Timberline drills 93 m of 0.25% Cu at Elder Creek

Jan 9, 2020

2020-01-08 08:45 ET – News Release

Mr. Steven Osterberg reports

TIMBERLINE DRILLS PRIMARY COPPER PORPHYRY MINERALIZATION, AND EXPANDS COPPER OXIDE ZONE AT ELDER CREEK PROJECT, BATTLE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, NEVADA

Timberline Resources Corp. has drilled a long interval of copper-silver porphyry-style mineralization in the initial test of the Morning Glory Hill target at the Elder Creek project in the Battle Mountain district of Nevada. Reverse circulation (RC) hole RCEC 19-05 intercepted 305 feet (93 metres) grading 0.25 per cent copper, 0.08 gram per tonne gold, and nine g/t silver and bottomed in mineralization at 555 feet (169 m) because of limitations of the drill rig within intensely silicified rock. Additionally, three RC holes further delineated a broad area of thick, near-surface copper oxide mineralization at the Valmy pit target area of the project. Timberline has the right to acquire a 65-per-cent interest in the 16-square-mile (41 square kilometres) Elder Creek property through an earn-in agreement with McEwen Mining Inc. The company is actively seeking a strategic partner for Elder Creek.

Steven Osterberg, Timberline’s president and chief executive officer, commented: “The recently completed drill holes at Elder Creek further define a large mineralized copper-gold-silver porphyry system with multiple intrusive and mineralizing events. We have already identified six priority target areas over only a small portion of the porphyry system. Three of these targets have been tested by initial drill holes, most of which bottomed in long intervals of porphyry-related mineralization. Elder Creek is a unique opportunity for a significant discovery in an active mining jurisdiction with excellent infrastructure.”

Morning Glory Hill target

RCEC19-05 tested an area of outcropping mineralized porphyry breccia on Morning Glory Hill. The breccia is coincident with large IP (induced polarization) resistivity and chargeability high anomalies. Assay results are summarized in the associated table. The mineralized interval is intensely altered with silica (quartz), sericite and chlorite and contains from 2 per cent to greater than 10 per cent disseminated sulphides including pyrite, chalcopyrite and minor molybdenite. Silver has a strong positive correlation with copper values.

Copper mineralization in RCEC19-05 and in nearby historic hole 98EC-07 (18 metres at 0.45 per cent copper and six m at 0.57 per cent Cu) appears associated with coincident high IP and high resistivity geophysical signatures likely due to the disseminated sulphides and pervasive silicification, respectively.

                           SUMMARY OF ELDER CREEK DRILLING ASSAY RESULTS BY TARGET AREA

Drill hole                    From        To    Total        From         To     Total     Cu     Mo        Au       Ag
                            (feet)    (feet)   (feet)    (metres)   (metres)  (metres)    (%)  (ppm)     (g/t)    (g/t)
Morning Glory 
Hill target
RCEC19-05                       75       250      175        22.9       76.2      53.4   0.03    181     0.017         4
                               250    555 TD      305        76.2   169.2 TD      93.0   0.25    122     0.083         9
including                      255       345       90        77.7      105.2      27.4   0.34    141     0.138        14
                               255       265       10        77.7       80.8       3.0   0.74     69     0.280        38
98EC-07 (historic)             135       455      320        41.2      138.7      97.5   0.23          historic; no data
including                      375       435       60       114.3      132.6      18.3   0.45
                               135       155       20        41.2       47.3       6.1   0.57
RCEC 19-01                     270  1,960 TD     1690        82.3   597.6 TD     515.3   0.07    212         -         2
including                      475       680      205       144.8      207.3      62.5   0.12    222         -         4
                              1115      1180       65       339.9      359.8      19.9   0.25    181         -         5
                              1615      1630       15       492.4      497.0       7.6   0.21    233         -         5
Quartz-sulphide 
breccia target
CCEC 18-02                     840  1,497 TD      657       256.1   456.4 TD     200.3   0.15    730         -         4
including                  1,313.5     1,360     46.5       400.5      414.6      14.2   1.20  0.31%      0.13        26
Valmy pit target
RCEC 18-01                       0    500 TD      500           0   152.4 TD     152.4   0.21    145         -         3
including                      160       270      110        48.8       82.3      33.5   0.44    181         -         5
including                      195       210       15        59.5       64.0       4.6   0.55    132      0.33        13
RCEC 19-02                      85       270      185        25.9       82.3      56.4   0.22      -         -         3
                               415    565 TD      150       126.5   172.2 TD      45.7   0.16      -         -         3
RCEC 19-03                       0    405 TD      405           0   123.5 TD     123.5   0.16      -         -         2
including                        0       100      100           0       30.5      30.5   0.20      -         -         5
RCEC 19-04                       0        30       30           0        9.2       9.2   0.19      -         -         6
                               150       165       15        45.7       50.3       4.6   0.34      -         -         9

* True thickness of drill intercepts is unknown; 
** TD: drill hole total depth.

Valmy pit target

RCEC19-02, 03 and 04, totalling 1,470 feet (448 m), were drilled to offset and expand the mineralization identified in RCEC 18-01, which averaged 0.21 per cent Cu over its entire 500-foot (152 m) length, including 110 feet (34 m) grading 0.44 per cent Cu. RCEC19-02 contained intercepts of 185 feet (56 m) grading 0.22 per cent Cu and 150 feet (46 m) grading 0.16 per cent Cu, while RCEC 19-03 averaged 0.16 per cent Cu across its entire 405-foot (124 m) length. Each drill hole bottomed in mineralization with drilling terminated due to intense silica alteration and groundwater. These holes extended the footprint of the shallow copper oxide mineralization at the Valmy pit target area to approximately 575 feet (175 m) by 400 feet (122 m). The mineralization remains open in all directions and to depth, where it transitions to sulphide mineralization.

Exploration plans

Given the magnitude of the opportunity at Elder Creek, the company is actively seeking a strategic partner to explore this really huge porphyry system. Only a small portion of the system has been evaluated to date. The three target areas that have been drilled contain substantial Cu plus or minus Mo-Ag-Au (molybdenum-silver-gold) prophyry mineralization. Future objectives include offsetting and deepening these drill holes, and identifying and testing new targets.

Elder Creek property

Timberline’s Elder Creek copper-gold and adjacent Paiute properties lie within the prolific Battle Mountain district of Nevada, approximately 11 miles (18 kilometres) north of Newmont’s Phoenix mining complex. Data compiled from over 40-plus years of exploration on the property include only limited shallow (typically less than 500 feet (152 m)), historic drilling in the pronounced magnetic low, and along the north and northeastern of magnetic high doughnut zone targeted primarily at gold. Geologic and geophysical characteristics and rock geochemical sampling results evident at Elder Creek (see press release dated June 18, 2018) are common to major porphyry copper deposits. Three primary target areas have been identified to date at Elder Creek.

Further technical details of the company’s Elder Creek project may be viewed at the company’s website.

Sampling methodology, chain of custody, quality control and quality assurance

Samples of reverse circulation cuttings were collected at the drill rig at five-foot intervals under the supervision of a company representative and transported to ALS in Nevada for analyses. Samples were assayed for gold by fire assay of a 30-gram (one assay ton) charge with an AA (atomic absorption) finish (ALS code Au-AA23). Samples were also assayed for a 48-multi-element using four-acid ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) (code ME-MS61). Overlimits were reassayed using four-acid aqua regia digestion and ICP or AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) finish (code Cu-OG62).

Dr. Steven Osterberg, PhD, PG, Timberline’s president and chief executive officer, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release. Mr. Osterberg is not considered independent of the company as defined in Section 1.5 of National Instrument 43-101. Drill intercepts are reported as drill thicknesses; true widths of intercepts are unknown.

About Timberline Resources Corp.

Timberline Resources is focused on advancing district-scale gold exploration and development projects in Nevada. These include the Lookout Mountain joint venture project with PM & Gold Mines operated by Timberline and the Windfall project, both in the Eureka district, as well as being operator of both the Paiute joint venture project with Nevada Gold Mines, and the Elder Creek joint venture with McEwen Mining, both in the Battle Mountain district. All of these properties lie on the prolific Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend. Timberline also owns the Seven Troughs property in Northern Nevada, which is one of the state’s highest-grade former producers.

We seek Safe Harbor.

http://timberlineresources.co/