January 02, 2012 16:00 ET
Balmoral Reviews 2011 Exploration Results; Plans for 2012
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 2, 2012) - Balmoral Resources Ltd. ("Balmoral" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:BAR) today provided a review of 2011 exploration results on its gold projects in Quebec and Ontario, as well as outlining its exploration plans for the first half of 2012. 2011 results were highlighted by a series of new gold discoveries in the Company's Detour Gold Trend Project in Quebec which provide the Company with potential for near term resource growth and demonstrate the highly prospective nature of the Company's 80+ kilometre land position along the Detour-Sunday Lake Deformation Zone.
Martiniere West Gold Zone, Detour Gold Trend, Quebec
The continued expansion of the high-grade Martiniere West Gold Zone highlighted the Company's exploration success in 2011. The Martiniere West Zone has demonstrated good continuity to date, returning a series of high-grade gold intercepts over a strike length of 380 metres and to a vertical depth of 170 metres. The West Zone remains open in all directions and drilling completed late in 2011 indicates potential for numerous parallel, or near parallel, gold bearing structures located in close proximity which would further enhance the resource potential of this high-grade target. In total, 43 drill holes were completed in the Martiniere West area during 2011.
Further expansion and the definition of an initial gold resource for the West Zone will be the focus of the winter 2012 multi-rig drill program, currently anticipated to commence in mid-January. Drilling will target the eastern, western and down-dip/plunge extensions of the West Zone and proximal structures, including the currently undrilled 300 metre span between the West and Central Gold Zones of Martiniere Property. Additional information on the West Zone, results to date and Balmoral's other properties is available at www.balmoralresources.com.
Martiniere East Gold and VMS Zones, Detour Gold Trend, Quebec
Separated from the West Zone area of the Martiniere Property by a NNW-trending fault system, the Martiniere East area hosts the continuation of the large Martiniere Gold System. Sixteen holes completed in the Martiniere East area during 2011 resulted in no fewer than 6 potentially significant gold discoveries and the discovery of the first known VMS system (volcanogenic massive sulphide) north of the Detour-Sunday Lake Deformation Zone.
Results were highlighted by the discovery of the ME-16 occurrence which returned 5.76 g/t gold over 22.50 metres, including a high-grade core of 9.33 metres grading 12.93 g/t gold. Addition discoveries included 9.43 g/t gold over 7.19 metres in hole MDE-11-11 from the Martiniere East Zone and 18.72 g/t over 2.10 metres from another new discovery in hole MDE-11-14 (see NR11-31, Dec. 5, 2011). Each of these new discoveries remains open in all directions for follow-up testing.
Drilling also intersected, in the immediate footwall to the Martiniere VMS system, a bonanza grade, polymetallic breccia which returned 76.40 g/t gold and 1,390 g/t silver along with anomalous base metals over 0.50 metres in hole MDE-11-09 (see NR11-31, Dec. 5, 2011). This new style of mineralization has not been previously observed on the property and may indicate potential for high precious metal tenure within the Martiniere East VMS system.
Following the discovery of the Martiniere East VMS system the Company completed a regional scale, deep penetrating airborne geophysical survey covering its Detour Trend holdings as well as the N2 Property located to the south. Final results are currently being interpreted but a number of high priority targets have emerged from preliminary data analysis.
The winter 2012 program at Martiniere East will focus on confirming and expanding the numerous new gold discoveries on this portion of the property, testing the down-dip potential of the Martiniere VMS system and bonanza grade breccia target and continuing regional exploration activities along this newly defined, gold-rich corridor.
Grasset Gold Discovery, Detour Gold Trend, Quebec
The last hole of the winter 2011 drill program resulted in a significant new gold discovery on the Company's Grasset property located approximately 9 kilometres southeast of the Fenelon Gold Zone. Drilling along the Detour-Sunday Lake Deformation Zone, over 90 kilometres east of Detour Gold Deposit, intersected a broad zone of quartz-carbonate veining located in a highly prospective geological environment in hole FAB-11-44 (renamed GR-11-01).
Follow-up drilling during the summer 2011 program was limited to 2 locations (4 holes) due to wet ground conditions in the discovery area. The bulk of the 10-15 hole follow-up drill program is slated to form part of the winter 2012 exploration program commencing in January.
Holes GR-11-02 and GR-11-03 were collared 125 metres northeast of discovery hole GR-11-01, to test the up-dip extension of the Grasset discovery. Both holes intersected two zones of anomalous gold mineralization (see table below). The upper zone, located at/near the sediment-ultramafic contact, appears to correlate with the gold mineralization observed in the initial discovery. The lower zone is a new discovery located in a gabbroic unit which was not reached by hole GR-11-01.
Holes GR-11-04 and GR-11-05, collared 105 metres north-northeast of GR-11-01, also intersected anomalous gold mineralization along the sediment-ultramafic contact as well as a second zone of anomalous gold mineralization deeper in the hole (see below). The results of the initial follow-up indicate the presence of at least two zones of anomalous gold mineralization within the Detour-Sunday Lake Deformation Zone on the Grasset Property which remain open in all directions and which may be demonstrating increased grade x thickness at depth.
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