May 30, 2012 - Transition Metals Corp. (XTM – TSX.V) announced it has commenced summer exploration programs on its 100%-owned New Kirkland and West Matachewan properties, in north-eastern Ontario. As a project generator, it has also developed joint venture partnerships with Gowest Gold and Abalor Minerals that are actively exploring two additional gold properties in the southern Abitibi. The company continues to expand its portfolio of highly prospective projects, while actively seeking partnerships for four other compelling gold projects:
- Haultain – a recent gold discovery half-way between Sudbury and Timmins with drill intersections from nil to 4.7 g/t over 3.1m, and geology similar to the Kirkland Lake camp
- Homathko – a drill-ready, 54 km2 property west of Williams Lake, BC, with historic assays from nil to 335 g/t, and altered and mineralized volcanics over a 1.5 km strike length
- Mayflower – along the Trans Canada highway west of Thunder Bay, with historic mine workings and grab sample values ranging from nil to 0.95 oz/t gold.
- Espanola – covers a number of gold showings that have not been evaluated using modern exploration techniques, including the Jo Ami occurrence, which is reported to have produced approximately 60,000 tonnes grading 5.6 g/t per tonne between 1934 and 1937
"In our first full summer of exploration since going public last August, we'll be advancing a number of key projects in the southern Abitibi region of Ontario, an area that we believe still has tremendous potential for new discoveries," said Scott McLean, President of Transition Metals Corp. "We've demonstrated through the Haultain project that it's still possible to walk a few hundred meters off a paved highway in one of the world's most prolific gold producing regions, and discover visible gold at surface, just by peeling back a little moss. We're optimistic that our programs this summer will uncover additional discoveries with similar growth potential."
The Abitibi greenstone belt straddles the Ontario-Quebec border in northern Ontario, and has produced over 160 million ounces of gold in the past hundred years. There are numerous established gold camps and towns within this belt, including the major ones of Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Val d'Or and Malartic, which remain active today. Although past production has been primarily from high grade deposits, higher gold prices and improvements in exploration and mining have augmented this with the development of lower grade-high tonnage deposits, such as at Osisko's Malartic mine (344 Mt P+P @ 0.97g/t for 10.7 Moz gold)1, Detour Gold's Detour Lake mine (470 Mt P+P @ 1.03g/t for 15.6 Moz gold)2, and at Trelawney Mine's Côté Lake deposit (35 Mt @ 0.82 g/t for 0.93 Moz Indicated, and 204 Mt @ 0.91 g/t for 5.94 Moz Inferred)3, which was recently the target of an acquisition bid by Iamgold. This mining-friendly area is a few hours north of Toronto, has tremendous infrastructure, a highly skilled labour force, and is increasingly viewed as a safe-haven with untapped exploration upside by junior and senior mining companies alike.
Summer 2012 Exploration Priorities
The following summarizes Transition's exploration priorities at its key projects:
New Kirkland: In 2011 Transition staked 26 km2 of highly prospective ground in an area 50 km southeast of town in the Kirkland Lake gold camp. The company identified the area as a poorly explored portion of the camp with elevated potential following new evidence that a major crustal fault running south of the Round Lake Batholith may trend into the area. Prospecting last summer in the vicinity of an historical showing returned assay values from grab samples containing up to 46.7 g/t gold and up to 2.59% copper. A number of undrilled gold occurrences are exposed at surface on the property, which will be mapped, mechanically stripped and sampled to identify and prioritize drill targets by the end of the summer.
West Matachewan: Transition has recently consolidated the West Matachewan property, a 15 km2 parcel of Archean rocks along the interpreted western extension of the Cadillac-Larder Lake fault zone, 15 km southwest of AuRico Gold's Young-Davidson mine4. Previous work conducted on the property by Western Mining identified a number of high quality, untested gold in till anomalies and geophysical targets along strike from a bedrock showing that returned gold assays up to 2.3 g/t. The priorities for this summer include mapping, mechanical stripping, and sampling.
JV Activities
In addition, partners are also actively working on these joint venture properties in the southern Abitibi:
Gowest Gold Ltd. is conducting exploration and drilling in 2012 to work further towards earning an initial 60% interest in Transition's Pipestone property, which consists of 32 km2 covering approximately 13 km of the interpreted strike extension of the Pipestone structure, an under-explored, gold-bearing fault in the Timmins gold camp that runs sub-parallel to the Destor-Porcupine fault. The first phase of drilling, which is underway now, is aimed at a series of geophysical and geochemical anomalies that have been identified by Gowest as having conditions similar to the company's Frankfield East deposit.
Abalor Minerals Inc. is planning to conduct additional exploration and drilling in 2012 on the Jumping Moose property, which consists of 23 km2, approximately 35 km north of Shining Tree. The property contains a cluster of large, sub-angular and extremely high grade (>500 g/t Au) gold-silver-tellurium bearing quartz vein boulders identified in the 1950s, and an "in-situ" showing of similar style mineralization with grab samples containing up to
Seeking JV Partners
Transition is actively seeking joint venture partners for each of these 100%-owned gold properties:
Haultain (Ontario): With widespread visible gold at surface and in multiple shallow drill holes, the full potential for this 53 km2 property project remains to be determined. Located adjacent to a paved highway, less than 1 km from Gowganda (half-way between Sudbury and Timmins), the property sits within a window of Archean rocks near the eastern extension of the Ridout fault along the southwest margin of the Round Lake Batholith. Geology exposed on the property is similar to ore-forming environments observed near Kirkland Lake. Highlights from the 21 hole (2,158m) drill program completed in the fall of 2011 include 4.7 g/t over 3.1 m and 82.5 g/t over 0.4 m. Two other gold mineralization zones were defined during this program that remain open at depth and along strike.
Homathko (BC): This drill-ready, 54 km2 property is 200 km west of Williams Lake in the historic gold producing Caribou region of BC. It encompasses a high grade gold showing discovered by Falconbridge that returned assays up to 335 g/t. Transition has defined a previously uninvestigated widespread gold system associated with altered and mineralized porphyry and mafic volcanics approximately 1,500 m in strike length and up to 60 meters wide. Drill targets to evaluate the exposed gold occurrences have been identified and permitting applications are in place to allow for drilling later this summer.
Mayflower (Ontario): The Mayflower property is located 35 km southwest of Atikokan, and 200 km west of Thunder Bay, in northwestern Ontario. It straddles the Trans Canada highway, is transected by the Quetico and Seine River faults that are spatially associated with a number of untested gold occurrences. A 30 metre shaft and approximately 50 metres of underground workings on two levels were completed in the early 1900's. Grab samples collected by the Ontario Department of Mines in 1981 returned values ranging from nil up to 0.95 oz/t gold and 5.17 oz/t silver. Less than 1,000 metres of diamond drilling with vertical depths <50 metres below surface, are known to have been completed on the property by past owners.
Espanola (Ontario): This 6 km2 ha property is adjacent to, and along strike from, the past producing McMillan gold mine, located 10 km south of Espanola. It covers a number of gold showings that have not been evaluated using modern exploration techniques including the Jo Ami occurrence, which is reported to have produced approximately 60,000 tonnes grading 5.6 g/t per tonne between 1934 and 1937, from structures closely related the House Lake Fault.
About Transition Metals Corp
Transition Metals Corp (XTM -TSX.V) is a Canadian-based, gold-focused project generator that specializes in converting new exploration ideas into Canadian discoveries. The team has over 60 years of collective exploration experience in the established, emerging and historic mining camps of northern Ontario, and actively develops and tests new ideas for discovering gold mineralization in places that others have not looked, which often allows the company to acquire properties inexpensively. The team is rigorous in its fieldwork, and combines traditional techniques with newer ones to help unearth compelling prospects and drill targets. Transition's business model is to acquire and advance multiple grassroots exploration projects simultaneously, thereby maximizing shareholder exposure to discovery and capital gain. Joint venture partners fund a significant portion of higher-risk drilling and exploration, allowing Transition to conserve capital and minimize shareholder's equity dilution. The company, which went public in 2011, has an expanding portfolio that currently includes six early stage gold projects, and two additional ones that are being explored by partners.
Qualified Person / Quality Control Procedures
This press release has been reviewed by Mr. Greg Collins, P.Geo (APGO), a Qualified Person under the National Instrument 43-101 guidelines.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information
Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this news release constitutes “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as “plans”, “proposes”, “estimates”, “intends”, “expects”, “believes”, “may”, “will” and include without limitation, statements regarding estimated capital and operating costs, expected production timeline, benefits of updated development plans, foreign exchange assumptions and regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, competition, risks inherent in the mining industry, and regulatory risks. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Notes:
1 Source: http://www.osisko.com/en/company/resources-reserves.html
2 Source: http://www.detourgold.com/PROJECTS/Detour-Lake/default.aspx
3 Source: http://www.trelawneymining.com/c%C3%B4t%C3%A9-lake
4 Mineralization at the Young-Davidson gold deposit may not be representative of mineralization on Transition Metals’ West Matachewan property.
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 release.
Further information is available on the Company's website at: http://www.transitionmetalscorp.com or contact:
Scott McLean
President and CEO
Transition Metals Corp.
Tel: (705) 669-0590
George McTaggart
VP Investor Relations & Marketing
Transition Metals Corp.
Tel: (705) 669-0590
Tel: (613) 513-5118