TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 23, 2011) -Nitinat Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE:NZZ) ("Nitinat") is pleased to announce the commencement of the initial phase of the 2011 field work program on its 100% owned Jasper Property, designed to follow up positive results from the 2010 program. Nitinat acquired 100% interest in the Jasper Property from Inspiration Mining Corporation ("Inspiration") through a purchase agreement dated December 1, 2007, in exchange for special warrants of Nitinat.
The Jasper Property is located on west-central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and consists of 10 mineral claims covering 6,615 hectares. Historical and recent exploration work from 1956 to 2010 has discovered numerous occurrences of stringer and massive base metal sulphide minerals including chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena within a co-incident quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone.
Sixteen (16) new and unexplained soil geochemical anomalies and nine (9) additional metallic bedrock mineral showings were discovered on the Jasper Property by Inspiration during the last major field program conducted in 2004. Highlights from representative bedrock chip sampling of both previously known and new mineral showings are as follows:
Jasper – 3.2% Cu, 9.2% Zn, 12 g/t Ag, 0.125 g/t Au over 1.3 m. width from one of two semi-massive bands of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and minor galena exposed over a strike length of 44 m. in logging road cuts
Pan (North) – 3.2% Cu, 12.6% Zn, 0.6% Pb, 29 g/t Ag, 0.095 g/t Au over 2.0 m. width from a cross-cutting sulphide stringer zone, and contains a massive sulphide layer of sphalerite and galena exposed over a strike length of 30 m. which yielded 16.2% Zn and 2.7% Pb over 0.25 m. width exposed in a logging road cut
Pan (South) – 2.1% Cu, 22.3% Zn, 17.2% Pb, 26 g/t Ag, 0.15 g/t Au over 1.9 m. from massive sulphides containing sphalerite, galena and chalcopyrite exposed in a logging road cut and across the road bed
Upper 4 Mile Creek – 1.95% Cu, 0.16% Zn, 5.6 g/t Ag, 0.03 g/t Au over 0.9 m. containing disseminated, clustered and veinlet pyrite and chalcopyrite, exposed in outcrop along the side of a creek for 125 m.
Camp View – 1.36% Cu, 0.056% Zn, 4.0 g/t Ag, 0.02 g/t Au over 0.6 m. containing disseminated to blebby pyrite and chalcopyrite exposed in two adjacent outcrops of altered volcanics
South Camp Creek Road – 6.86% Cu, 0.01% Zn, 35 g/t Ag, 0.03 g/t Au over 1.3 m. from cherty zone containing massive sulphides exposed in a logging road cut
Upper Pan – 0.81% Cu, 0.025% Pb, 0.044% Zn, 3.7 g/t Ag, 0.09 g/t Au over 3.0 m. from altered volcanics containing up to 20% sulphides exposed in a trenched outcrop
| The 2010 field work program consisted of focused prospecting, rock sampling and grid-based soil geochemistry to follow up the 16 unexplained soil geochemical anomalies in the Main Grid area of the property. The soil grid geochemistry work established ten new prospecting targets, and the prospecting and rock geochemistry work discovered three new sulphide mineral occurrences in 2010. In summary, the Jasper Property has copper-zinc-lead-silver mineralization exposed discontinuously in rocks over an elongated north-south area of 3 km. x 0.5 km with generally co-incident elevated soil geochemistry values in the same target elements, plus barium, bismuth, cobalt, and/or molybdenum. Results to date include: |
| The soil grid extensions northwest and southeast of the Jasper Main Grid established ten new prospecting targets, with geochemistry highlights as follows: |
Sample 21098, a single sample site yielded 58.6 ppm lead, and is open an untested along slope to the southeast of the grid
Samples 21134 and 21248-21451 inclusive, a five sample site covering an area 200 metres by 50 metres, yielded up to 130 ppm arsenic, 290 ppm barium, 1.39 ppm cadmium, 11.3 ppm molybdenum, 134.5 ppm lead, 1.63 ppm antimony, and 293 ppm zinc
Sample 21235, a single sample site, yielded 1395 ppm copper
Sample 21156, a single sample site, yielded 0.031 ppm gold
Samples 21229 and 21230, two adjacent samples 50 metres apart, yielded up to 473 ppm copper and 9.35 ppm molybdenum
Samples 21088 and 21127, 100 metres apart, yielded up to 1.5 ppm cadmium, 125.5 ppm copper, 116.5 ppm lead and 365 ppm zinc, and are open and untested uphill to the northeast of the grid
Samples 21223 and 21224, two adjacent samples 50 metres apart and south of the Camp View Showing discovered in 2004, yielded up to 0.281 ppm gold, 409 ppm copper, 103.5 ppm lead and 613 ppm zinc
Sample 21219, a single sample site, yielded 6.46 ppm molybdenum, and is open and untested uphill to the west of the grid
Samples 21121 and 21213, two sites 50 metres apart, yielded up to 193 ppm copper, and are open and untested uphill to the west of the grid
Samples 21070-72 inclusive, 3 consecutive samples over 100 metres, yielded up to 230 ppm barium, 33.1 ppm cobalt and 566 ppm copper
| Two new base/precious metal sulphide mineral occurrences were discovered and sampled in outcrop, and one other in float, all within the area of the expanded Jasper Main Grid, with geochemistry highlights as follows: |
Samples 17929 & 17930 – quartz-sulphide veins 0.15 to 0.5 metres thick hosted by porphyritic tuff exposed in Camp Creek, containing chalcopyrite and pyrite, which yielded up to 15.3% copper and up to 17.2 g/t silver
Sample 21458 – sulphide breccia zone exposed in outcrop, containing chalcopyrite, which yielded 1.01% copper and 10.5 g/t silver
Sample 17928 – quartz-sulphide stringers in silicified porphyritic tuff from a 0.6 metre diameter road-cut float boulder, containing pyrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and molybdenite, which yielded 0.113 g/t gold, 17.8 ppm molybdenum, 0.311% lead and 0.371% zinc.
| Copper/Iron skarn mineralization in a 0.25 metre diameter float boulder was located and sampled in a creek near the Avallin MINFILE occurrence, and contained chalcopyrite, magnetite and garnets, with geochemistry highlights as follows: |
- Sample 17968 yielded 0.116 g/t gold and 1.99% copper
The initial phase of the 2011 work program will consist of a focused ground geophysical gravity survey over the southern 1 km x 0.5 km. portion of the Main Grid area of the property, access road repairs, and mechanized trenching of selected targets. This work will facilitate and help guide the second phase of the 2011 work program, consisting of up to 2,000 metres to test selected geological, geochemical and/or geophysical targets by diamond drilling. The timing of the work will be in June for the initial phase, and September for the second phase.
Complete details of the historical work completed on the Jasper Property can be found in the Corporation's technical report which can be viewed through the Corporations homepage on the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com).
The field work program is being supervised by Jacques Houle, P.Eng., a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Houle has reviewed the contents of this news release.
This update contains "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, these forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "plans", "anticipated", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Nitinat is subject to significant risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements contained in this release. Nitinat cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements and Nitinat assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward looking statements contained in this release to reflect actual events or new circumstances.
Neither 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.
Contact Information:
Herb Brugh
Secretary of the Corporation
416.842.9000
www.nitinatminerals.com
For Investor Relations call:
604.221.7604
604.221.7606 (FAX)
galecapital@shaw.ca