ATAC continues to expand Rau discoveries

ATAC Resources Ltd. July 16 said initial results from this year's exploration at Rau continues to expand the mineral potential across the 660-square kilometer (255 square miles) project at the western end of the company's expansive Rackla Gold property in the Yukon.

Currently, Rau is anchored by Tiger, a carbonate replacement body with 5.68 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 2.66 g/t (485,700 oz) gold. However, the project hosts numerous styles of mineralization that are also rich in copper, silver, zinc, lead and tin.

ATAC began its 2019 exploration at Rau with ground-based induced polarization and magnetic geophysical surveys over an area that is centered on the Rackla Pluton, which is interpreted to be a hydrothermal fluid source that mineralized many of the targets identified on the Rau property.

Designed to follow up on gold, copper, silver and tin anomalies identified last year, this year's work also includes prospecting, soil sampling, geologic mapping and rotary air blast (RAB) drilling.

Initial hand-pitting and prospecting near a strongly anomalous (6,940 parts per million) copper-in-soil location returned a sample of oxidized breccia containing 6.39 percent copper. Further prospecting 300 meters west returned a sheared siltstone cut by quartz veins containing 643 grams per metric ton silver. Both samples are located proximal to the intersection of two untested faults - defined on surface as prominent linear features - that ATAC geologist believe tapped mineralizing fluids emanating off the nearby Rackla Pluton.

This area of new mineralization is located approximately 800 meters north of the Bobcat gold-copper skarn target.

Grab samples from prospecting and hand pitting early in the 2018 program include: 6.07 g/t gold with 7.41 percent copper; and 5.08 g/t gold with 3.69 percent copper.

Follow-up work completed in September identified additional gold mineralization including a surface grab sample grading 9.53 g/t gold, expanding the length of the skarn target area to roughly 250 meters.

ATAC began diamond drilling at Bobcat to test for the bedrock source of this mineralization, as well as to obtain stratigraphic and structural information to guide further targeting.

Grid sampling east of Bobcat has identified a 1,200- by 1,000-meter silver-lead-tin soil anomaly that remains open to the east. The easternmost line of this grid contained a soils sample grading 14.55 g/t silver.

The grid was extended in early 2019 and identified an encouraging new 900- by 400-meter gold-in-soil anomaly that overlays a parallel 700- by 500-meter copper-in-soil anomaly.

ATAC says this anomaly demonstrates the continued potential for intrusion-related discoveries in the district.

"Results from the area proximal to the Rackla Pluton continue to expand the mineral potential across an emerging, regional-scale polymetallic district," said ATAC Resources President and CEO Graham Downs. "Mineralization styles vary throughout the Rau project, and demonstrate the potential for not just high-grade gold discoveries, but an entire suite of strategic metals. We're currently mobilizing a diamond drill to test priority anomalies and systematically improve understanding of the underlying geology, which will be combined with additional geophysical and surficial data to further refine the exploration model for the district."

Spotlight, a skarn target located 6,500 meters north of Bobcat, is also being investigated further this year.

ATAC discovered Spotlight in 2017. Limited follow-up prospecting work has resulted in the collection of high-grade grab samples, including 7,080 g/t (227.6 ounce per metric ton) silver and 3.27 g/t gold.

This year's prospecting about 2,000 meters south of Spotlight and 4,500 meters north of Bobcat has identified large quartz boulders mineralized with course grained bismuthinite and pyrite containing 2.87 g/t gold.

This target is located on the southern margin of a second interpreted buried intrusion identified at Rau.

–SHANE LASLEY