Sokoman Minerals Reports Highest Gold Grain Counts To Date In Till Fleur De Lys Project, North-Central Newfoundland
St. John’s, NL, April 8, 2022 – Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) (the “Company” or “Sokoman”) is pleased to provide an updated summary of the results from Phase 1, C Horizon Till survey at the Fleur de Lys Gold Project. This update also summarizes pertinent assay data from 167 rocks (grab samples from float and outcrop), out of a total of 330 samples collected during prospecting prior to and during the till sampling.
A total of 968 till samples were collected in 2021, mainly on lines spaced 1.5 km to 2 km apart, with sample spacing along the lines of 250 m. Approximately 100 till samples of that total were collected as infill samples, in areas of anomalous gold grain counts. To date, 880 till samples have been processed by Ottawa-based Overburden Drilling Management (ODM), that is overseeing the project. Sokoman has previously provided a summary of results for the first 400 of these samples (October 6, 2021, news release). Today’s release summarizes results for 480 additional samples.
The following table summarizes the results for all 880 samples processed by ODM to date.
Based on discussions with ODM, background gold grain counts are herein determined to be 10 grains per sample, whereas an anomalous sample contains at least two times background or 20 gold grains. Of the 880 results, 190 samples have at least 20 gold grains and are considered anomalous. The till data have outlined a district-scale, prospective corridor of approximately 30 km strike length. The two highest values were total gold grain counts of 200 and 230, with 94 and 41 pristine grains respectively, suggesting a local source (less than 200 metres) for some of the anomaly clusters within the prospective corridor.
A total of 282 rock samples have been acquired, prior to and during the till survey, with results received for 167 samples to date. Thirty-four (34) samples returned values >100 ppb Au (0.1 g/t Au); 18 returned values >500 ppb Au (0.5 g/t Au); and ten (10) returned values >1000 ppb Au (>1.0 g/t Au), with a maximum value of 4.60 g/t Au. Follow-up prospecting and continued infill till sampling will commence as soon as possible, upon suitable snowmelt.
Tim Froude, President, and CEO of Sokoman, says: “We are impressed with the number and quality of anomalous till values on the property. Our geochemical exploration is defining a potentially significant bedrock source for the gold in tills in areas with little or no previous exploration. We are also finding significant gold values in both float and bedrock confirming that in situ gold mineralization exists in Dalradian-equivalent rocks in Newfoundland, with several of the strongly anomalous till areas unrelated to any known mineralization. Interpretation of the till results by Overburden Drilling Management estimates the gross target area to be a 30 km strike length, within which a number of better-defined anomalies are found, a priority for detailed follow up.”
The Fleur de Lys Supergroup, which underlies the project, are equivalent rocks to the Dalradian Supergroup in the Appalachian-Caledonian belt in the United Kingdom. In the latter area, three significant gold deposits are known: the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland, and Cononish in Scotland. Dalradian-type gold deposits occur in moderate- to high-grade metamorphic terranes and are typically high grade (the Curraghinalt deposit has in excess of 6 million ounces of NI 43-101 compliant gold resources including 6.3 million tonnes at 14.95 grams per tonne (Measured and Indicated) for 3.06 million ounces; and 7.72 million tonnes at 12.24 grams per tonne gold (Inferred) for 3.03 million ounces (2018 Mineral Resource Statement, Curraghinalt Gold Project, Northern Ireland, SRK Consulting (Canada)).
About the Fleur de Lys Gold Project
The 100%-owned Fleur de Lys Gold Project is located on the Baie Verte Peninsula in north-central Newfoundland. The project is highly prospective for Dalradian-style (e.g., Curraghinalt) orogenic vein-hosted gold deposits and as such, represents a readily accessible yet underexplored, district-scale, gold target in the Newfoundland Appalachians. The property has seen little modern exploration, with some areas remaining completely unexplored although historical grab sample values of 3.3 g/t Au to 25.5 g/t Au are reported from several locations (note: historical assays have not been verified by the Company and should not be relied upon).
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This news release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Froude, P.Geo., a “Qualified Person” under National Instrument 43-101 and President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp.
COVID-19 Protocols
To ensure a working environment that protects the health and safety of the staff and contractors, Sokoman is operating under federally and provincially mandated and recommended guidelines during the current COVID-19 alert level.
Till Sampling QA/QC
The till samples were collected by Sokoman personnel using field collection techniques provided by ODM. All samples were hand dug to the desired depth (C Horizon Till) with a 10 kg – 12 kg sieved sample (8 mesh) placed in a clear plastic sample bag and sealed. Samples were shipped in plastic pails by bonded courier to the ODM lab in Ottawa, Ontario. The till samples are processed using procedures designed to progressively concentrate the heavy minerals, expose the gold grains and prepare a split of the heavy mineral concentrate (“HMC”) suitable for geochemical analysis if requested. The sample is wet screened at 2 mm with a preliminary concentrate extracted from the -2 mm fraction by tabling. Geological observations on the character of the sample are made during both the screening and tabling operations. The table concentrate is purposely large (typically 300 g-400 g) and of low grade (10%-25% heavy minerals) in order to achieve a high, 80% to 90% recovery rate for all desired heavy minerals, irrespective of their grain size or relative specific gravity. The gold grains, more than 95% of which are normally silt-sized (Averill 2001), are observed at this stage with the aid of micro-panning and are counted, measured, and classified as to the degree of wear (ie distance of glacial transport), then returned to the table concentrate. The pyrite content of the pan concentrate is estimated and the number of grains of heavier, visually distinctive indicator minerals such as arsenopyrite, galena, scheelite, cinnabar, etc. is recorded.
Quality Control and Quality Assurance Measures
In addition to using field duplicates to monitor the quality of the indicator mineral data obtained from specific projects, ODM performs blind tests to ensure that the recovery rates for all targeted minerals are consistently in the 80% to 90% range. Furthermore, both the quality of the mineral separation and the overall mineralogy of the concentrate are visible at every stage of the concentration process, minimizing the potential for sample mix-ups, indicator mineral carryover between samples, and other potential contamination issues. For example, gold grains, which are the most important indicator mineral on many surveys, are more susceptible to inter-sample carryover than any other indicator mineral due to their very small size, but these grains are physically observed during the first stage of mineral concentration, tabling, and, if anomalous concentrations are present, blank samples are tabled and carefully inspected for gold grains before the next project sample is processed.
Rock Sample Analysis
Rock sample analysis (gold by fire assay) was completed at Eastern Analytical Ltd. (Eastern), in Springdale NL. Samples were delivered in sealed bags directly to the lab by Sokoman personnel. Eastern is an accredited assay lab that conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. Eastern routinely inserts industry-accepted standards and blanks in all sample runs performed as well as completing random duplicate analyses.
About Sokoman Minerals Corp.
Sokoman Minerals Corp. is a discovery-oriented company with projects in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Company’s primary focus is its portfolio of gold projects; flagship, advanced-stage Moosehead, Crippleback Lake (optioned to Trans Canada Gold Corp.) and East Alder (optioned to Canterra Minerals Corporation) along the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt, and the district-scale Fleur de Lys project in north-central Newfoundland, that is targeting Dalradian-type orogenic gold mineralization similar to the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland. The Company also recently entered into a strategic alliance with Benton Resources Inc. through three, large-scale joint-venture properties including Grey River, Golden Hope, and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland.
Sokoman now controls, independently and through the Benton alliance, over 150,000 hectares (>6,000 claims – 1500 sq. km), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, in Canada’s newest and rapidly-emerging gold districts. The Company also retains an interest in an early-stage antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to White Metal Resources Inc., and in Labrador, the Company has a 100% interest in the Iron Horse (Fe) project which has Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) potential.
Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby and/or referenced properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization hosted on the Company’s property.
The Company would like to thank the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for financial support of the Fleur de Lys Gold Project through the Junior Exploration Assistance Program.
For further information, please contact:
Sokoman Minerals
Timothy Froude, P.Geo., President & CEO
Phone: 709-765-1726
Email: tim@sokomanmineralscorp.com
CHF Capital Markets
Cathy Hume, Director, Investor Relations
Phone: 416-868-1079 x251
Email: cathy@chfir.com
Website: www.sokomanmineralscorp.com
Twitter: @SokomanMinerals
Facebook: @SokomanMinerals
LinkedIn: @SokomanMinerals
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of the Corporation should be considered highly speculative. Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Sokoman Minerals Corp. will not update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect financial results is included in the documents filed from time to time with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities by Sokoman Minerals Corp.
