From the Board of Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSX-V: GZD; OTCQB: GZDIF; Frankfurt: G6H)
Preamble
To our long time loyal shareholders and our new shareholders "Grizzly" or the "Company" is cognizant of how difficult it has been in the mining sector over the last few years and for the world over the last few months. These are unprecedented times and the Company is supportive of the roles and initiatives of industry and governments to protect the health and safety of all Canadians and will implement all necessary procedures and recommendations due to COVID-19 measures for its 2020 business practices.
Having said this, we see the current times also as an opportunity with the general markets in massive turmoil, the injection of liquidity by all governments to prop up economies and support their people and with gold prices rising and expected to continue to rise perhaps to record levels and stay there for some time. The Board sees an opportunity and is in the process of re-invigorating the Company, its 1st class projects, its direction and the Board itself. As one of first steps the current Board welcomes the recent addition of James (Jim) Greig and has plans to look to further additions to strengthen and refresh the Board. We are also looking to improve our Board with some future new appointments.
Jim holds an MBA from the University of Calgary, a BA Geography from Carleton University and has 20 years of experience in the resource sector, including advancement of the 5 million ounce Esaase Gold Project in West Africa as a member of mine development team at Keegan Resources Inc. (now Asanko Gold). Jim is currently President and a Director of Benchmark Metals Inc. and is involved in several resource sector companies. Selected previous engagements include the Hunter-Dickinson Group (HDI), Kennecott Canada, Breakwater Resources Ltd, McIntosh Engineering and Stantec Engineering.
In order to assist the Company deliver on financing and exploration commitments for 2020 and capitalize on apparent renewed interest in the mining and exploration sector along with the recent increased precious metal prices, we have engaged a group in Eastern Canada to assist with shareholder communications.
With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, the British Columbia Ministry of Mines has provided a grace period for conducting required exploration on all mineral claims in the Province coming due in the next 12 months. The Company has a little over 150,000 acres in the Greenwood area and close to 6,000 acres in the Roosville area with approximately 60% of the Company’s lands coming due in the next 12 months. All of the Company’s mineral claims will now be in good standing to at least December 31st, 2021.
Brian Testo, CEO, commented, “With the Bank of America analysts bullish on $3,000 gold in the next 18 months and predicting an average of $2,063 per ounce for 2021 (Kitco, April21, 2020), we intend to take full advantage of the current favourable precious metal prices and market, and raise the required capital to continue our exploration efforts in southern British Columbia in 2020.”.
Past Exploration Highlights – Greenwood Gold Project
- The Company would like to remind its long time shareholders and new shareholders that it went public in 2005 and is currently sitting at just over 67 million shares outstanding and has never rolled back its shares, unlike many of its peers.
- The Greenwood – Republic District has produced more than 7.5 million ounces (Moz) of gold (Au) and more than 25 Moz of silver (Ag) over a 150 years of mining activity with much of the production over the last 50 years.
- Total production for BC is 32 Moz of Au, add in the Republic area it would 38 Moz Au. The Greenwood – Republic District would represent 20% of all the previous production, making the district the top producing district in the Province’s history (BCGS IC 2015-6).
- The Greenwood – Republic District has more than 5 Moz of Au remaining in resources between the Hecla Mining Company and Fiore Gold in the Republic area, and Golden Dawn in the Greenwood area. We believe that the Company can add to this total.
- Grizzly has spent more than $CDN 7 million at Greenwood and has made a number of new discoveries since it commenced work in the district in 2008. The discoveries include bulk tonnage type and high grade precious metal discoveries.
- Kinross commenced an option in 2016 that covered about 65,000 acres of the 225,000 acre package (at that time), but has returned their portion of the option back to the Company.
- Kinross completed over $1.2 million in work and discovered new mineralization at Midway and Attwood/Overlander as well as identifying a number of targets that warrant follow up work, including Evening Star and others.
Greenwood Work Summary To Date
- Grizzly lands to assess = has now been tightened to 150,000 acres.
- Work completed to date includes Expenditures >$CDN 7 million.
- Two Time Domain Electromagnetic (AeroTEM) surveys over 60% of the holdings, never done before in the district, literally 100's of EM anomalies with many still to be investigated.
- Drilling 10,353 m in 58 diamond drillholes. New Au, Au-Cu and Au-Cu-Pt-Pd-Ag discoveries at Motherlode North, Copper Mountain (Prince of Wales & Mabel Jenny), Dayton East and Sappho targets.
- Sampling: 10,218 soils, 2,673 rocks and 169 Heavy Mineral samples
- Ground Geophysics: 18 Magnetic Surveys, 19 Horizonal Loop Electromagnetic (HLEM) surveys, 9 Induced Polarization (IP) surveys.
Kinross additional Work 2016 - 2019
- Sampling by Kinross includes 5,231 soils, 583 rocks and 34 silts along with 12 trenches.
- A portion of a Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) Survey over the northeast portion of the Project area was completed over an area not previously flown.
- Kinross drilling 11 holes and 2,550 m. The drilling identified three new gold discoveries at Attwood/Overlander and Midway.
Grizzly 2020 Exploration Plans – Ket 28 Prospect
Grizzly has recently received drilling permits for high priority drill targets at the Ket 28 prospect, located within the Rock Creek claim group of the Greenwood Project. Historic drilling has intersected high grade and bulk tonnage gold:
- Historic 1994 and 1996 drilling highlights include 52.19 g/t Au over 3.35 m, 3.19 g/t Au over 6.1 m, 1.44 g/t Au over 11.5 m, 1.85 g/t Au over 12.2 m, 3.63 g/t Au over 4.27 m and 7.54 g/t Au over 1.2 m all core length, with most of these intersections close to surface.
- Drilling by Grizzly in 2009 and 2010 at the Ket 28 prospect expanded upon the historic drilling in the mid 1990`s with up 8.75 g/t Au over 3 m with a higher grade zone of 11.90 g/t Au over 2 m core length up to 2.77 g/t Au over 11 m core length as a bulk tonnage target. The intersections were along strike and close to surface.
- The Company did not conduct any further exploration at the Ket 28 Prospect as the overall Greenwood focus was to utilize and test geophysical anomalies from the airborne surveys coincident with gold in soil anomalies in an effort to identify new gold discoveries with the potential for greater than million ounce type exploration targets.
With the presence of two accessible modern mills in the region, both on care and maintenance, the Company believes that putting together a modest near surface mineable gold resource may be of the greatest benefit to the Company and its shareholders in the near term.
The Company is currently is planning a 2020 exploration program, that will now focus on the Ket 28 prospect where the gold mineralization is open along strike and to depth and requires further drill testing. Grizzly is planning a 15 to 20 hole drill program that will target the mineralized zone in the central portion of the Ket 28 prospect, with the intention of expanding the currently defined gold zone and developing a maiden mineral resource estimate. The initial Ket 28 drill program is expected to cost approximately $350,000 to $500,000 and is subject to financing.
Greenwood 2020 Exploration Plans – Sappho Au Ag Pt Pd Cu Prospect
The 2010 drill results from the Sappho Prospect yielded coincident gold, silver, and platinum (Pt) group elements (“PGE”), including palladium (Pd), along with copper (Cu) in a number of drill holes. Results point to a copper porphyry style mineralization and locally skarn model with assay results yielding a wide anomalous interval of 0.28% CuEq over 93.5 m core length including a higher grade zone of 0.38 % CuEq over 63.5 m core length.
Three well documented surface copper occurrences in the northeastern portion of the alkaline intrusive complex yielded numerous high grade selective rock grab sample results including up to 8.28% Cu, 27.1 g/t Pt, 298 g/t Ag, 2.2 g/t Au and 2.57 g/t Pd. All three occurrences yielded multi gram Pt and Pd values.
Prior drilling has also yielded multi gram narrow core length intersections of Au, Pt and Pd associated with Cu. Fieldwork is being planned for 2020 in order to re-evaluate the prospect subject to financing.
Grizzly 2020 Regional Exploration Plans
Based upon results of prior exploration by the Company and Kinross over the last few years, a number of new showings along with numerous precious metal anomalies (>100 ppb Au +/- Ag, As, Sb, Cu etc.) in soils remain to be followed up and developed into new prospective drill targets. Targets in the Mount Attwood area, Motherlode North, Copper Mountain, Midway and Dayton East all require follow up work. The Company is planning additional reconnaissance exploration at a number of these targets subject to financing.
Southeast BC 2020 Exploration Plans – Robocop Co Cu Ag Prospect
The Company is preparing a planned helicopter magnetic and conductivity survey to isolate drill targets over the Robocop claims. The Robocop Prospect hosts significant historic cobalt-copper-silver in soil anomalies.
Historic drilling during the 1990’s and early 2000’s has yielded grades of up to 0.18% cobalt, 0.28% copper, 4.1 parts per million (ppm) silver over 1 m core length and 0.134% Co, 1.19% Cu and 33.8 ppm Ag over 1.23 m core length for individual core samples.
The Co-Cu-Ag mineralization is hosted in Sheppard Formation and is classified as Proterozoic sediment hosted mineralization. The mineralization is similar in style and age to Co-Cu-Ag mineralization in the Idaho Cobalt Belt approximately 700 km to the south. The Company believes that significant potential exists to expand the extent of the known mineralization on the Property and further exploration is warranted.
The Company recognizes that the crisis is dynamic and is monitoring the situation to determine the impacts that COVID-19 may have upon its 2020 exploration efforts, if any. The Company is committed to mitigating risks to personnel, stakeholders and shareholders. At present, the Company does not see a significant impact to its 2020 planned exploration programs in southern British Columbia, as exploration can be easily conducted from summer to December, 2020, and can be operated within the guidelines recommended by the Chief Inspector of Mines for British Columbia with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and the operation of mines and exploration programs.
About Grizzly Discoveries Inc.
Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange with 67.1 million shares issued, focused on developing its precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. The Company holds, or has an interest in, over 156,000 acres of precious-base metal properties in British Columbia.
The technical content of this news release and the Company’s technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
On behalf of the Board,
Grizzly Discoveries Inc.
Brian Testo
President
(780) 693-2242
For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:
Jim Greig, Corporate Development
Tel: 778-788-2745
Email:
Caution concerning forward-looking information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.
Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.