VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 25, 2012) - Carlin Gold Corporation (News - Market indicators) ("Carlin" or the "Company") reports that it has completed an initial phase I drill program on its 100% owned Cortez Summit property ("Cortez Summit"), Eureka County, Nevada. The initial program consisted of seven reverse circulation drill holes totaling 11,720 feet (3,573 m.) ranging in depth between 1500 and 1800 feet (450 and 550 m.). Drilling was completed by Envirotech Drilling based in Winnemucca, Nevada. One hole was collared in the Paleozoic rocks on the west side of the property and the other six were drilled into Paleozoic rocks beneath the younger Miocene basalts and gravels. The Company is awaiting assay results to evaluate follow-up drilling.
CARLIN'S NEVADA PROPERTIES
Carlin owns 100% of three properties in northern Nevada described below, all of which represent Carlin-type gold targets.
JDS Property
The Company has moved the drill rig to its JDS property, 21 kilometers southeast of Cortez Summit. It is located along the southeast extension of the Cortez Gold Trend near the southernmost Paleozoic carbonate window in the trend. The target area is covered by late Tertiary sedimentary rocks and alluvium and is defined by mercury gas and soil geochemistry data indicating potential buried mineralization in the northwest portion of the property. The geochemical target is coincident with a gravity high, which suggests relatively shallow bedrock. The mercury anomalies are considered important targets because of the known mercury association with Cortez Trend mineralization. The Company plans to drill two to three widely spaced drill holes to approximately 1,000 feet (300 m.), while it awaits assays on the initial Cortez Summit drilling program.
Cortez Summit Property
The Cortez Summit property consists of 142 claims located on the Cortez Trend in Nevada, adjacent to Barrick Gold Corporation's ("Barrick") recently announced gold discoveries, Red Hill and Gold Rush and the past producing Horse Canyon and Buckhorn gold deposits. The Cortez Trend contains a major gold endowment that exceeds 40 million ounces total gold produced, reserves and resources. Production in 2011 at Barrick's Cortez district operations is reported to be 1.42 million ounces of gold.
On September 7, 2011 Barrick announced two new gold discoveries, Red Hill and Goldrush, on property adjacent to Cortez Summit. The closer Red Hill discovery was reported to contain an inferred resource of 3.5 million ounces of gold at a grade of 0.123 oz/ton. One of the better holes reported at Red Hill contains 194 feet (59.1 m.) grading 0.90 ounces per ton gold, and is located 2,000 meters south-southwest of Cortez Summit. Barrick states that the Red Hill geology is similar to its other deposits in the district. Barrick's operating Cortez Hills mine is located 6.5 kilometers west of the Cortez Summit.
On February 16, 2012, Barrick announced an indicated and inferred resource at Red Hill-Goldrush (now referred to by Barrick as Goldrush) of 7.0 million ounces of gold as of December 31, 2011, double the estimate reported just a few months earlier. The deposit is open for expansion and Barrick is now carrying out a planned $64 million exploration program for this area in 2012. Twelve drill rigs were observed at Red Hill - Goldrush in June. Mineralized holes occur within 1.5 kilometers southwest of Cortez Summit.
Company geologists believe that the geological environment at Cortez Summit is similar to Barrick's nearby Carlin-type deposits. Sampling by Carlin along a prominent north-northwest trending structural zone on the west side of Cortez Summit has yielded gold values of 447 and 263 ppb in hydrothermally altered siltstones. Much of this target is blind, being covered by post-mineral gravel and basaltic andesite. The Company conducted a gravity survey to obtain information from the target terrain underneath the cover. The survey was successful in defining potentially favorable structures, which represent drill targets.
The Company is awaiting assay data on its recently completed initial drill program, at which point it will decide how to proceed with further evaluation.
Willow Property
The Willow property is located in northeast Nevada, northwest of the new Long Canyon gold discovery in the Pequop Mountains, which is part of the Newmont Mining Corporation acquisition in 2011 of Fronteer Gold Inc., a $2.3 billion transaction. Carlin-type targets have been defined in favorable silty carbonate rocks of the Roberts Mountain Formation within an area of significant structural preparation.
YUKON JOINT VENTURE
Carlin also owns approximately 90,000 hectares distributed over 13 project areas in Yukon, in a 50/50 joint venture with Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. The properties are early stage, with the initial field evaluation program completed in 2011. Several significant gold anomalies have been identified to date.
K. Wayne Livingstone, President and Chief Executive Officer
Note:
Robert Thomas CPG, Vice President of Carlin and a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of Carlin.
Forward-looking statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements"). Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Carlin's expectations include availability of capital and financing in connection with future private placement, regulatory approval, actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
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 news release.