike and width. The South Grid target is thought to be insufficiently tested and may be compared to exploration at the Ridley Creek zone, where drilling returned 2.0 metres of 0.124% WO3 that is located 100 metres from a drill hole containing 26.1 metres of 1.19% WO3. Additional drill testing of the large scale South Grid is planned.
Associated metals
In addition to tungsten, results continue to indicate values of zinc, indium, gold, silver and bismuth occur and the Company's previous metallurgical tests with flotation are encouraging for a separate concentrate as potential by-product credits. Drill hole F16-03 includes 3.4 metres with 2.19% WO3, 0.46% zinc, 3.0 ppm (parts per million or grams per tonne) indium, 129 ppb (parts per billion) gold and 456 ppm bismuth, and F16-17 includes 4.1 metres of 5.1% WO3, 1.04% zinc, 3.9 ppm indium, 97 ppb gold and 301 ppm bismuth. Elevated silver values were returned in drill hole F16-10 with 2.0 metres of 11.0 g/t silver, and F16-17 with 2.85 metres containing 0.21% WO3 and 100.0 g/t silver. The Company is monitoring and tracking the potential credits from by-products so that they may be included in a future resource estimate.
Plans
The Company is completing reports of work from 2016, updating the website and permits for an expanded program in 2017. Exploration on the Fox property continues to find new zones at surface, and drilling continues to expand mineralized zones with grades among the highest in the industry. The Company has received approval for additional Federal NSERC funding in 2017 to continue scientific studies conducted through the University of British Columbia. Plans for 2017 include further drilling to increase the size of the project resource base and perform various engineering and environmental studies with a view to potentially conducting a preliminary economic assessment.
The Company will be present at the PDAC in Toronto and have booth 2425 (b) on Tuesday March 7th and Wednesday March 8th at the Investors Exchange.
