Omineca Enters Gold Bearing Underground Paleochannel at Wingdam with a Significant Development to the Mining Plan
SASKATOON, SK, Sept. 6, 2024 /CNW/ - Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd. (TSXV: OMM) (OTCBB: OMMSF) ("Omineca" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that after significant delays during the unseasonably high rainfall this summer, the company's joint venture partner D&L Mining has successfully reached the interior of the paleochannel at the Wingdam Project located in the Cariboo Mining District of south central British Columbia. In an unexpected development, even with heavy rainfall delaying haulage drift development, the interior of the paleochannel has been found to be devoid of significant water. Importantly, the dry condition of the paleochannel allows for the use of conventional mining and excavation methods using steel tunnel liner sections for ground support in place of the more complex and time consuming grouted spiling technique. The ability to use traditional mining methods is transformational for the Wingdam Project, allowing for significantly faster advancement, wider crosscuts, and lower costs without compromising safety.
The opening advance into the channel (a combination of bedrock and gravel) is already yielding coarse gold as expected (see Photo 1. below). The Company will further report on D&L's progress as the excavation advances toward the central portion of the channel where placer gold typically tends to accumulate in higher concentrations. The wider crosscuts and drifts resultant from the use of tunnel liner as ground support will provide higher volumes of gold-bearing gravel feed for the placer recovery washplant. The washplant consists of a simple trommel/sluice system with a shaker table in the assay lab for final gold recovery. Once a consistent gold bearing gravel feed for the wash plant is reached, the Company will report on recovered volumes and grades.
D&L has now completed over 70 meters of a 3.5 x 3.5 meter haulage and access tunnel in bedrock alongside the paleochannel with multiple access points developed to enter and cross the width and mine the length of the paleochannel. The high volumes of rain saturating the valley this summer caused significant delays in the advancement of the haulage drift with substantial remediation work required through less competent and fractured bedrock. Of real significance, it appears that this extensive access drift work has acted as an effective catchment for the water that would have normally migrated to the gravels, resulting in the gold bearing channel being extremely dry and notably, allows for conventional mining methods using the described steel tunnel liner.
Once Crosscut #3 is completed, D&L will initiate mining both up and downstream in the central part of the channel utilizing the same conventional mining methods and tunnel liner for ground support. In this type of paleochannel setting, the largest amounts of placer gold tend to be in the lower central portion of the ancient riverbed where, through natural waterborne gravity sorting, the highest concentration of gold tends to settle. This feature was noted in the 2012 bulk sample crosscut where approximately 75% of the total 173 ounces of placer gold recovered from a 2.4 meter wide by 23.5 meter long crosscut came from a 5.5 meter wide central portion of the channel.
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.
About Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.
Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.'s flagship Wingdam gold exploration and placer recovery projects are 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.
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.
For further information, please contact: Tom MacNeill, President and CEO, 306-653-2692
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