VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 7, 2016) - Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. ("Mineral Mountain" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:MMV) is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Larry Berger, Curt Hogge and Ron Berdahl (who are collectively known as BHB Partners) and Tate Berger (collectively, the "Owners") to acquire: (1) two strategically located unpatented lode mineral claim groups (the South Standby Property and the Cochrane South Property) totalling 19 claims (approx. 380 acres) (the "Purchased Claims"); and (2) a comprehensive historical database (the "Historical Database") containing results from over $10 million US in historical exploration work in the Rochford Gold District.
The Purchased Claims cover four high priority gold targets that host Homestake-type gold mineralization associated with banded iron formation and with excellent exploration potential. The four gold targets, three along the Standby-South Standby-Lookout Mine Trend and one along the Cochrane Trend, require a well-planned drill program.
With the addition of the important Historical Database, Mineral Mountain would have what is believed to be the most comprehensive integrated data package ever assembled for the Rochford Gold District.
The Rochford Gold District
The Rochford Gold District is located approximately 26 kilometers south of the world's largest banded iron formation hosted gold deposit, the Homestake Mine, which produced nearly 40,000,000 ounces of gold averaging about 10.89 g/t Au (0.350 opt) over the life of the mine from 1876 to 2001.
The geology of the Rochford District is remarkably similar to that at the Homestake Mine with gold hosted in multiple deformed Proterozoic carbonate facies and local sulfide-facies iron formation that has typically been metamorphosed to cummingtonite/grunerite phyllites/schists and chlorite schists. There are numerous, relatively shallow past producing gold mines and prospects in the district that were developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Mineral Mountain's property package covers approximately a 9 km long segment of auriferous iron formation considered to have many geological and mineralogical aspects to the Homestake Mine 26 km to the northwest. Including the 19 Purchased Claims, the Company would own a 100%-interest in 308 unpatented mineral claims for an area totalling approximately 4,700 acres.
The Rochford District covers more than 78 square kilometers and has been explored intermittently by several major companies like Getty, Newmont, Noranda, Western Mining and Homestake Mining in the 20th century. Despite gold prices hitting $1,900 US per ounce in 2011, the last serious exploration for the Rochford District was completed in 1997. This district appears to have been forgotten and/or overlooked especially after the closing of the nearby giant Homestake Mine in 2001. We believe that many explorers assumed that the 70-km gold belt trending in the Black Hills had been thoroughly explored which the Company believes is an incorrect assumption.
The Purchased Claims and the Historical Database
The Purchase and Sale Agreement includes the acquisition of two strategically located claim groups: the first group, the South Standby Property, encompasses 3 deep drill holes completed by Western Mining in 1994, and the second group, the Cochrane South, adjoins the Cochrane Mine patent ground to the south. Both claim groups are physically located down plunge from the two largest historic gold producers in the Rochford Gold District, the Standby Mine and the Cochrane Mine.
The Historical Database includes detailed geologic maps, gold and arsenic soil geochemical contoured maps, surface trench data, and additional exploration drill hole data from several historic datasets generated from the Bobcat Properties Group, Getty, Noranda, Newmont and Naneco Resources. An important compliment to this Historical Database is the completion of Mineral Mountain's low level, high resolution, helicopter-borne airborne EM and Mag survey in 2014. Remarkably, this airborne survey, which covered most of the Rochford Gold District, is believed to be the first ever flown in the area. Importantly, the survey clearly defined the multiple bands of iron formation trending through the property package and was able to highlight major structural shear zones associated with local folding in the Rochford area.
A plan that shows locations of historic mines and prospects as well as important patented and unpatented claim locations has been posted on the Company's website www.mineralmtn.com.
The following are a few highlights from the Historical Database:
A) South Standby Property:
The South Standby Property, consisting of 10 unpatented claims, is situated southwest of the Standby Mine patents about 2.4 km northeast of the Cochrane Mine.
Historically, a total of 15 shallow drill holes have been drilled along the northwest portion of the Standby-South Standby-Lookout Mine Trend on the Standby Mine patents over a surface strike length of about 900 m. Getty Mining Company in 1983 and 1984, by Noranda and Homestake all recorded broad intervals of anomalous gold. For example, Getty's drill hole B-84-3 intersected 4.73 g/t Au over 1.52 m (0.152 opt Au over 4.7 feet) in 1984 and Homestake's drill hole SM-86-1B intersected 1.50 g/t Au over 18.9 m (0.048 opt Au over 62.0 ft.) in 1986.
The South Standby Property presents a rare opportunity to explore at least three significant, multi-kilometer, plunging trends of folded iron formation coincident with prospective deformation zones, each of which has extensive areas of arsenopyrite-chlorite-quartz vein alteration with local gold associated with their surface expression. The South Standby gold target presents strong potential for discovery of a Homestake-style ledge deposit.
B) Cochrane South Property:
The Cochrane South Property, consisting of 9 unpatented mining claims, adjoins the Cochrane Mine patents to the south and to the southwest and it straddles a major, NNW trending shear zone. Noranda's second drill hole in 1988 on the Cochrane Mine patent intersected 7.25 g/t Au over 10.67 m (0.233 opt Au over 35.0 ft.) and 6.31 g/t Au over 13.72 m (0.203 opt Au over 45.0 ft.) at a relatively shallow depth and both intervals are near true widths. These intersections constitute two parallel zones that were subsequently expanded.
The Cochrane South property has above average potential to host high grade gold mineralization at depth in the down plunge direction of parasitic fold hinge zones. Naneco Minerals between 1996 and 1997 intersected gold bearing iron formation on the down dropped west side of the major Cochrane shear zone. This angled drill hole, NM-96-2 intersected 7.53 g/t Au over 1.98 m (0.242 opt Au over 6.5 ft.) between 301.1 - 303.2 m. This presents an entirely new gold target at depth, on the west side of the shear zone on the Cochrane South Property.
Exploration drilling from Getty, Noranda, Newmont and Naneco Resources provided 65 core holes and three reverse circulation drill holes for 41,120 feet (12,536 meters) of drilling on the Cochrane Mine patented ground. Mineralization is open at depth down dip and down plunge/rake to the south onto the eastern structural block. A drill indicated and inferred resource of 268,000 ounces of Au grading 6.3 g/mt or 0.185 opt Au has been outlined Naneco Resources on the Cochrane Mine patented ground proximal to the Cochrane South/Cochrane Mine common boundary line. This estimate constitutes a historical estimate under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and it uses categories other than ones set out in sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the above historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and Mineral Mountain is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. In general, the Company believes that historical estimate calculated by Naneco Resources in 1997 is a reasonable estimate based on the data available at the time.
The Company's plan for the three South Standby and the Cochrane South gold targets is for a committed exploration program adhering closely to the exploration criteria and methodology that led Homestake Mining Company to major discoveries in the 1980's at the Homestake Mine.
Terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement
Consolidation and Purchase Price
Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Mineral Mountain has agreed to consolidate its common shares on a 1 new common share for 5 old common shares basis (the "Consolidation").
On closing, Mineral Mountain will issue to the Owners a total of 20,000,000 pre-Consolidation common shares (4,000,000 post-Consolidation), with 40% of such common shares to be issued to Curt Hogge, 30% to be issued to Ron Berdahl, and 15% to be issued to each of Larry Berger and Tate Berger.
Royalties
On closing, Mineral Mountain shall also grant to the Owners a collective 2% net smelter returns royalty on the Purchased Claims, a collective 1% net smelter returns royalty on Mineral Mountain's claims in the Rochford District and a collective 1.5% net smelter returns royalty on claims falling within the area of mutual interest (the "Area of Interest Claims Royalty"). The Area of Interest Claims Royalty will only be granted if the acquired property or properties are not already burdened with a royalty.
Closing of this transaction and the Consolidation are subject to receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval.
Qualified Persons
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Nelson W. Baker, P.Eng., the President and CEO of Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. and a Qualified Person for this project. All exploration activities at the Rochford Project are carried out under the supervision of Kevin Leonard, P.Geo., also a Qualified Person for this project.
About Mineral Mountain and the Rochford and Holy Terror Projects
Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd., through its wholly owned subsidiary Mineral Mountain Resources (SD) Inc., is focused on the exploration and, if warranted, the development of its 100%-owned Rochford Project situated along the highly prospective Homestake Gold Belt in the Black Hills of South Dakota, U.S.A.
The Holy Terror Project, the Company's other gold project in the Black Hills, covers approximately 4,100 acres straddling a major gold bearing structural corridor measuring about 15 km in strike length and 1.5 km in width. The Rochford and Holy Terror Projects contain 17 historic "turn of the century" gold producers. Production of these mines came from early Proterozoic gold mineralization associated with iron formation, and shear zones similar to the deposits at the former Homestake Mine which, over 125 years, produced approximately 40 million ounces of gold. Both the Rochford and Holy Terror Projects are located near Rapid City where they can be easily accessed by a network of roads and has hydro-electricity and modern internet services to the drill sites. As well, the area offers a skilled labor force and is one of the lowest cost exploration areas in the United States. South Dakota has a low political risk and embraces responsible mineral development.
A technical report was prepared by SRK Consulting entitled "Technical Report for the Holy Terror Project, South Dakota, and U.S.A" dated June 20, 2012 is available on the Mineral Mountain website (www.mineralmtn.com) or under Mineral Mountain's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
MINERAL MOUNTAIN RESOURCES LTD.
Nelson W. Baker, President and CEO
Forward looking information
This release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation ("Forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion, growth of the Company's businesses, operations, plans and with respect to exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, permitting time lines, government regulation of exploration and mining operations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage, timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation and timing and results of future resource estimates or future economic studies.
Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "planning", "planned", "expects" or "looking forward", "does not expect", "continues", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "potential", "anticipates", "does not anticipate" or "belief" or describes a "goal" or variation 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.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including, the result of drilling and exploration activities, that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen break downs, that no labour shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, future events, conditions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, prediction, projection, forecast, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of gold; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the company's publicly filed documents. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Contact Information:
Brad Baker
Vice-President Corporate Development & Director
(778) 383-3975
bbaker@mineralmtn.com
www.mineralmtn.com