Symbol: AZM.TSX Venture
LONGUEUIL, QC, Jan. 7, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Azimut
Exploration Inc. ("Azimut" or the "Company")
(TSXV: AZM) wishes to highlight the central role of its
proprietary AZtechMineTM expert system in the
Company's ability to identify high potential targets and make
subsequent discoveries. Azimut holds the largest mineral
exploration portfolio in Quebec
(see Figure 1) and all these properties have been identified using
the AZtechMineTM methodology.
Numerical approaches, including artificial intelligence, are a
new paradigm for mineral exploration. Since 2003, Azimut has
applied predictive modelling to mineral exploration. The results
from 2019 for four (4) key properties (see below) further emphasize
the strong link between Azimut's predictive methodology and
practical field achievements through sizeable discoveries.
These most recent results demonstrate again that
AZtechMineTM is a fully operational and efficient
discovery tool.
In 2020, Azimut will advance these four properties through
substantial programs that include diamond drilling. All press
releases mentioned as references in this communication are
available in the News section of the Company's website
at www.azimut-exploration.com.
James Bay Progress (see Figures 2 to 5)
Since 2003, Azimut has performed six mineral potential modelling
in the James Bay region, five for
gold and one for copper (press release of July 8, 2019). The
last gold modelling covered a 176,300 km2 surface
area and led to a regional-scale strategic alliance with SOQUEM
(press release of September 26,
2016).
The key progress achieved in 2019 is summarized below.
Elmer and Duxbury Gold Properties (100%
Azimut)
- These two adjacent properties provide a controlling position
over a 35-kilometre strike length along the Lower Eastmain
greenstone belt of Archean age. Azimut believes this highly
prospective region is underexplored.
- The Patwon Prospect, a priority target, is part of a
larger 7-kilometre-long high-grade trend.
- Prospecting and channel sampling over Patwon delineated a
150 m by 50
m area with encouraging surface results, including:
-
- 9.52 g/t Au over 7.1 m
Channel Elm-11
- 36.3 g/t Au over 2.0 m
Channel Elm-10
- 9.56 g/t Au over 5.36 m
Channel Elm-40, 44, 44'
- 3.36 g/t Au over 10.32 m
Channel Elm-33, 33'
- 1.1 g/t Au over 18.03 m
Channel Elm-42, 43
- The results of a maiden 7-hole diamond drill program
(996 m) are pending. All holes
encountered mineralization, including native gold grains in each
hole.
- See the 2019 press releases of July
16, September 19, October 22 and November
28 for further details.
Pikwa Copper-Gold Property (SOQUEM / Azimut Option)
- This property is 40 kilometres long by 17 kilometres wide and
provides a controlling position over a major polymetallic target
marked by a regional arsenic-bismuth-copper (As-Bi-Cu) footprint in
lake-bottom sediments ("LBS") and a 20-kilometre-long magnetic
high. It is located in the Archean La Grande Subprovince.
- Field work in 2019 focused on the Copperfield Trend, a
20-kilometre-long copper-gold target comprising East and West
segments, each 10 kilometres long.
- Copperfield East includes a 5.5-kilometre long by a
500-metre-wide target area defined by the spatial association of a
strong detailed LBS anomaly (Cu-Mo-Ag-Bi-W) and a strong
copper-in-soil anomaly.
- A mineralized boulder field of mostly angular to slightly
rounded boulders is present along the long axis of the soil
anomaly. The best grades from 141 sampled boulders were 20.1%
Cu, 2.99 g/t Au, 58 g/t Ag and 0.246%
Mo.
- Several high-grade mineralized outcrops within the soil anomaly
yielded grades up to 9.81% Cu, 13.45 g/t Au and
37.6 g/t Ag.
- Two strong VTEM conductors on strike with the soil anomaly
represent attractive targets for sulphide mineralization.
- Copperfield West displays strong copper LBS anomalies
and the same magnetic pattern as Copperfield East (linear magnetic
high) but has been so far subject to limited exploration work.
- See the 2019 press releases of March
20, April 15, July 22, October
16, October 23 and
December 3 for further details.
Nunavik Progress (see Figures 6 to 11)
In 2009, Azimut acquired a strategic land position over a vast
underexplored region of Northern
Quebec (the "Rex Trend") through its Rex and Rex South properties. The projects were
staked following the Company's copper-gold predictive modelling
over a 1,247,900 km2 surface area. Azimut's
subsequent province-wide ranking update in 2015 used new in-house
calculation tools (press release of November
19, 2015).
The Rex Trend is defined as a strong 300-kilometre-long copper
anomaly in LBS coupled with a strong 100-kilometre-long rare earth
anomaly (press releases of March 31 and
July 22, 2011). Azimut considers the Rex Trend to be
a new mineral province related to a deep-seated
structural corridor with the potential to host large-scale
deposits, which may include the following mineral deposits types:
iron oxide copper-gold ("IOCG") deposits, reduced intrusion-related
gold-polymetallic systems, copper-gold mineralization in shear
zones, and volcanogenic massive sulphides.
In 2019, Azimut and SOQUEM announced the conclusion of a second
strategic alliance covering the Rex, Rex
South and Nantais properties (press releases of February 25, May 15
and September 4, 2019).
Rex Property (Azimut / SOQUEM Option)
- Field work in 2019 led to the discovery of multiple mineralized
zones, further establishing Rex as a district-scale polymetallic
project for gold, copper, silver, tellurium, molybdenum and
tungsten.
- Two major mineralized zones have been identified:
-
- The Mousquetaires Zone, recognized over a
1,050-metre-long by 80-metre-wide area, is a copper-bearing brittle
fault returning grades of up to 13.65% Cu, 0.12% Mo
and 25.9 g/t Te. This zone may represent the strike
extension of the 3-kilometre-long fault-controlled copper-bearing
RBL Zone, which returned grades of up to 11.6% Cu in
grab samples.
- The Subtle Zone, recognized over a 500-metre-long by
150-metre-wide area, is a shear-hosted high-grade gold system with
silver and zinc, returning grades of up to 141 g/t Au,
915 g/t Ag and 7.87% Zn, as well as a previous result
of 580 g/t Au in 2010. This zone appears on strike with a
group of 10 prospects further south on the Property that
returned up to 133.5 g/t Au, 851 g/t Ag, 9.09%
Zn, >500 g/t Te, 1.6% Cu and 0.87%
W.
- See the 2019 press release of November
6 for further details.
Rex South Property (Azimut / SOQUEM Option)
- The Property hosts at least 11 mineralized zones with
kilometre-scale extensions, most positioned around or near a 15
kilometre by 5 kilometre ovoid granitic intrusion known as the
Qalluviartuuq Intrusive Complex. Rex
South is a district-scale exploration property with strong
potential for copper, gold and other associated commodities
(silver, tellurium, molybdenum, tungsten and tin).
- The summer field campaign led to the discovery of a new
copper-bearing mineralized zone (Boreal Zone) and the
extension of previously recognized mineralized zones at
Copperton, Dragon and Lebreuil:
-
- The Boreal Zone is a hydrothermal breccia identified over an
area 300 metres long by 10 metres wide with copper grades of up to
3.07% Cu in grab samples.
- The Copperton Zone, recognized over a strike length of 3.5
kilometres and a width of 20 to 100 metres, corresponds to
disseminated to semi-massive chalcopyrite and pyrite. The best
grades from the latest prospecting program were 5.0 g/t Au,
1.75% Cu and 4.83 g/t Au, 1.5% Cu in grab samples.
- The Dragon Zone is approximately 450 metres long by 90 metres
wide and appears spatially correlated with a magnetic high.
Mineralization is mainly chalcopyrite, and the best results from
grab samples were 4.05% Cu, 0.6% Mo and 2.78% Cu, 0.13%
Mo.
- The Lebreuil Zone is about 2 kilometres long, and the best
grades from grab samples were 3.67% Cu, 11.2 g/t Au
and 48.5 g/t Te.
- See the 2019 press release of November
25 for further details.
Grab samples are selective by nature and unlikely to represent
average grades. Rock samples were sent to ALS Minerals in
Val-d'Or, Quebec, where they were
assayed for a 48-element suite using an ICP method. Gold was
analyzed by fire assay with atomic absorption finish, and samples
exceeding 3.0 g/t Au were reassayed with a gravimetric finish.
Azimut applied industry-standard QA/QC procedures.
About the AZtechMineTM Expert System
AZtechMine links mineral databases to numerical geoscientific
parameters (geochemistry, magnetism, gravity, radioactivity, etc.)
acquired at the regional and country scales to identify targets
with high discovery probabilities. The methodology is not limited
to any specific geographic area and can be applied wherever the
right database exists. The key principles are as follows:
- AZtechMine is based on the assumption that large near-surface
deposits generate distinct and statistically recognizable
multiparameter footprints.
- An innovative statistical approach extracts the footprints for
each selected mineral deposit type or commodity. Results are then
ranked by relative discovery probability.
- The resulting maps pinpoint the footprints of known deposits
and reveal comparable footprints in poorly explored areas that may
then become targets.
- Compared to other predictive approaches (weight of evidence,
neural network, machine learning), AZtechMine is a data-driven
white box expert system that relies exclusively on measured
numerical data collected on regular grids, without any weighting or
interpretative bias.
This press release was prepared by Dr. Jean-Marc Lulin, P.Geo., acting as Azimut's
qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Azimut
Azimut is a mineral exploration company whose core business is
centred on target generation and partnership development. The
Company uses a pioneering approach to big data analytics (the
proprietary AZtechMineTM expert system) enhanced
by extensive exploration know-how. The Company's edge against
exploration risk is founded on systematic regional-scale data
analysis and multiple concurrently active projects.
Azimut maintains rigorous financial discipline and has
58.5 million shares outstanding. Azimut's tight share
structure is a key asset for value creation. Since its founding in
1986, there have been no share consolidations.
www.azimut-exploration.com
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 Azimut Exploration Inc.