Advance Gold Corp. is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on the company's efforts to develop our silver project in Mexico and to proceed with our working interest in a joint venture with Acacia Mining plc.
Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO of Advance Gold Corp. commented: "For a junior exploration company with a tiny market valuation we have a lot on the go. At our 100% owned Tabasquena silver mine in Mexico, we are planning a geophysical survey together with a follow up drill program. The well known Milagros silver mine lies approximately 8 kilometres to the south east of the Tabasquena mine. We believe that these two mines lie on the same structure.
Our other key asset, is a gold project in Kenya where Advance Gold currently has a 13.5% participating interest in a joint venture with Acacia Mining plc (Acacia Mining is 63.9% owned by Barrick Gold Corp). In our agreement with Acacia, if we do not contribute to the funding of the project our interest will be diluted down to 10%. Once this point has been reached Advance Gold will be assigned an uncapped 3% Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty. While we are a participating partner, Acacia Mining has a first right of refusal if another company wants to purchase our interest. In the event that we are converted to an NSR, then we are clear of any rights of first refusal and can sell the NSR to the best offer.
We believe this is a valuable asset, as it is an integral part of Acacia Mining's West Kenya Gold project. At this point in time, Advance Gold is considering its options, in particular to the possibility of contributing to the ongoing exploration costs in Kenya. The possibility also exists that Advance Gold will decide to sell this interest/royalty and use the funds to further develop its Mexican assets.
It is clear based on the quality of our projects that we have a compelling story in the junior precious metals sector. We are preparing to start an investor relations program designed to increase awareness of the merits of our projects."
Tabasquena Silver Project - Mexico
Advance Gold Corp holds a 100-per-cent interest in the Tabasquena silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico.
Having reviewed the existing data from the project, including the induced polarization (IP) survey carried out by Penoles. It appears that the IP survey was very effective in identifying the mineralized veins at Tabasquena. It should be stressed that this work is historical in nature, and as such should not be relied upon. The work was done by Penoles, a large mining company.
As a result, Advance Gold is currently receiving quotes to carry out an extensive IP survey at Tabasquena. The aim of the IP survey will be to delineate the veins and trace their strike extent. Results from this IP survey will assist in the drill program.
Underground mapping and sampling at the Tabasquena mine will be carried out to establish the mineralogy, grade and depth extent of the mineralization. It is important to note that none of the historical work went below the near surface oxide portion of the two known veins. Additionally, the strike extent of historical work only covers approximately 100 metres of the Tabasquena epithermal vein system, which appears to extend to over 2 kilometres.
Advance Gold is also currently looking at acquiring new properties in the Zacatecas area.
West Kenya Gold Project - Africa
Gold mining in the region started in 1935 when a company, Rosterman Gold Mines (Advance Gold Corp - Special license SL-267 covers the Rosterman mine), was incorporated and licensed to prospect for and mine gold near the town of Kakamega, Kenya. The Rosterman company mined gold for 17 years, until 1952. In that period, it had milled about 655,000 tonnes of ore and produced 259,142 ounces of gold (roughly 11g/t Au). These are historical figures, as such should not be relied upon, the company is using them to provide context.
Advance Gold Corp currently holds a 13.5% interest in a joint venture with Acacia Mining plc (Barrick Gold holds a 63.9% equity interest in Acacia) on three mineral leases in southwest corner of Kenya. They are located along the Buisa Kagamega - Greenstone Belt.
This is a highly prospective area which has seen extensive small scale mining. The principal assets of the JV with Acacia Mining are three Special Licenses (SL-265 Bukura, SL-266 Sigalagala and SL-267 Rosterman). Since 2013 Acacia Mining have spent $US 41 million in the area and have recently announced an inferred resource of 3.46 million tonnes at 12.1 g/t Au on an area contiguous to Advance Gold's licenses.
The main zone of interest is the Liranda corridor, Acacia Mining view this as a significant new gold corridor. This trend runs through two of Advance Gold Special Licenses, namely SL-265 and SL-266. Reconnaissance air-core drilling of gold-in-soil anomalies identified significant gold mineralization. Hole KDAC0152 on SL-266 returned 6 metres at 30.9 g/t Au. These results together with other results from the area can be seen on the company's website.
Acacia Mining has publicly announced they plan to spend a further $US 6.4 million in the area in 2018 (Acacia Mining-Preliminary Results Review, February 2018).
To put the merits of the project into context we quote Acacia Mining on the Liranda Corridor as "One of the highest-grade projects in Africa" - Acacia Mining, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Metals and Mining Conference, May, 2017. Advance Gold holds an important interest in a large portion of this impressive untapped region.
Emily Hanson, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Advance Gold Corp, is the qualified person responsible for this release and has prepared, supervised and approved the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure contained within the release.
About Advance Gold Corp. (AAX.V)
Advance Gold is a TSX-V listed junior exploration company focused on exploring and acquiring mineral properties containing precious metals. The Company currently has a 13.5% interest on strategic claims in the Liranda Corridor. The remaining 86.5% of the Kakamega project is held by Acacia Mining (63% owned by Barrick Gold). In addition, Advance Gold has recently acquired a 100% interest in the Tabasquena Silver Mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. The Tabasquena project is a shadows of a headframe project near the Milagros silver mine, near the city Ojocaliente, Mexico.
For further information, please contact:
Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO
Phone (604) 505-4753
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. 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 may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change, except as required by law.
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