VANCOUVER, May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Amarc Resources Ltd.
("Amarc" or the "Company") (TSX Venture: AHR; OTCBB: AXREF) is
pleased to provide an update on plans to advance the Newton bulk
tonnage gold discovery and other priority targets in the
prospective Plateau Gold-Copper Belt, located in south-central
British Columbia ("BC"). Amarc
considers that the Newton property and Plateau Gold Copper Belt
hold significant potential for the discovery and development of
epithermal gold and porphyry copper deposits.
During 2011 exploration activity will advance on
multiple fronts throughout Amarc's mineral property interests in
south-central BC. This work will be guided by previous years'
drilling results, extensive airborne and ground-based geophysical
surveys and a growing internal database of the region's highly
prospective geology. In addition to delineation drilling at Newton,
Amarc expects to drill-test three porphyry copper targets in the
southern sector of the Plateau Gold-Copper Belt this year.
Further, extensive Induced Polarization (IP) surveys will be
conducted over 12 deposit-scale targets developed from newly
completed airborne geophysical surveys in the northern sector of
the district with drill testing of compelling targets to
follow.
"It's an ambitious program that's guided by
our on-the-ground investigations over the last two field seasons
and a senior geological team at Amarc that has synthesized a
proprietary understanding of the region's highly prospective
geology," said Amarc Executive Chairman Robert A. Dickinson. "We believe the Plateau
Gold-Copper Belt, which runs from the porphyry copper district
defined by the Prosperity deposit in the south to the
Blackwater-Davidson bulk tonnage
epithermal gold district in the north, is the most important
emergent gold-copper belt in the Province. Amarc has a dominant
land position in the region, and we fully intend to advance our
projects on multiple fronts this year. We are planning to commence
the field season at Newton by drill testing the extension of the
discovery zone to the east under shallow cover."
At Newton limited wide-spaced historical
drilling within an eight square kilometre sulphide mineralized
system returned unusually long intervals of highly anomalous to
potentially 'ore-grade' bulk tonnage-style gold mineralization (see
Amarc new release dated November 30,
2010). A 14-hole, 2009 core drilling program completed by
Amarc discovered an area on the eastern side of the mineralized
system that hosts potentially 'ore-grade' gold intercepts over
broad intervals (see Amarc news release dated January 19, 2010).
In 2010, a 25-hole drilling program (see
Amarc news release dated February 10,
2011) returned important intercepts in hole 11040, which
established that the discovery zone extends eastward under shallow
cover and remains open to the east. Hole 11040 returned 155 metres
of 0.58 g/t gold starting from surface, including 26 metres of 1.12
g/t gold and 39 metres of 0.71 g/t gold. The hole is located 200
metres east of Amarc's 2009 discovery drilling, which includes 69
metres of 1.41 g/t gold (hole 9001), 128 metres of 0.84 g/t gold
(hole 9003) and 189 metres of 1.56 g/t gold (hole 9004) (see
detailed drill plan on Amarc's website).
"Our geologists and field crews are currently
preparing for drilling at Newton, with the goal of determining the
full extent of the grade and continuity of mineralization to the
east of the discovery zone," confirmed Dickinson. "After two
years of drilling and other intensive geological investigations at
Newton, we have a great deal of confidence in the potential for the
discovery zone to emerge as an important gold deposit,"
Dickinson said.
In addition to its 80% interest in the Newton
property, Amarc holds a 100% interest in a number of properties
totaling approximately 2,000 square kilometres of mineral claims
that it staked regionally within the Plateau Gold-Copper Belt to
the north and south of the Newton property.
In the northern sector of the Plateau
Gold-Copper Belt, Amarc has initiated its 2011 regional field
program at its Galileo and Hubble properties in the
Blackwater-Davidson district by
undertaking 4,400 line kilometres of helicopter-borne, magnetic and
electromagnetic geophysical surveys (property location maps are
posted on Amarc's website at
http://www.amarcresources.com/ahr/MapsFigures.asp). Twelve
deposit-scale targets have been identified for immediate follow-up
in the field and an initial permit for Induced Polarization (IP)
ground geophysical surveys has been submitted to the provincial
government.
"We are encouraged by the high-quality
epithermal gold-silver and gold-copper porphyry-type targets
identified by our geologists on the underexplored Galileo and
Hubble properties," Dickinson said. "Our intention is to
undertake comprehensive field programs this spring and summer to
delineate priority targets for drill testing later in the
year.
"The Galileo and Hubble properties lie within
what I believe to be the most exciting emerging gold district in
BC, with notable bulk tonnage disseminated gold discoveries being
advanced at Newton, Blackwater-Davidson and Capoose. At Amarc, we have both a
dominant land position in the region and the geological expertise
and resources to be a major player in this developing
district."
The Galileo property is located approximately 16
kilometres to the west of the Richfield Ventures Corp.'s
Davidson-Blackwater deposit
(Indicated Resource of 53.5 million tonnes at 1.06 g/t gold and 5.6
g/t silver, and Inferred Resource of 5.5 million tonnes at 0.96 g/t
gold and 4.0 g/t silver). It is also 13 kilometres south of
the Capoose deposit (Indicated Resource of 31.2 million tonnes at
0.38 g/t gold and 25.5 g/t silver and Inferred Resource of 37.3
million tonnes at 0.37 g/t gold and 24.6 g/t silver) and just three
kilometres west of the 3T's vein gold deposit (best intercepts
include 34 metres at 1.19 g/t gold and 101.2 g/t silver) both of
which are held by Silver Quest Resources Ltd.
At the southern end of the Plateau Gold-Copper
belt Amarc has secured drilling permits to test three significant
porphyry copper targets (see Amarc press releases dated
February 10, 2011) and expects to
mobilize its drill crews in June. The targets lie some 15
kilometres northeast of Taseko Mines Ltd.'s Prosperity copper-gold
project (831 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading
0.41 g/t gold and 0.23 % copper, containing 3.6 billion pounds
copper and 7.7 million ounces gold at a C$5.50 NSR/t cut-off.)
In addition, Amarc geologists have defined new
targets in the southern sector of the Plateau Gold-Copper Belt by
combining in-house geological knowledge with the results of a
7,000-line kilometre ZTEM survey (Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic
system) and a high-sensitivity magnetometer airborne geophysical
survey (see Amarc's January 19, 2010
press release). These targets will be further assessed through
ground investigations in 2011. An initial permit for IP geophysical
field surveys in this area has been submitted to the provincial
government.
The Newton property and the Plateau Gold-Copper
Belt are located some 100 kilometres west of the City of Williams Lake in a region
characterized by subdued topography. The district is well served by
existing transportation and power infrastructure and a skilled
workforce, which support a number of operating mines and late-stage
development projects.
Amarc Resources Ltd. is a Vancouver-based exploration and development
company affiliated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI) - a
diversified, global mine development company with a 25-year history
of mineral development success. Previous HDI projects in BC include
Golden Bear, Mt. Milligan, Kemess,
Gibraltar, Prosperity and
Harmony. From its head office in Vancouver, Canada, HDI applies its unique
strengths and capabilities to acquire, develop, operate and
monetize mineral properties to provide consistently superior
returns to shareholders.
Mark Rebagliati,
P.Eng., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument
43-101, is supervising the exploration and quality assurance and
quality control programs on behalf of Amarc and has reviewed the
technical content of this release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Ronald W.
Thiessen
President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor any other
regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Forward Looking and other Cautionary
Information
This release includes certain statements that
may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this
release, other than statements of historical facts that address
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and other related
events or developments are forward-looking statements. Although the
Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those in the forward
looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements
include market prices, exploration and exploitation successes,
continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the
ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays
due to third party opposition, changes in government policies
regarding mining and natural resource exploration and
exploitation, continued availability of capital and financing, and
general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are
cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
For more information on Amarc Resources Ltd., investors
should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and
its home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Amarc Resources Ltd.
