SASKATOON, SK, March 2,
2023 /CNW/ - Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.
(TSXV: OMM) ("Omineca" or the "Company") is pleased to report that
their Joint Venture partner, Hamilton Gold Royalties ("HGR"), and
mining contractor Fortis Mining Engineering and Manufacturing
("Fortis") have successfully entered the placer gold bearing
paleochannel at the Wingdam underground project, located 40 km east
of Quesnel, British Columbia.
Fortis reports that they are seeing placer gold in the
paleochannel gravels similar in character and size to the gold
recovered in the 2012 bulk sample. The gold bearing material is
being stockpiled in a remuck station, purpose cut into bedrock
underground and will be processed through the wash plant in due
course. The results of placer gold recovery will be announced as
they are tabulated.
Given their careful planning and meticulous attention to detail,
Omineca is very pleased with Fortis's execution to date. With the
presence of visible placer gold upon entering the paleochannel in
bedrock faults and the nearside extremity of the channel bed, the
Company looks forward to the prospects of excavating the gravels
from the central portion of the channel, where the majority of the
placer gold was recovered in the 2012 bulk sample.
Fortis has temporarily paused this heading after successfully
entering the paleochannel in order to advance the footwall
access/haulage drift a further 20 meters downstream (to the left of
above photos) having completed approximately 10 meters of that in
the past week. Once the access drift is extended, Fortis will begin
another crosscut and then advance into the heart of the channel on
multiple headings to excavate the gold bearing gravels between
crosscuts.
Fortis has doubled their workforce and are now running day and
night shifts as mining operations continue. In addition to
extending the access/haulage drift further downstream, the drift
was substantially widened and improved to allow ample space to
concurrently initiate multiple crosscuts while continuously
advancing the footwall drift. This additional foundational
work will allow Fortis to undertake the paleochannel excavation as
a whole in an efficient manner rather than just a single crosscut
at a time.
In order to expedite advancement through harder than expected
quartzite in bedrock sections, Fortis has begun utilizing drill and
blast methods in combination with mechanical mining as well as
adding a second road header and an underground jumbo drill. The
addition of the smaller Alpine road header is ideally suited for
mining within the paleochannel. To ensure the stability of the
interior of the paleochannel, Fortis is utilizing spilings, grout,
special shotcrete formulations, and steel sets (see photos) in
place of the ground freezing technology that was used in the 2012
bulk sample.
About Omineca Mining and Metals
Ltd.
Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.'s flagship Wingdam gold
exploration and placer recovery project is located along the
Barkerville Highway 45 km east of the City of Quesnel. The Wingdam Property includes
mineral tenures totaling over 61,392 hectares (613 square kms) and
in excess of 15 linear kilometers of placer claims, both
encompassing the Lightning Creek valley where topographic
conditions created thick layers of overburden, which preserved a
large portion of a buried paleochannel containing placer
gold-bearing gravels. Omineca also has an exploration and diamond
drill program currently underway exploring for the potential
multiple hard rock sources of the placer gold at Wingdam.
Qualified Person
All scientific and technical information in this news release
has been prepared by, or approved by Stephen Kocsis, P.Geo., Lead Geologist. Mr.
Kocsis is a qualified person for the purposes of National
Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes
forward-looking statements regarding Omineca and its
business. Such statements are based on the current
expectations and views of future events of Omineca's
management. In some cases, the forward-looking statements can
be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect",
"plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "estimate", "believe"
or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions
intended to identify forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release
may not occur and could differ materially as a result of the
failure to secure TSX Venture Exchange of the grant of options and
many other factors beyond the control of Omineca. No
forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking
statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions
and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statement or information.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and
Omineca undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable
securities laws.
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.
SOURCE Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd