VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2014) - Savant Explorations Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:SVT) ("Savant") has commenced field exploration programs on the Jasper Canyon, Buckhorn Creek and Frazier Creek copper porphyry properties. A preliminary geological assessment was completed during the winter to set up for more detailed programs that will be carried out over the next couple of months. Planned work for the three properties will include detailed geological mapping, geochemical sampling and geophysical surveying to prioritize areas for drill testing. Summary information for the three properties and additional information including maps and a corporate presentation can be found at Savant's website at www.savantexplorations.com.
Southwest U.S. Exploration Summary
The Buckhorn Creek, Jasper Canyon, and Frazier Creek properties were recently acquired under option from Eurasian Minerals Inc. (EMX.V) through its wholly owned subsidiary Bronco Creek Exploration. (see the Company's news release dated October 30, 2013).
Buckhorn Creek
The main target on the Buckhorn Creek property is defined by leach cap fragments and exotic copper oxide in a basal conglomerate, which suggests there may be a nearby enriched porphyry copper deposit concealed beneath down-faulted covering volcanic rocks. The basement rocks adjacent to the capping volcanic rocks are weakly-altered and contain widely-spaced, stringer-like, copper-mineralized quartz veins suggesting a distal alteration to a potentially larger porphyry copper system. An Induced Polarization (I.P.) survey will be used to assess the potential for a mineralized porphyry deposit at depth.
Jasper Canyon
At Jasper Canyon, Savant is targeting either an enriched porphyry copper deposit beneath shallow post mineralization cover rocks or a more deeply buried porphyry copper deposit with high-grade primary sulphide (hypogene) along the same regional structural trend that hosts the Pinto Valley and Copper Cities copper deposits. A structural interpretation of the extensional fault regime suggests that the fault-displaced upper portion of the Copper Cities deposit could lie to the northeast in the area of the Jasper Canyon property. Additional evidence of a possible porphyry deposit is the presence of a halo of copper and base metal vein occurrences in the overlying rock units along the eastern margin of the property, a common feature of copper deposits both in the Globe-Miami District and elsewhere in the world. An initial CSAMT geophysical survey will be conducted across the property to map the depth profile of the prospective basement rocks and to design a suitable follow-up program.
Frazier Creek
The Frazier Creek property covers intensely silicified and hydrothermally dolomitized limestone over a 1.8 km x 0.8 km area where past surface exploration identified widespread anomalous copper and molybdenum values. The highest copper and molybdenum mineralization occurs within areas of intense silicification and narrow sulphide-mineralized structures. Selected grab samples collected from these structures contained values ranging from 1.1% Cu to 3.2% Cu. In a shallow historical working, a grab sample containing 0.8% copper and 0.008% molybdenum was collected from a sericitically-altered fine grained porphyry dyke, which in conjunction with the presence of anomalous copper and molybdenum and intense silicification and dolomitization, indicates that this large area may represent the "lithocap" to a buried copper - molybdenum bearing porphyry deposit lying within a few hundred metres of surface. Mount Hope, one of the largest and highest grade molybdenum-copper deposits in the Americas, is located eight kilometres to the south of the property. Detailed mapping will be completed to better define this alteration zone and the main structural elements prior to planning for an initial drill test.
Southwest U.S. Generative Work
A major part of Savant's new copper exploration strategy for the Southwest U.S. is to identify new high-priority copper targets to advance Savant's growth strategy in the region. Savant's management team has been working through the extensive database of geological, structural, geochemical and historical exploration work available for the Southwest U.S. copper belts. To date, this generative work has identified more than 20 areas that will be the subject of a more comprehensive review and field-based assessment over the coming months.
Technical Advisor Appointed
The initial stages of the generative work advanced rapidly with the assistance of Michael Casselman, a director of Savant until he passed away in January 2014, and more recently by Myron Osatenko, who has agreed to join the Company as a Technical Advisor to continue with the generation and assessment of new target opportunities.
Mr. Osatenko was a former Chief Geologist and Manager Latin America for Cominco Ltd. (Teck Resources) who spent much of his 35 year career building his expertise in copper project generation initiatives and resource expansion projects. He had a leading role in more than doubling the size of the Prosperity copper deposit and the Pebble Copper deposit. Mr. Osatenko was also a co-discoverer of the Kwanika Cu-Au porphyry deposit in B.C. for which he was co-awarded the prestigious Prospector of the Year for 2011 by AMEBC. Mr. Osatenko has been granted options to purchase 100,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.06 per share in accordance with the Company's stock option plan and subject to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Savant
Savant is an exploration and discovery stage company focused on generating and exploring high quality precious and base metal properties in stable jurisdictions. Savant has recently initiated a new exploration and discovery strategy in Southwest United States with the acquisition of the Buckhorn, Jasper Canyon, and Frazier Creek properties. Savant also owns three other high-quality properties, Yuby-Gabriela, Blue Moon and Yava that management is seeking to monetize for maximum value to Savant and its shareholders. These other properties and assets are 100% owned with combined annual holding costs of approximately $30,000.
John McClintock, P. Eng. CEO of Savant is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the technical data in this news release.
More information on the Company's activities is available at the Company's web site at www.savantexplorations.com.
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.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, the failure to reach agreement on final documentation, exploration results and other risk factors that are beyond Savant's control. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements 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 statements contained in this news release.