Vancouver, Canada, January 12th, 2022 – Heliostar Metals Limited (TSX.V: HSTR, OTCQX: HSTXF, FRA: RGG1) ("Heliostar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that core drilling re-commenced on January 7th after the year-end holiday break at the 100% owned Cumaro Project in northern Sonora, Mexico.
Highlights
- 5,000 metre Cumaro drilling program recommenced
- Four holes for a total of 428 metres completed in December 2021
- Veining intersected at expected depths in each 2021 drill hole, with assays pending
- Drilling expected to continue to April with first results anticipated in late February
Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented: “Starting the Cumaro drill program in December last year sets Heliostar up very well for 2022. We start the year in the fortunate position of having both an ongoing drill program on a new discovery in Mexico and a suite of high-grade gold hits across the district at our flagship Unga project in Alaska. Our initial focus in 2022 is the fully funded drill program at Cumaro where we have hit veining as predicted in each of our completed drill holes. The project enjoys great access, the extensions of veins modern mining on the adjacent property and close proximity to mills within the district. Cumaro has the potential to be a significant exploration success story for Heliostar in the short term.”
Cumaro Project
The Cumaro project is a five square kilometre claim within the El Picacho district. It hosts the El Salto, Dos Amigos, and Basaitegui Vein Corridors (Figure 1). In addition to those known systems, it holds the recently identified Verde and Palmita Vein Corridors.
The geological model indicates that a north northeast trending fault (white broken line in Figure 1) has divided the Picacho-Cumaro district into western and eastern halves. West of the fault, veining and mineralization come to surface. On the eastern side of the fault, only the weakly altered, upper expression of the structures come to surface. The geologic interpretation is that the eastern side is downthrown relative to the western side, thus suggesting an extension of the mineralized vein system could be preserved at depth on the eastern side. Despite the presence of historical mine workings in the western part of the Cumaro claim, the property has never been drill tested prior to the ongoing program.
Drilling Program
Drilling commenced at the Verde Target in December with four holes totalling 427.5 metres completed prior to the Christmas break (Figure 2). All holes intersected veining and the associated structures as they tested the Verde and Orilla veins. The first hole intersected the Verde vein and structure below the historic tunnel. The second hole intersected the Orilla vein near surface. The third and fourth holes intersected the Verde and Orilla veins near surface where the two veins converge. Assays for all holes are pending and expected to be returned in late February.
Drilling of the 5,000 metre program currently focuses on the Verde Vein Corridor. Once drilling in this corridor is completed the drill will move to test the Basaitegui Vein Corridor in the western block and the Palmita Vein Corridor in the eastern block.
Verde Vein Corridor
The Verde Vein Corridor is over 1.3 kilometres long and comprises three veins which are consistently mineralized over 530 metres of strike and spread over 200 metres of width (Figure 2). The vein zones vary from 0.5 to 5 metres wide and have numerous medium to high grade surface channel samples. The veins returned values including;
· 12.6 g/t AuEq (10.3 g/t gold and 168 g/t silver) over 5.0 metres
· 13.1 g/t AuEq (11.5 g/t gold and 125 g/t silver) over 1.75 metres
· 9.57 g/t AuEq (8.35 g/t gold and 92 g/t silver) over 2.1 metres
· 5.49 g/t AuEq (4.68 g/t gold and 61 g/t silver) over 3.0 metres
· 13.6 g/t AuEq (11.9 g/t gold and 130 g/t silver over 1.65 metres
· 4.05 g/t AuEq (2.65 g/t gold and 105 g/t silver over 5.9 metres
· Twenty channel samples returned a grade multiplied by vein thickness greater than 5 g/t metres
(Widths are true thicknesses and gold equivalent is calculated with a gold:silver ratio of 1:75)
Within the Verde Vein Corridor, the Verde and Orilla veins (Figure 2) dip toward each other and intersect, forming a high potential drill target. The veins are epithermal veins with banded green to white quartz and calcite. Similar green quartz occurs within the high-grade areas of many mineralized systems in northern Sonora and this relationship holds true at Cumaro. Select sub-samples from the green quartz at the Verde target return values up to 41.2 g/t gold and 364 g/t silver.
One historic tunnel descends 35 metres below surface on the Verde vein (Figure 2). It shows similar grades and widths to those on surface, thus providing confidence in the depth potential of the surface channel results.
Basaitegui Vein Corridor
The Basaitegui Vein Corridor runs parallel to the Verde Vein Corridor, about 600 metres northeast (Figure 1). Vein textures indicate that the level of exposure in the system is higher than at the Verde vein. This may indicate that the productive part of the system remains preserved at depth. Like Verde, small scale workings and gold mineralization at surface indicate the potential for high grades at depth. Drilling will test this target concept by testing the vein at depth below the most productive parts of the system.
Palmita Vein Corridor
The Palmita Vein Corridor stretches 1.7 kilometres in strike. A channel sample returned a grade of 390 g/t silver over 1 metre. This sample came from the Three-ninety vein; a 500 metre long, east-west trending vein, interpreted as a splay off the main vein corridor.
We view the high-grade interval silver as a key result. Surface results and textures indicate that these rocks formed at a higher level in the epithermal system. Typically, this would be above the interpreted precious metals zone. However, this sample suggests leakage from a high-grade mineralized system at depth.
The aim of this first drill program is to track the system at depth and intercept high-grade mineralization. Proving the concept will be a significant development at Cumaro and will open the entire eastern block to systematic exploration for new mineralized bodies.
About Heliostar Metals Ltd.
Heliostar is a well-financed junior exploration and development company with a portfolio of high-grade gold projects in Alaska and Mexico.
The company’s flagship asset is the 100% controlled Unga Gold Project on Unga and Popof Islands in Alaska. The project hosts an intermediate sulfidation epithermal gold deposit, located within the district-scale property that encompasses 240 km2 across the two islands. Additional targets on the property include porphyry copper-gold targets, high sulphidation targets and intermediate sulphidation epithermal veins.
On Unga Island, priority targets include: the SH-1 and Aquila, both on the Shumagin Trend, the former Apollo-Sitka mine, which was Alaska’s first underground gold mine, and the Zachary Bay porphyry gold-copper prospect.
Gold mineralization at the Centennial Zone is located on neighbouring Popof Island within four kilometres of infrastructure and services at Sand Point.
In Mexico, the company owns 100% of three early-stage epithermal projects in Sonora that are highly prospective for gold and silver. Cumaro forms part of the El Picacho district, while the Oso Negro and La Lola projects are early-stage projects considered prospective for epithermal gold-silver mineralization.
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
Rock and core samples were shipped to ALS Limited in Hermosillo, Sonora for sample preparation and for analysis at the ALS laboratories in North Vancouver and Vientane, Laos. The ALS Hermosillo, Vientane and North Vancouver facilities are ISO/IEC 17025 certified. Silver and base metals were analyzed using a four-acid digestion with an ICP finish and gold was assayed by 30-gram fire assay with atomic absorption (“AA”) spectroscopy finish and overlimits were analyzed by 50g fire assay with gravimetric finish.
Control samples comprising certified reference samples and blank samples were systematically inserted into the sample stream and analyzed as part of the Company’s quality assurance / quality control protocol.
Qualified Person
The Company’s disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Stewart Harris, P.Geo., Exploration Manager for the Company. Mr. Harris is a Qualified Person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.
For additional information please contact:
Charles Funk
Chief Executive Officer
Heliostar Metals Limited
Email: charles.funk@heliostarmetals.com
Rob Grey
Investor Relations Manager
Heliostar Metals Limited
Phone: +1 778 357 1313
Email: rob.grey@heliostarmetals.com
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Forward-Looking Information. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this press release include Our initial focus in 2022 is the fully funded drill program at Cumaro where we have hit veining as predicted in each of our completed drill holes. The project enjoys great access, the extensions of veins with declared resources on the adjacent property and close proximity to mills within the district. Cumaro has the potential to be a significant exploration success story for Heliostar in the short term. Although Heliostar believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, weather, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
